More Cracks in Obama's Base - Voters in Swing State of Ohio Express Disappointment with President ("overwhelmed," "powerless," "inexperienced" and "cautious") and Congress

From The Wall Street Journal:

When a group of voters assembled here to consider the state of U.S. politics, the disappointment with President Barack Obama was deep. To describe him and his presidency, they used the words "overwhelmed," "powerless," "inexperienced" and "cautious."

And that was from people who voted for him last year.

 

"The holiday message from this focus group is a lump of coal for the president and Congress,'' said Peter Hart, the longtime Democratic pollster who presided over the session. "Everyone has the same take: Washington is not working for them. Washington is working for itself."

 

The pessimism is partly a result of October's government shutdown, which still engenders deep anger here, and Mr. Obama's flawed rollout of the health-care law. One point of unanimity among Obama and Romney voters was that the two political parties are doing the country no service with their partisan fighting.

 

Despite their frustration with Washington, the voters didn't see an obvious remedy. No one wanted to see the entire Congress tossed out in next year's midterm elections. "Inexperienced people aren't necessarily the best answer," Mr. Flaherty said.

 

That confusion over how to get the country back on the right track is fostering a sense of powerlessness that, in turn, feeds voters' resentment about Washington and other institutions, Mr. Hart said.

 

"There's nothing more frustrating for a voter than to know the problem without having the solution," he said. "Here, they knew the problem. They just didn't know what to do about it."