IRA's and 401K's

Obama did not win because he "fired up" his base. Gore and Kerry fired up their bases. The same aging rock stars and rap moguls put on the same concerts before the same Hollywood and campus crowds in 2000 and 2004. ("Vote or Die?")

Obama won because he convinced enough swing people in the middle, the conservative Democrats and the liberal Republicans, to trust him.

Obama's most effective campaign pitch to this crowd in the middle was not produced by the Democratic party, the Republican party or the mainstream media.

It was produced and distributed in late Fall of 2008 by the hundreds and thousands of IRA and 401K plan administrators. They told these people that their accumulated wealth shrank by almost one third during the prior 6 months. In turn, these people accepted the need for change.

The stimulus plan largely ignores these people and their concerns. Unless something is done to boost their retirement account balances back to 2007 levels, they may not be there in 2010 or 2012. Instead, they could look for another answer.