OBAMA TO MASSACHUSETTS – AT 5:04 P.M. ET:  The president flew into Massachusetts to try to save Martha Coakley from herself.  The New York Times reports:

BOSTON — President Obama swooped into Massachusetts on Sunday in an attempt to rescue the flailing candidacy of Martha Coakley, the Democratic Senate candidate in a special election on Tuesday that will determine whether the party will preserve its 60-vote majority in the United States Senate and keep alive its health care agenda.

Wait, wait, wait.  A few problems there.  The president "swooped" in?  I wonder if The Times ever had George W. Bush swooping.  So heroic, so romantic.

And, uh, the election won't determine whether the Dems can keep alive their health-care agenda.  It will only determine whether they have the 60 votes to stop a GOP filibuster.  They're already threatening to pursue their agenda through unconventional means.

“If you were fired up in the last election, I need you more fired up in this election,” Mr. Obama said, speaking over the loud applause of a packed basketball arena at Northeastern University. “Understand what’s at stake here Massachusetts. It’s whether we’re going forwards or backwards.”

Mr. President, that's your problem:  Many people think you are going backwards.

The Democratic Party deployed its full political arsenal here for the final 48 hours of the battle between Ms. Coakley, the Massachusetts attorney general, and Scott Brown, a Republican state senator, to fill the seat of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

As the race lurched to an unpredictable finish, Republicans worked to capitalize on an uneven campaign by Ms. Coakley and a strong air of dissatisfaction with Washington. Senior Democrats conceded on Sunday the real prospect that Ms. Coakley could lose the race, but they hoped Mr. Obama’s visit would rally the Democratic base.

Translated:  Get those minorities to the polls, then ignore them between elections.

COMMENT:  We'll know in little more than 48 hours.

January 17, 2010