RED SKY COUNTRY:

Western Democrats brace for 2010 election pitfalls (Valerie Richardson, 8/21/09, Washington Times)

President Obama's approval rating is slipping. Republicans are preparing red-meat ballot initiatives to get out conservative voters. Democrats have a negative "tax-and-spend" image.

That's not a Republican summary of Democratic vulnerabilities or the outcome of GOP opposition research into how to gain seats in the midterm elections. Rather, it's a list of the potential pitfalls that Democratic bigwigs saw for themselves at a brainstorming session here last week. [...]

[S]trategists see a number of pitfalls for the party as it heads into the 2010 election, including a likely array of conservative-themed ballot initiatives, a loss of momentum among the "surge" of voters who backed Mr. Obama in 2008, the shifting Hispanic vote and the party's struggles on issues involving taxes and national security.