A Mind Altering Substance in The New York Times Water Cooler?

It started with The New York Times January 20 editorial, "The Massachusetts Election" (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/opinion/21thur1.html?em), which posited:

"To our minds, [Scott Brown’s upset victory] is not remotely a verdict on Mr. Obama’s presidency, nor does it amount to a national referendum on health care reform — even though it has upended the effort to pass a reform bill, which Mr. Obama made the centerpiece of his first year."

Today, NYT pundit Frank Rich in an op-ed entitled "After the Massachusetts Massacre" (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/opinion/24Rich.html?hp), likewise would have us believe:

"It was not a referendum on Barack Obama, who in every poll remains one of the most popular politicians in America. It was not a rejection of universal health care, which Massachusetts mandated (with Scott Brown’s State Senate vote) in 2006."

All of which leaves us with three possibilities:

1. New York Times staffers are seeking to delude themselves.
2. New York Times staffers are seeking to delude their readership.
3. Someone introduced a mind altering substance into The Times water cooler.

If Obama loses in 2012, The Times will surely continue to claim that "this is not a verdict on Obama's presidency."

One thing is for certain: The New York Times has not fooled the triumvirate of Obama, Axelrod and Rahm, who today announced that they are bringing back political strategist David Plouffe to bolster the Democrats' flagging fortunes. No need to find a world class economist to deal with the economy, no need to hire a health administration specialist to rejuvenate Obama's sagging health care program, and no need to find an international affairs specialist to assist a thoroughly incompetent Hillary. The answer lies in David Plouffe.

Not coincidentally, a source from within the White House, who asked to remain anonymous, reported to me that he had overheard Obama singing in the shower early this morning:

When all goes poof,
Bring back Plouffe!

They may not have a clue how to govern, but the boys from Chicago sure know how to run a campaign.