One of the more surprising features of the post-midterm-election handwringing that has occurred on the Democratic side of the aisle has been the general unwillingness to pin the blame on the president. By and large the retrospective criticism has been directed at the larger, more amorphous, party; as in, 'the party failed to aggressively defend its agenda,' or, 'the party reached too far after the 2008 elections.' Obama hasn't been absolved, by any measure.