Less than a week before the electorate will adjudicate matters, it seems that the staunchest Democratic defenders of Obamacare are least likely, to borrow from Hamlet, to ‘scape whipping. This happy news comes from a recent article in National Journal, which cites a new Battleground Poll, showing 54 percent opposed to the president’s signature legislation, 40 percent strongly. Little wonder why “Republicans have been hammering Democrats across the country over their votes for the legislation, even in solidly Democratic states and districts. Of the many Democratic lawmakers in trouble, only a brave and principled few, such as Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., and Rep. Scott Murphy, D-N.Y., have even mentioned their support for the bill – and the latest polls have both trailing in their reelection bids.” Others, such as North Dakota’s Earl Pomeroy, have been more surreptitious.

These findings are corroborated and expanded by the Washington Post, which maintains that those Democratic congressman who “voted against the first version of the health care bill last November before voting in favor of the second — and final — version in March” are headed for trouble. “Of those eight seats, Democrats are favored to hold just one after next Tuesday’s election. Three or four of the other seven look to be lost causes, and the rest appear increasingly tough for Democrats.”