Keith Hennessey writes:

I think much of the chaos we are seeing results from a combination of:
* Presidential indecision about which path to take and a lack of preparedness for the different paths; * an ever-changing message from the White House; * and a flawed set of policies and substantive arguments to which American citizens are reacting harshly.
Absent Presidential leadership on a specific policy proposal, Democrats are pulling in various directions. And I think everyone underestimated the depth and intensity of public opposition to the proposed policy changes. The August citizen town hall blowback will radically affect the closed-door Member discussions beginning next week, as will the expert polling analysis projecting large potential 2010 election losses for Democrats. A full-fledged Democratic Member panic is not out of the question.