After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton

"The Affordable Care Act's political position has deteriorated dramatically over the last week." That, coming from longtime Obamacare cheerleader and Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein, was pretty strong language. And it was only Wednesday.That was the day after the release of a devastating Quinnipiac national poll. It showed Barack Obama's approval rating at 39 percent, with his disapproval rating at 54 percent -- sharply down from 45 percent approval and 49 percent disapproval on Oct. 1, the day the government shutdown began andhealthcare.govwent into (limited) operation.

Colorado, writes National Journal's always insightful Ronald Brownstein, is"America, writ small." "A microcosm," he goes on, "of the forcesdestabilizing American politics."Of course, Colorado is not entirely typical of the nation. It has America'slowest rates of obesity, for example -- because of a young population andbecause most Coloradans live a mile or more above sea level. You burn morecalories there just getting out of the car and walking to the mall.

WASHINGTON -- One reason Washington makes so much bad history is that so many people here know so little history. This helps explain why "comprehensive" immigration reform is foundering: Too few of today's legislators know what happened 163 years ago.

WASHINGTON -- In spite of everything -- the GOP's internal scrimmages, the government shutdown, the party's transparent attempts to derail Obamacare -- Republicans keep getting second chances. The question is, can they handle prosperity? Do they even know what to do with it?