Not all the missteps that President Obama has made have been entirely his fault. But he is going to have a lot of work to do in the next four months in order to win back disaffected supporters. When he first came to power the president promised to usher in a new era of cooperation with the Republicans.

Attorney General Jerry Brown, outgunned in the gubernatorial race by the personal wealth of Republicans Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, drew the loudest reaction from the delegates when he criticized them for waging a high-dollar campaign over the airwaves.

Widely viewed as dead two months ago, the Senate-passed bill cleared the House on a 219-212 vote. Republicans were unanimous in opposition, joined by 34 dissident Democrats.

Forget Euro horror stories and the Massachusetts election—restore the public option and give the people the help they need.