"if Obama can’t sell more government, no one can"

That's the subtitle of Daniel Heninger's piece in the WSJ...

To answer Mr. Heninger's question: If Obama keeps trying to tear off big chunks out of our freedom and wallets, then no, he will probably be spurned. He would have been smarter to aim for smaller, more subtle, intrusions.

A very long time ago, it was January. Barack Obama stood at the mountain top, bathed in the new light of a historic presidency and gazing down on a congressional lake afloat with contented Democrats....How could he fail? Eight months into his presidency, Mr. Obama may do just that—fail....

Why is this happening now? Mr. Obama was clear during the campaign about his plans for health care. He described the public insurance option. He spoke of the need for “sacrifice,” meaning the wealthy would pay higher taxes for his agenda. If after all this Mr. Obama gets half a loaf or less on health care, look for the reasons among the hopeful, admiring people who voted for him. That is where his support is leaking.

Set to one side the progressive left, Congress’s liberal war horses, and the unions. For them, the Obama presidency is their last best hope, and no one will be dropping out. Not so non-movement Democrats, centrists and independents....

Start with taxes because conventional wisdom has held for years that federal taxes must rise. Reality check No. 1: This much??!!!...This is especially true in high-tax Democratic utopias such as New York City...

Reality check #2: For years, Democratic politicians said the health-care problem was about “47 million uninsured Americans.” Whatever the merits, many people were willing to do something for those with no health insurance. Suddenly, these voters discovered that ObamaCare is about them....