@John Pretty simple is badly wrong. Left vs right is not a sufficient analysis of politics. Obama was shellacked in the 2010 midterms because he had already betrayed the public on housing and finance. Parts of the his coalition who turned out for his inspiring change Presidency were demoralized, and didn’t turn out. Midterms are about turnout. The public didn’t rebuke Obama’s “leftism” (nonexistent beyond R propaganda). They rebuked Obama for his actions and stayed home.