Arianna Huffington: Can the White House Course-Correct in time?

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Arianna Huffington - On Sunday, President Obama gave himself "a solid B+" for his first year in office. But the report card that matters, the midterm one issued by voters, is still 11 months away. At the moment, things are not looking great (consider the note sent home from teacher in the form of the president's and the Democratic Congress' plummeting approval ratings).

Luckily for them, there is plenty of time to course-correct. But the first step in correcting course is acknowledging that the course you're on needs to be changed. And it's not clear that the administration is ready to get out its compass and sextant. Particularly when it comes to the economy.

If the Obama White House is going to change course in time to avoid hitting the looming electoral iceberg, the president and his advisors need to immediately jettison two false ideas that are taking them wildly off course.

The first of these is the notion that the public's widespread anger over joblessness and the bank bailout will be dissipated by the magic bullet of passing a health care reform bill. Over the last few weeks, I've talked to several high-ranking White House staffers and this idea seems as deeply entrenched among them as the idea of Obama's Kenyan birth is among the birthers. And about as valid.

Health care is vital, but it's still the economy, stupid. Especially since many parts of health care reform, even if it passes, won't take effect until 2014. Nate Silver has crunched the numbers. His conclusion: "I don't particularly expect a boost in the Democrats' numbers if they pass a health care bill: the plan, after all, has become somewhat unpopular."

The other false idea that I've heard from White House advisors is that, even if they take a hit in 2010, they're going to be okay for 2012 because they'll bring back David Plouffe and recapture the magic of 2008. If this is really their plan for 2012, they might do better to bring in James Cameron. Perhaps he could CGI in all the voters who turned out in 2008, inspired by the message of "Yes, We Can," and who are now watching disillusioned from the sidelines. Read more.