For President Obama, the good news of the 2009 elections is that Democratic losses in Virginia and New Jersey aren't a referendum or repudiation of the President's major initiatives, like health care or the economic stimulus program.

The bad news is that the Democratic defeats show it will take more than speeches and a warm embrace to extend the President's popularity to candidates who are not named Obama.

Many Dems have been lulled into a false sense of complacency about Obama's political skill and strategy.

They remember the way he burst onto the scene at the Iowa caucuses in January 2008 and methodically racked up an insurmountable delegate lead in small states before the more experienced team surrounding Hillary Clinton realized what was happening.

It was a...