From the Washington Post:

We’re headed for a major pendulum swing. Since World War II, the party of the president has lost an average 24 House seats and three to four Senate seats in midterm elections. Count on a doubling of those numbers in 2010. The most significant Democratic disasters will likely come at the state level. On the eve of redistricting, Republicans will gain perhaps eight governorships, 400 to 500 state legislators and eight to 14 new state legislative chambers.

It’s a “check-and-balance” moment. Obama will have to adapt to divided government — something Americans have ordered up for 36 of the past 60 years. The good news for Obama is that presidents often fight what is in their best political interests. Assuming decent economic growth before 2012, a rambunctious Republican Congress will give the president an institutional devil figure to blame and run against for reelection. The pendulum swings both ways, increasingly quickly.

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