Why would so many in congress be ready to hang up their spurs and head home? In November of 2008 it was with great fan fair that President Obama swept into the white house on a platform of hope and change. Today, the political landscape has changed dramatically. The President arrived to lead a majority of Democrats in the Senate and in the House of Representatives and immediately began to implement the agenda he felt he received a mandate for. So what happened?

At first, if you stood in his way you were part of the party of "no". Then you were being appropriately skeptical of his rhetoric, then you were able to yell out "you lie" and receive millions in campaign funds. The American people began to look closely at the agenda and the tactics and decided this was not the "Change" they were looking for. Over the summer of 2009 the political voice of the disenfranchised was captured in the tea party movement, and took the political class completely off guard. Major rallies have been held, town hall meetings disrupted, petitions with millions of signers have arrived in Washington, political activism like we have not seen before is happening all around us.

So what happens now?

Some excerpts from Rasmussen Reports.

The new national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 36% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. Voter support for GOP congressional candidates is down one point from last week, while support for Democrats is down two points. Republicans started the year ahead by nine points -- their largest lead in several years -- while support for Democrats fell to its lowest level in years. Republicans have held the lead on the Generic Ballot for several months now.

The latest numbers highlight a remarkable change in the political environment during 2009. When President Obama was inaugurated, Democrats enjoyed a seven-point advantage on the Generic Ballot. Throughout the fall and winter of 2008, support for Democratic congressional candidates ranged from 42% to 47%. Republican support ranged from 37% to 41%. The two parties were very close on the Generic Ballot throughout the spring of 2009, but Republicans pulled ahead for good in late June.

In January, the number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats fell further to the lowest level recorded in more than seven years of monthly tracking by Rasmussen Reports. However, the number of Republicans in the country also dropped by nearly two percentage points. The number of adults not affiliated with either major party is now up to 32.3%. That’s the highest number of unaffiliateds since the summer of 2007. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the GOP leads this week by a 46% to 20% margin. Support for Republicans among unaffiliateds held steady from the previous survey, but support for Democrats is down five points

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of likely voters believe, generally speaking, that it would be better for the country if most incumbents in Congress were defeated this November.

The numbers don’t lie, a vast majority of Americans have decided that this government is not for the people by the people, but run by a political elite class that needs to replaced, and fast. With 2010 elections around the corner we could see a major shift in the political landscape.

In the Senate republicans and independents need only pick up 10 seats to dramatically change the direction of the administration. This will leave our President with an important decision to make. He will either need to implement his agenda by executive order and take full responsibility for the consequences or he will have to shift gears.

Right now it is anybody’s guess which way the winds will blow, but one thing is certain. We are heading for a political typhoon like we have not seen in our country since 1776.