Year of the Angry White Male

For all the feelgood Obama was supposed to bring about, a bipartisan study from George Washington University says 20 percent of Americans describe themselves as "angry" about "the way things are going in the country today," and Republican pollster Ed Goeas says the enraged underclass could change the game in 2010. "There is the potential for this being a 1994 year of the angry white male," Goeas said, citing Republicans' underdog capture of both the House and Senate in the middle of Bill Clinton's presidency. Though only 5 percent of Democrats describe themselves as "angry," 26 percent of independents and 33 percent of Republicans do. Of the 1,000 likely voters surveyed, 56 percent said America was heading in the wrong direction. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said the down economy and messy health-care battle is to blame, and notes a 13-point "enthusiasm gap" rendering angry Republicans more likely to vote in the upcoming election than their contented Democratic peers.