It’s a matter of trust. Most good leaders will demonstrate that they can repeatedly make good decisions by constantly handling small issues well before they move onto trying to solve big difficult problems; in doing so they build trust with the people they’re leading, and will remain respected even when the big problems don’t turn out well. The current government has not done that, and has repeatedly created bad legislation (even if you support the purpose) with all of their major initiatives so far (Bank/Auto-Bailout, Stimulus Package) and now want to make a major change to an industry that impacts people in a very real way. Without having the trust of the people it will be nearly impossible for the democrats to maintain their strong majority in the house; and may even stop controlling either the house or the senate.