Democrat Mark Critz railed against the Obama administration’s health care reforms while campaigning in his western Pennsylvania district — and was easily elected to the House.

In West Virginia, Democratic stalwart Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, who voted against an administration-backed energy bill last year, was defeated in his primary after his challenger accused him of not having enough disdain for the measure that was wildly unpopular in his home district. He also was hammered for supporting health care reform.

Rep. Joe Sestak, in Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate primary, challenged the White-House-endorsed five-term incumbent, Sen. Arlen Specter, and was rewarded with a cushy eight percentage-point win.

While other factors and issues played key roles in Democratic primaries and special elections this year, shunning — or even rebuking — the White House so far has helped Democrats.

Presidents “really don’t have a lot of coattails when they go out and campaign for people, so I think it’s a little hard to say you can pin these losses directly on the administration’s doorstep,” said Michael D. Tanner, a political analyst with the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

“On the other hand, I think it’s fair to say that one of the reasons there’s so much unhappiness out there [among voters] is that the administration’s policies have upset people.”

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I'm wondering if there are any democrats who have the onions to challenge the Man that they love to run against. Or will they get cutoff at the knees from all of all the progressives who have taken over the democratic party.