Michael Barone: “Democrats this year are running not just against the trend that presidencies usually (though not always) grow stale in their sixth year. They are in the uncomfortable position of defending policies that work against the grain of change in an Information Age, and for putting more trust in a government that isn’t competently performing basic tasks. That’s an uphill climb as the world spins out of control, government keeps floundering and the president seems unable to master events.”