Governing has been tough for Barack Obama lately. When he's not backpedaling to qualify his supportive statements for the building of a controversial Islamic center at Ground Zero in New York (even losing the backing of his closest ally in the Senate, Harry Reid), he's contending with the sluggish economy. A new poll shows that independents view the economy as the number one issue facing the nation and that independents enamored by Obama's campaign for "change" in 2008 are drifting away from the president (via The Associated Press). In Colorado, though, the White House is feeling confident after Democrats backed Obama-endorsed Senator Michael Bennet over his insurgent challenger, former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, the Denver Business Journal notes. Still, given Obama's relatively low approval rating, The Washington Post asks a lingering question: "Should Democrats run with or from President Obama?" If happiness is a concern, the latter may be the answer, according to The Daily Beast's list of "15 stats that indicate who among us is most satisfied" with life. Pew Research shows Republicans are happier than Dems by about 15 percent.