You blew it! Sarah Palin’s message to Barack Obama as he faces massive poll defeat

President Obama made a last-ditch appeal to voters to stand by him and the Democratic party as they face their worst mid-term election results in more than 50 years.

As all polls pointed to a Republican victory, the President invoked his slogan of his successful election campaign to try to rally voters one last time.

"You've got the chance to once again say, Yes we can,' " he said at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, last night. "There is no doubt that this is a difficult election and that's because we've gone through an incredibly difficult time as a nation."

He accepted that the result would be "tight" but refused to rule out the Democrats performing against expectations tomorrow night when millions of Americans votes.

The "Yes we can" slogan was one of the catchphrases of the 2008 campaign along with "hope" and "change". Two years ago his speeches were heard in packed stadiums but in Cleveland the state university basketball stadium was only half full. Republican candidates kept up a final barrage of attacks on Mr Obama and his policies as they sought to capitalise on a mood of impatience with the government among voters.

Republicans and their radical Right-wing Tea Party allies are riding high on anger about unemployment of nearly 10 per cent, sluggish economic growth and a burst property bubble that cost millions of their life savings when banks foreclosed on mortgages.

Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, cheerleader of the Tea Party, took great delight in delivering a damming verdict on Mr Obama's two years in office. "You blew it, President Obama. We gave you the two years to fulfil your promise of making sure that our economy starts roaring back to life again," she said in a TV interview.

Sharon Angle, who is expected to oust veteran Democratic senator Harry Reid in Nevada, said: "They promised change, now it's our turn."

In New Jersey, John Runyan, a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, declared: "If you're tired of the way this country is run, then let's change the people who run it."

John A Boehner, who is poised to become Speaker if Republicans win the House, told supporters Americans were tired of broken promises from the Obama administration.

"Washington hasn't been listening to the American people. I think it's been disrespecting the American people," Mr Boehner said. "We're going to have a big night on Tuesday night — a really big night."

Democrats are widely expected to lose at least 40 seats and their majority in the House, where all 435 seats are on the ballot. Also at stake are 37 places in the 100-seat Senate and governorships in 37 states.

BATTLE FOR CONGRESS

Who's up for election? All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 37 of the 100 seats in the Senate. Governors in 37 states also face election.

What's at stake? Control of Congress, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Republicans need 10 seats to take the Senate and 39 to take the House.

Will the Tea Party make a difference? The grassroots conservative movement wants less federal government, lower taxes and spending and more individual freedom. It is treated with fear and loathing by the Republican establishment which worries it puts off mainstream floating voters. But its energetic activism has ensured its best candidates are running in key seats. It also adores Sarah Palin.

What are the issues? The economy is the dominant theme. Although the US has been out of recession for more than a year, it's seen a "jobless recovery" and millions are without work. Obama is also having to justify the $787 billion stimulus package, bank and motor industry bailouts. The health care Bill, forcing all Americans to buy insurance, is seen as too interfering by his opponents and too weak by his supporters.

How hard will Obama be hit? Poll show that the Democrats are facing a classic mid-term landslide against them, with the Republicans' 10-point national lead higher than when they captured Congress in 1994. The Democrats could lose Nevada, Colorado, Pennsylvania and even Obama's home state of Illinois. The President has adopted the risky strategy of accepting the elections will be a referendum on his own rule. The turn-out will be key and the result a test for the dynamism that propelled him into the White House. Obama's strong email database could, ironically, see the passing of a vote to legalise cannabis in California, even if the national results go against him. The White House hopes that this weekend's Rally for Sanity by TV comedian Jon Stewart will help boost its base.

What will be the fallout for the 2012 presidential elections? US politics is increasingly polarised with Obama under fire from his disappointed Left and the Republicans under pressure from the Tea Party. If Obama loses both Houses, he could become a "lame duck" president and prompt calls for Hillary Clinton to run for the nomination for 2012. The Republicans face their own dilemma: to move towards the Tea Party and Sarah Palin or stick with a more moderate face?