Things switch back and forth like this quite frequently. The Reps took a hit with the shutdown. The Dems are taking a hit with Obamacare.
This is not surprising but I do not believe it will set the Dem party back a generation. That is a bit of an exaggeration.
You definitely could be right, although after Jimmy Carter, the Dems did not regain the White House for 12 years. They also lost control of Congress for much of that time.
Jimmy Carter was a good man who was just inept. He still did tremendous damage to the Democrat Party.
Obama is not a good man to say the least, who also happens to be inept. I think he does more damage than Carter, although that is only my speculation.