IT'S THE RESUME, SILLY:

Obama: the king of low expectations: Healthcare controversies, dumb comments about the arrest of a Harvard professor, and ‘soccer mom jeans’: is Obama losing his Midas touch? 9Sean Collins, 7./28/09, Spiked)

[T]o add insult to injury, Americans have even started to question whether Obama is cool. The big controversy about Obama for most of July has been his jeans. Yes, jeans. At the baseball all-star game, Obama came on to the field wearing faded baggy flood-lengths, complete with ironed creases down the middle; some referred to them as ‘soccer mom jeans’ (6). Many cringed at the sight of Obama revealing his inner dork, and wondered what happened to the guy who was supposed to be not just a president, but also the epitome of hipness.

So, not the best of times for Obama. But the real question is: how serious are his problems? Not very, at least in the short term. The hyperventilated talk about his demise is overblown, premature at best, and a distraction from engaging with issues. Obama still dominates the US political agenda and holds a number of advantages over his opponents.

There is no doubt that Obama’s honeymoon is over. The euphoria that greeted his victory has evaporated, and his high standing in the polls has eroded. It is true that there is a risk he will not be able to oversee the passage of his healthcare reforms. Other major items on his legislative wishlist – including ‘cap and trade’ to reduce carbon emissions, immigration reform and financial services regulation – also may not be implemented. And, no matter what Obama manages to get through Congress, if the economy does not recover, his support will be limited.

The latest setbacks are noteworthy, but not the entire picture. Upon entering the White House, Obama said his number one goal was to deal with the economic crisis. And whatever one thinks of his policies, he has been extremely active and successful in implementing a wide array of programmes to address that crisis, such as the $787billion stimulus package, bank and auto bailouts, and so on. Obama’s record of activism certainly looks favourable when compared to the paralysis of, say, the British and Japanese governments.

All the UR has ever cared about is the next line on his resume and "re-elected" is on deck. The delightful reality is that if the GOP kills his supposed signature initiatives it will prevent him from screwing up the economic rebound and, like Bill Clinton, thereby enable his re-election. What's bad for the Left is good for him, not to mention the rest of us....

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 28, 2009 12:04 PM