"I AM THE CHANGE" IS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD, NO?:

Has Obama peaked? Yes, he has: Yes, he made history. Unfortunately, it’s all downhill from there. (STEVEN STARK, November 12, 2009, Boston Phoenix)

In reality, Obama peaked the night he was elected.

That astonishing evening was both a blessing and a curse for our 44th president. As the first African-American elected to the Oval Office, Obama made the history books in indelible fashion, generating an uplifting sense of national pride and renewal along the way.

That alone is more than many presidents accomplish in a lifetime. But that achievement— if that's what you want to call it — came a very long year ago, before he was even president. The 10 months since he took the oath of office have been a letdown, even to most of his supporters.

Obama still doesn't seem to grasp that the collective Election Night reverie is over, and that now we are waiting for him to lead us in real time. Sure, a little bit of hubris was probably inevitable, but it led Obama to conclude, despite what he said back then, that the historic election had been about him. When in the end, as always, it was about us.

Um, no. It's only and always about him to him.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 14, 2009 10:40 PM