David Warren (no fan of Obama) thinks he does have the stuff to keep seeming Presidential:
On the other hand, the new president has the benefit of a "honeymoon," in which hope may still have the advantage over reason. Many who voted against him are now hedging: maybe he won't be as bad as they feared. After all, he must lead the whole country now, not just one very interested Party. And the sheer novelty of the new face, or by now a known face in a new role, counts for some abeyance of judgement.
On the third hand, honeymoons are not always happy. The phenomenon of "buyer's remorse" is associated with seeing something one has purchased in a new light. What seemed so enchanting in a shop window may look rather tawdry when we get it home, especially in the moment when we realize that it is non-returnable. Thus a plunge from public favour may be very sudden, and its consequences may endure.
With these tests in mind, I think Barack Obama came quite well out of his first 100 days. The personal qualities that got him elected do transfer to elected office, in his case. He is eloquent and unflappable; he is unreadable yet outwardly consistently charming; he looks close up when at a distance, and at a distance when close up; he is smooth and ruthless in the pursuit of his political goals. He has, as we already knew, the gift of charisma with crowds, the seemingly magical ability to embody sweet reason even when making statements entirely hollow of substance. There is something very presidential in that.
I was especially impressed with the way he remained "above the fray" when one cabinet appointment after another proved to be a dog. Somehow it wasn't Obama's mistake; somehow it became the fault of the person he had appointed. The new president had the gift of making himself invisible at will; though it should be said that he depends on supine mass media to accomplish this trick.
realclearpolitics.com
But I think Tom Bevan has a good point: if you keep over-promising, you better not under-deliver. Obama is in grave danger of under-delivering. Will the media remain entirely supine when he does? Will the blame always go elsewhere? TWT |
