In Over His Head

We are close to a tipping point. Contrasting memes about the President are jockeying for the lead—the cool customer, the elitist professor, the young internationalist, the talkative lawyer, the too-nice guy, the “Chicago way” bully. The oil leak in the Gulf threatens to swing all the needles to negative and freeze them there.

To be sure, there are lots of negatives already: persistently high unemployment, Afghanistan, Iran, debt-and-deficit worries, a looming hot war in Korea, worsening illegal immigration, and a dozen other problems that scream for attention.

The main problem and my biggest fear about this President is that he is incompetent. Many may disagree with his policies, but nearly everyone wants to see the government running smoothly. Existing laws should be enforced effectively and efficiently, whether the subject is immigration, environmental protection, homeland security, or tax collection. President Obama may not know how to plug the leak, but the Chief Executive should have done what it was in his power to do, namely, to protect the coast line and have the Coast Guard and Navy help break up the slick.

(Like any neophyte manager who's taken aback by bureaucracy, the President in his early months tried to cut through red tape by appointing dozens of "czars." At least he's abandoned that approach with the Gulf.)

The rumblings are not yet a roar. Diehard progressives still blame the previous Administration, but it’s been 17 months and to a majority of the country things seem to be getting worse. As I wrote well before Mr. Obama was nominated,

The four L's on how to get to the top of the heap in the Democratic party: liberal, loquacity, looks, lawyer. No experience necessary.

The chickens are coming home to roost.

By Ramirez from Investor's Business Daily.