Still loved across the world and still facing a demoralised Republican Party, Barack Obama can continue to sleep easily at night but he has started entering much choppier waters. His healthcare proposals are unpopular and their passage through the Democrat-controlled Congress has been delayed because of unhappiness within his own party at their cost. Obama is falling into exactly the trap that David Brooks warned him against: over-ambitious activity. Americans already worried about Obama's budget deficit are seeing a further expansion of government with this big ticket expansion of healthcare. Texas' Republican Governor has threatened not to implement the agenda in his own state.
Obama's approval rating has fallen below 50% for the first time since he succeeded George W Bush. His standing has taken another battering in the last 48 hours because of clumsy remarks he made about a white policeman's arrest of a black man. Obama appeared to speak before he knew all of the details and has now been forced to retreat although has not managed to swallow his pride and say a simply 'sorry'. Fox News discussed the affair on Friday night in the eight minute segment reproduced in the video below. The most telling remark comes from Charles Krauthammer who describes Obama's presidency as a contest between his intelligence and arrogance (3 minutes, 25 seconds). His arrogance has been too evident in believing that he can expand the government on so many fronts and talk about sensitive issues like race - without knowing the full picture.
