He would have been a good spokesman for a Democratic legislative agenda. Where he is, he's becoming a disaster.
Obama's the right guy in the wrong place.
I think this is the crux of the matter. However, he's a lot less inexperienced now than he was a year ago.
My hope is that he will realize one of these days that he was rolled by the generals on Afghanistan, and finds an excuse to change direction. The other stuff is largely the result, I think, of having a completely intransigent Republican party and a mostly uncooperative Democratic party. Considering what he started with, I think he's doing ok--except for the war part.
All he has to do is take a week off and get his head together. I'm pretty sure he can learn, and probably he's brave enough to change his mind on things when it becomes clear that they're not going in the right direction.
The way out is for the DNC to get off its butt and get the liberal votes out for the 2010 elections. With a few more seats in the Senate, in particular, he would not have to tread so tightly to the absolute center line between the parties.
