Noonan: Obama Is Our Hail Mary Pass

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama doesn’t look like a unifying centrist anymore. At his suspiciously adoring health care town hall meeting, Obama “seemed like a man long celebrated as being very good at politics, who is finding out day by day that he isn’t,” writes Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal. “He does seem reminiscent of Jimmy Carter, who was brilliant at becoming president, but not being president.” More»

At home, Obama's plans are grandiose, Noonan says

(NEWSER) - Part of President Obama’s power has always been his cool mystique, writes Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal. Difficult to classify, “he seemed something refreshing: a mystery.” But nothing clarifies like actions and decisions, “and he’s been quite the decider.” Though the consummate moderate abroad, Obama has been downright grandiose at home. “He thinks big! His plans are all-encompassing!” More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama’s first speech as president was not “a joyous audacious document, not a call to arms,” writes Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal, “but a reasoned statement by a Young Sobersides.” That’s not a criticism: Moderate and moderated, Obama’s address said exactly what it needed to. It was not “especially moving or rousing,” but “it was worthy, had weight, and was adult.” More»

Can Obama live up to high expectations?

(NEWSER) - No one can dispute that Tuesday night was a great one for America. But now it’s time to look and learn: Will Barack Obama fulfill the fears of some that he’s a "hard leftist"? Or is he really a “pragmatic politician”? asks Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal. Facing an expectant nation—"when you think someone's Moses, you expect him to part the seas"— Obama faces a tricky balancing act. More»

Plus: Guess who's the most popular president ever?

(NEWSER) - In honor of Presidents' Day, pollsters have ranked the most popular presidents ever—and it turns out George W. Bush is slightly more popular than our current leader, at least by one measure. Some 46% of Americans see President Obama favorably, and 49% have a negative view of him, marking a 3-point favorability gap. Bush has just a one-point gap, with 45% approving and 46% disapproving of him, Public Policy Polling reports. Indeed, Republicans despise Obama more than any other demographic hates any other president—12% to 84%. More»