Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Obama Comes Into Focus: Noonan

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

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 3, 2009 9:27 AM CDT

(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!”

The result is that Obama has been “not so much deeply defined as tagged.” And his fate may depend on “the vagueness that was part of his power.” Noonan cautions: "There is considerable good will for the president, and all the polls show considerable support, but one wonders for the first time if Mr. Obama's support isn't becoming, in the old phrase, a mile wide and an inch deep."

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

Obama's losing his cool, unflappable otherness. (AP Photo/Phil Noble, Pool)

Obama's not a mystery anymore. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

President Barack Obama walks down the Colonnade from the Oval Office to depart the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2009, for his first European trip as president. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

President Barack Obama reviews the honor guard at Palais Rohan in Strasbourg, France, Friday, April 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

There is considerable goodwill for the president, but one wonders for the first time if Mr. Obama's support isn't becoming, in the old phrase, a mile wide and an inch deep. - Peggy Noonan

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Obama Losing Super PAC War

...because he's not terribly interested in fighting it

(NEWSER) - Democrats saw the way Mitt Romney's super PAC destroyed Newt Gingrich in Iowa, and it terrified them, because President Obama's super PAC—or as Politico terms it, "not-so-super PAC"—doesn't have the muscle for anything like that. "It's like when China got the bomb," says one Democrat close to the PAC, "We thought we were the ones with cash supremacy. That's clearly not the case." Obama's Priorities USA Action has just $5 million in the bank, less than half Romney's $12 million. More»

Under Obama, a Force of Killer Drones Evolved

Semi-secret assassination program has expanded greatly in his term

(NEWSER) - In the five years before President Obama took office, America’s drones launched 44 strikes, all confined to Pakistan, killing about 400 people. But during his Oval Office tenure there have been almost 240 strikes, killing at least four times as many people, and the US has built dozens of secret drone facilities, with bases in at least six countries, the Washington Post reports, in an in-depth look into what it terms Obama’s “emerging global apparatus for drone killing.” Though the technology was already developing under President George W Bush, Obama has greatly expanded its use. More»

Obama Won't Apologize for Pakistan Strike

Balks against State Dept., says US has apologized enough

(NEWSER) - President Obama has decided against issuing a formal apology to Pakistan over a NATO airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, even as the State Department insists he must do so to salvage relations with Pakistan, officials tell the New York Times . The administration is instead backing the Defense Department, which thinks the US has apologized enough, and wants Obama to wait at least until its internal investigation of the incident is complete. More»

I Want 20% Less Spending on Swag: Obama

Tasks federal agencies with trimming the fat in four other areas, too

(NEWSER) - If you happen to be sipping from a promotional coffee cup bestowed on you by a federal agency, hang on to it: You might not be getting a new one anytime soon. As part of his "We Can't Wait" campaign, President Obama will today announce his latest effort: slashing waste. The president will sign an executive order tasking federal agencies with reducing spending by 20% in five areas that have been identified by a Joe Biden-helmed task force as particularly fatty: travel, technology, printing, autos, and swag. USA Today and Politico dig into the nitty gritty: More»

Obama Dumps New Smog Rules

He says standard will change anyway in 2013

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama handed the business community a surprise win today by asking the Environmental Protection Agency to scrap new smog standards that would force state and local government to improve air quality or risk losing federal funds, the Washington Post reports. "Work is already underway to update … the ozone standard in 2013," Obama explained. "Ultimately, I did not support asking state and local governments to begin implementing a new standard that will soon be reconsidered." More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Obama Comes Into Focus: Noonan