When Going Gets Tough, Obama Loses His Cool

Prez changes tactics, dials up the heat
By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 19, 2009 3:27 PM CDT
When Going Gets Tough, Obama Loses His Cool
President Barack Obama speaks about health care, Friday, July 17, 2009, in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Here's some change you might not believe: President Obama, he of the unflappable political cool, is starting to sweat. And he's also learning to adjust his strategies, writes Politico. Faced with a stagnating economy, troubled foreign relations, and a bogged-down health care bill, the president has (sometimes literally) rolled up his sleeves and dirtied his hands, even doing some light trash talking.

“That honeymoon period is over. Now they’re having to push back, and push back hard," says the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. Most of the pushing at the moment is aimed at returning the health care bill to its old momentum, but the White House is also changing its playbook on energy policy and the Middle East.
(More Barack Obama stories.)

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