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»

Lays wreath at Tomb of the Unknowns

(AP) - President Barack Obama paid tribute today to the men and women who have died defending America, saying the country must strive "to be a nation worthy of your sacrifice." He said the war in Iraq has ended after nine years and is "winding down" in Afghanistan. But he conceded that the pain of war lingers for the families of those lost in battle, noting mourners can be seen at Arlington National Cemetery daily, not just on Memorial Day. More»