Obama's presidency is a case of glass half full or half empty:

Yes, he extended the Bush bailouts, but he made no provision for assuring that layoffs would be controlled. Result: the surivors laid off hundreds of thousands. The government "decreed" that the recession was over. But unemployment and housing foreclosures--key measures of how most people are impacted--are still very high.


Yes, he passed a long-overdue health care reform. He handed Congress an 1100-page bill and delegated interpretation of it to those boneheads, and walked away. The GOP convinced a probably majority of Americans--including those who'd most benefit from it--that it's a mortal threat to them. If the GOP retains control of the House, and captures the Senate, the health care initiative will be history.

Obama hasn't got the temperament to be an effective president. He treats major issues as problems to be managed by his "experts," rather than opportunities to engage the American people in dialog. He's a brilliant orator but a poor communicator: oratory is one-way (down), communication is two-way, and involves listening. He thinks he's smarter than everyone else. He may be--but smarts in the Oval Office involves having a strong feeling for constituents, and knowing how to respond to them. He hasn't got those smarts.