The American presidency is a big job, says James W. Ceaser in The Weekly Standard, but our elected leaders usually grow into it. Not so Barack Obama. Though, as a candidate, he promptly adopted a statesmanlike and presidential tone, promising to "tamp down conflict," he's been on a "slippery slope" since he took office. Now "the peculiar magic of his presidential campaign" is just "a faded memory." Far from healing "the planet," argues Ceaser, he now seems primarily concerned about finding an enemy "ass to kick," disparaging everyone from "fat cats on Wall Street" to Republicans in general. Here, an excerpt:
Barack Obama has managed a rare feat in American history: The longer he is president, the less presidential he has become. Obama has reversed the usual process of growth and maturation, appearing today far more like a candidate for the presidency — and a very ordinary one at that — than he did during the latter stages of his campaign....
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