Fareed Zakaria puts the screws on the healthcare bill and critiques Obama's role:
Over the past six monthswhich have correlated with his dramatic drop in the pollsObama has behaved less like a president and more like a prime minister. He has not outlined a broad vision for the country. He has not embraced the best solutionsfrom left and rightfor the nation's problems. Instead he has behaved as the head of the Democratic Party in Congress, working almost entirely with and through that caucus, slicing and dicing policy proposals to cobble together legislative majorities. He has allowed the great policy program of his presidency to be written and defined by a collection of congressional Democrats, accepting the lopsided bills that emerged and the corruption inherent in the process.
I think that's unfair. Remember the September speech that turned around public opinion? But clearly the sheer amount of governing the president has been doing has eclipsed the selling. I'm sorry but given what he's had to grapple with, I can forgive that kind of lapse, especially since HCR was as good as a done deal Christmas eve. But Fareed's right that the campaigning Obama now needs to be unleashed again. It's a mix.