I think we have an answer for why so many of Obama's appointees have proven incompetent. "White House political team stumbles, bumbles" proclaims Politico. And David Broder writes unpersuasively that Obama hasn't reached his Jimmy Carter moment yet, because the BP spill hasn't spawned a nightly news report.

All this has reminded me of the element of Greek tragedy called "hubris." He has tried to be like that Olympian, FDR, and it is being shown not to be up to the task. He assumed that the passage of Health Care Reform would make him beloved, but it has backfired. His encouragement of unprecedented and untargeted spending has made him look reckless and arrogant. His style of rhetoric has ceased to be inspirational and become thin-skinned and lecturing, and his public perception has turned to one of a cold, uncaring President who claims to be focused on the BP Spill but spends most of his time greeting sports champions, golfing and traveling. That may be unfair, but it only underscores the contrast between what he claims and how he actually performs. The comparisons to Jimmy Carter continue to mount, with ominous implications for the Democrats.