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Mr. Ignatius captures well an important piece of a still larger mystery about Obama's "leadership."
Obama spoke of his hopes to be a "transformational" president, but such an achievement requires willingness, lacking in this presidency, to shape events and bend people to his will.
This president's party lost completely its big majority in the House because many millions of voters went to the polls believing falsehoods that his political enemies had fed them--about the stimulus, the health reform bill, even his place of birth. Despite being armed with both the truth and the nation's one and only bully pulpit, this president was out-messaged by a minority party peddling lies.
When Obama took office, bestriding the political scene like a Colossus, the Republicans were at wary of him. What might he do to them. But over time, as it became evident that he would not punish them for the most outrageous forms of political sabotage, they felt safe in making it their priority to make this president fail.
It is mystifying to contemplate: a man with the drive and ambition rises to the most powerful office in the world, then seems indifferent to the ways of power; a man with ability to inspire the world with his eloquence and vision, gains the bully pulpit only to make little use of it.
America certainly needs the kind of leadership Mr. Obama seemed, as a candidate, to offer. But for some reason, he seems to have little interest in providing it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/obamas-communications-gap/2011/07/15/gIQAOJ6vGI_story.html
