The thrill is gone -- oh wait

I recently poked fun at TPM’s John Marshall for saying, in effect, that President Obama had lost his mojo. “The guy just doesn't have his swagger. The confidence is gone. And so is the smile,” he lamented. I thought this was ridiculous and symptomatic of the “President Bartlet” syndrome from which too many progressive pundits suffer. Regular folk are not so emotionally needy. Per a new WSJ/NBC poll, “Fully 72% of Americans say they like the president personally, a reading well above those of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan at this point in their presidencies.” Oh, and 63% like his recent moves to the center to get stuff done in Congress. So, Obama performs in a way that people like and praise. They still trust him over Republicans. And the proof is in the polling pudding. Meanwhile, pundits on the left wring their hands over presidential strutting and smile quotients. Be thankful that regular Americans outnumber the talking heads at the voting booth. Otherwise, we would be doomed for sure.