Unfortunately for her, someone caught he face on her camera, and for her trouble the camerawoman got that camera shoved back in her face by the mystery woman (http://tinyurl.com/l53nub ).

From reading around the web, I have the impression that a fair number of Americans feel confused by the differences between Obama the Candidate and Obama the President. It feels like a bad dream. They want to wake up and discover that Obama really is that pragmatic, post-partisan, post-racial centrist healer that they thought they voted for. Or that Obama at least is trying to be that guy.

At this point Obama is not going to recover his messiah credentials, but he could stanch the bleeding of support from moderates and independents.

He could engage in a mea culpa, go on TV, say he realized Americans had significant concerns about healthcare reform, and that he heard their concerns. As a consequence, he was now urging Congress to slow down to give Americans time to consider and discuss the proposals.

Doing this would guarantee healthcare was derailed, but at this point it’s probably DOA anyway. On the other hand, it would rebuild his popularity with those in the middle, which is probably the most he can hope for at thsi point.

The economy is going to take a hit when the Bush tax cuts expire and people lose that extra money they had and subsequent cap/trade, healthcare, etc…reforms/higher taxes will keep it on its back after that. And that’s not even taking into account what happens the dollar implodes or interest rates skyrocket.

These guys have no idea what it takes to get the economy back on track and no ACORN or union thug is going to be able to hide that from the American public.

John: You’ve got a point, but in American politics the penalties for a sitting president disappointing the base are not large. IMO Obama can take the far left as seriously as he takes the gay marriage folks, i.e. not seriously at all.

Obama’s problem is that he can’t disappoint the far leftist in himself.

Occam, you have a way with words.

By doing so he could chop the Republicans’ “Just say No” strategy off at the knees and game the voters some more about whether is a pragmatic centrist and that malarkey. He could settle for half his cake on healthcare, immigration, and defense, while continuing to undermine the courts with his radical appointments, probably get a second term and put the Dems in the catbird seat for an extended domination of Congress and maybe the White House.

However, I don’t think Obama is constitutionally able to go to the center. I’m not as pessimistic as some on this blog about Obama, but I have concluded that at heart he is an ambitious New Left radical and such halfway measures are bitter compromises. While he has majorities in Congress and good polls, he will continue to go for the gusto.

1. Create a meme of violence having been committed, which the complicit MSM will promulgate.

2. Claim to have uncovered a plot to instigate violence, and use it as a pretext to crack down on opponents

3. Generate a galvanizing external threat (the Galtieri dipsy-doodle). Too Third World and obvious, unless the threat is, say, SARS or something of that ilk.

4. Create a TV blitzkrieg in an effort to recreate the old magic. Probably too late for that, and beyond a critical cusp, further exposure only debilitates the message.

5. Say to hell with the whole thing, and have an intern give you BJs for the rest of your term. Might as well enjoy yourself.

Let’s hope Obama springs for the sensible alternative, #5.