Harry Truman famously said, “The buck stops here.” Ronald Reagan told the nation during the Iran-Contra scandal, “I take full responsibility for my own actions and for those of my administration.” When Barack Obama’s economic policies failed and his approval ratings plummeted, he followed the precedents of his predecessors and manfully admitted that … it’s all Congress’ fault:

President Barack Obama says his low approval rating is a reflection of public unhappiness with Congress.

Obama tells CBS in an interview broadcast Sunday that he’s “impacted,” just like Congress, when people aren’t happy with Washington.

Allahpundit demolishes this argument on the facts, but the problem goes beyond a factual debate.  Voters are telling Obama that they’re not happy with his performance and the economic results of his policies.  Instead of acknowledging that, he’s excusing himself from responsibility by essentially saying that voters are too stupid to distinguish between the two ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Maybe he can tell himself that in retirement, which is coming a lot sooner than he’d like with numbers like these.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!