Normally I’d let an OOTD candidate percolate a few days after one of my co-bloggers, Erika Johnsen, did such a great job with it the day before, but if this isn’t in Sunday’s poll, I think I’d face a rebellion in the comments. The 2008 candidate of “Yes we can!” turned into “No, I can’t” yesterday:

“The most important lesson I’ve learned is you can’t change Washington from the inside.”

Let’s recall, as Ace does, exactly how hard it was for Obama to change Washington:

Obama: Giving me the presidency, all of Congress, and a majority of the Court wasn't enough for me to implement my vision.

— Ursus, Director of Weather and Banana Programming (@AceofSpadesHQ) September 20, 2012

Melissa Clouthier points out that this sounds more like an accusation than an excuse:

Shorter Obama: It's not me. It's you. As in, your fault.

— Melissa Mackenzie (@MelissaTweets) September 20, 2012

Paul Mirengoff says this is a bigger admission of failure than it sounds at first:

In reality, Obama’s latest statement, like nearly every utterance of his that mentions “change,” is nonsense. He would have been closer to an insight if he had said: You can’t change Washington when your party suffers a massive defeat in congressional elections because the country doesn’t like the change you’re trying to impose.

But even this statement would be flawed because Obama has never really tried to “change Washington.” Rather, he sought to change America through measures — legislation, regulation, and executive orders — that emanate from Washington.

Mitt Romney certainly had fun with it:

Romney: his slogan was yes we can. Now it’s no I can’t.

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) September 20, 2012

Maybe Obama should get ready for his career outside of Washington … sooner than he thought.

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!