The questions put to Barack Obama at his news conference last night covered nearly every topic but the Craigslist Killer, and if that had come up, Obama probably would have answered it in stride. You ask, he’ll answer — earnestly, disarmingly, enchantingly, even — and most of the time convincingly, which is no small accomplishment for a politician…

Barack Obama is a truly flabbergasting president. And in a good way — not the way some of his predecessors were. He’s not flabberghastly…

Obama can use a five-dollar word such as “overarching” in one sentence and a few sentences later utter a folksy “doggone it.” His verbiage is a melting pot that’s always bubbling. A few times, he did stumble over words, and once or twice appeared semantically stranded, unable to find the precise language he wanted to use. But compare him with his predecessor and such moments seem trifling.