Maybe Obama's too cool for his own good

Two very different issues with one common thread: Obama engaging, shedding his famous detachment after watching the intensity of his support drop dramatically since last spring.

To get health care, he must be both a broker and buffer, absorbing the heat for difficult decisions at a time when Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have largely exhausted their own political capital—and much of their caucuses’. In the case of terrorism, Obama recognizes too that he must be more out front, responding to the public’s gut fears and anger after the attempted attack on a U.S. airliner Christmas Day. “Ultimately, the buck stops with me,” he said.

As a candidate, Obama’s cool was never fatal because so many voters simply imposed their own dreams on him. But wrapped in the bubble of the Oval Office and surrounded by Ivy-educated budget and economic advisers, this detachment is magnified and hurts him with lawmakers and voters alike, looking for more of a connection amid tough times.

For all he shares with FDR, “Mr. Fireside Chat” Obama is not.