Barack Obama had three weeks to plan his first move of the fall political season. When he announced it, that move appeared to be an aggressive one. And then it blew up in his face…

At another point in Obama’s presidency, such a minor skirmish would not have mattered all that much. But this is, in fact, a key point in Obama’s presidency. As I explain in this week’s issue of TIME magazine, the Obama White House is preparing a major shift in tone and substance in the hopes of reasserting Obama’s leadership abilities heading into the next election. Recent months, of course, have not been kind to Obama’s polls, which have registered roughly 10-point declines in Obama’s reputation for being a “strong leader” and for being “able to get things done.”…

The problem this raises for Obama is real and immediate. He faces a perception problem, not just with Congress but with a growing share of the American people, who think he is so eager to find compromise on key issues of national importance that he allows himself to be pushed around. Wednesday’s confusion will not help to solve this problem.