It’s hardly a novel observation that Obama has had a unique and powerful hold on the consciousness of a not small slice of American culture. It just so happens that slice contains much of the media in America, who have found the idea of a President Obama an important proof point for much of their belief structure. That he could get elected and then re-elected made them feel better about their country. It was important.

This moral satisfaction has made it difficult to view the country and the President’s performance realistically. There is a near blindness to the explosion of poverty during the Obama years, the massive spike in food stamp recipients (over 16 million more Americans are now on food stamps), the tragedy of the long-term unemployed and underemployed.

Perhaps now this will change. Is it possible to defend the president who is bugging your phone, whose IRS is knocking at the door of political opponents, who still refuses to tell us what he was doing on Sept. 11th, 2012 while American were dying under brutal siege?