Obama is not responsible for the unprecedented obstructionism employed by McConnell’s Senate Republicans to block nearly all of his nominees and proposals. He has not even used executive action to get around Congress as extensively as did Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. But his critics deride him as a constitutional outlaw.

Similarly, ObamaCare is based on Republican proposals such as the healthcare plan Mitt Romney put in place as governor of Massachusetts. How is Obama to blame for Congressional Republicans stopping cap-and-trade proposals to reduce air pollution when the idea originated with them?

Despite all this, the president seemed willing to take responsibility for polls showing a high percentage of Americans think the country is going in the wrong direction, and are angry at him and Washington. But he won the White House twice and his approval rating, despite the non-stop attacks, is about 44 percent. The GOP-led Congress has an approval rating of around 13 percent. So who is dragging down the country?