The Washington Post editors noticed too: Obama was in campaign mode last night. It’s not fair to single out last night. He’s always in campaign mode because he doesn’t spend time thinking about how to solve policy questions, just political ones. The editors write:

What Mr. Obama actually provided was a little something for everyone, sometimes conciliatory, sometimes combative, often sounding much like a campaign speech, only longer. He took “my share of the blame” for “not explaining” health care better, but cast plenty of blame on the administration he replaced for problems he inherited. He boasted that the number of al-Qaeda fighters killed last year was “far more than in 2008.” He did not back away from his health-care drive, but neither did he offer a precise route to adopting legislation.

And then he made a fuss that everyone is too political inside the Beltway. (“But what frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day is Election Day. We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about their opponent — a belief that if you lose, I win.”) He then proceeded to tell Republicans that because they have 41 seats in the Senate, they share the blame if he can’t get anything done. And rather than level with the public, he recycled the same silly canards — for example, that the stimulus “saved” (or was it “created”?) 2 million jobs and that his health-care plan would “preserve the right of Americans who have insurance to keep their doctor and their plan” (except if you have Medicare Advantage, a Cadillac plan, or an affordable high-deductible plan that didn’t get the ObamaCare seal of approval). And then, to top if off, he goes after the Supreme Court. Classy, Mr. President.

It’s the sort of spin factory and attack-dog approach that works on the campaign trail when the scrutiny is less exacting (especially if you’re a historic candidate who has tingled the media) and the expectations are lower because, after all, it’s a campaign, and everyone lies to get elected. But Obama has never divested himself of the habit of blaming others and making up “facts.” He unfortunately fails to see that the well of presidential credibility is not bottomless, that we expect our presidents to rise above the fray, and that if you keep telling the public things they know aren’t so, they will eventually tune you out, no matter what pearls of wisdom you impart.

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