Having been exposed to the president’s actions and rhetoric for close to six hours now, I better understand one of the most interesting facts of recent American politics: the more Mr. Obama speaks, the more unpopular his cause becomes. He is a man who talks a lot — and who has very little to show for it. I suspect today’s event won’t move the dial one bit for Democrats; if anything, it will help the Republican case. Barack Obama has the capacity to discredit many of the causes in whose behalf he speaks out. That’s unusual for an American president — and especially one who, we were told, would be the next FDR or even the next Lincoln.

Not quite.