Rookie Mistakes: Time for Obama to Lead

If he wants a successful presidency, Obama will need to start taking responsibility for tough decisions

Pete Souza / White House

President Barack Obama

Well, we survived August, which is good news. It was not a month that will be recorded in the Enlightened Discourse Hall of Fame. In fact, it was a national embarrassment — not just the steady stream of misinformation about the nature of President Obama's health-care proposals, but the racism — both overt and opaque — the death threats, the imprecations (calling someone a Nazi is evidence of the evil of banality), the idiots bearing assault rifles at presidential events. As the lunatics took over the asylum, the President's poll ratings dropped, and the chances for a truly bipartisan health-care-reform effort...

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