Bumbling "Put Up" Time

Carol Platt Liebau | November 05, 2009 5:02 PM

In the wake of Tuesday's elections, it's never been more clear that "put up or shut up" time is rapidly approaching for the President. The Right, of course, is opposed to him. And now,

even some of the Left is getting sick of his all-celebrity, no-leadership model of governing.

It seems to me that if the President were half as smart as we've been told he is, he'd realize that he needs to step up. And if he were half as unflappable as we've been told he is, he wouldn't be doing stuff like this in the wake of the election: That's right, he's complaining again about the "mess" he inheirited from the Bush administration.

So you've got a delusional Speaker of the House, trying harder than ever to ram through a massively unpopular monstrosity of a health care bill, even though disgruntled voters list health care low on their list of concerns. You've got an electorally embattled Senate majority leader delaying bringing any bill to the Senate floor.

So there would seem to be plenty for the President to do, besides whine about the troubles he inheirited. More than ever, he should be projecting calmness, capability and the ability to engage in meaningful action. Instead, more than ever, he's contributing to the sense that he's not quite up to the job that he won with so little experience.