If this doesn't wobble your tripes, nothing will.

I lunched today with a friend who said, wisely, that she thought that the Clintons were first and last for themselves, but if they perceived America's interest to coincide with theirs, they'd be good to have on our side. And I think that is just.

I don't feel the same thing can be said for President Obama. My brother thinks that there's no one home, and last night I saw a video of Jon Stewart on O'Reilly, who, when asked what he thought of President Awesome, said

I'm torn. For me I feel like..I can't tell if he's a Jedi master playing chess on a three-level board way ahead of us or if this is kicking his ass.

If you look at Obama when it's not all planned out for him, it's obvious that the job is kicking his ass. People saw he had talent and appeal and groomed him for office. He never really did have to do hard things, like, er, governing. Voting "present" is not governing.

And we see him turning control of his pet ideas over to other people, like the odious Pelosi. "Just get something passed." Does he care what? He has no ideas of his own? Has he thought it through? Can he think it through? Why let Congress make this dog's breakfast of it?

I read a review of Lauren Bacall in a London play. It said that Ms. Bacall never learned to act; she was taught to star. She stood on the stage, starring, while the other people acted around her.

Just so with President Awesome. But if Ms. Bacall forgets her lines, or even stumbles or even falls, it is remarkable but not serious. It is after all a play.

The presidency is serious, and it's filled with a man in completely over his head. Which you'll see at unguarded times in his performances.