Like most Americans, at this point, I have no idea what Barack Obama — and by extension the party he leads — believes on virtually any issue.

THE real conundrum is why the president seems so compelled to take both sides of every issue, encouraging voters to project whatever they want on him, and hoping they won’t realize which hand is holding the rabbit.

The failure of the Obama administration isn't the S&P downgrade - its the fact that he is too feckless to avoid bearing responsibility for it. Obama is the perfect politician - a total nihilist who talks big in general terms but avoids specific commitments because he doesn't really care.