Barack Obama strikes out on messaging

Can someone please explain to us what's happening with Barack Obama these days?

The outlook just seems to be getting worse and worse for the sitting President as he looks forward to a tough challenge in 2012.

Take this series of recent events, for example.

First, Obama was forced to back off demands that Congress pass his "jobs plan" (a.k.a. $2 trillion tax increase plan) immediately. Faced with growing inability to convince even those within his own party of the bill's merits, Obama changed his tune to call instead for Congress to pass the bill "this month." See this story in Politico.

Mr. President, forget about what Republicans are saying about the bill for a moment. Stop looking so weak. Strike one.

Second, Obama made a series of comments about America's economy to an Orlando television station. His explanation for our current malaise, as quoted by ABC News: "The way I think about it is, this is a great, great country that had gotten a little soft and we didn’t have that same competitive edge that we needed over the last couple of decades."

Oh, so we "lost our edge," huh? Blame it on the American worker? Bad career move. Strike two.

Third and most surprisingly, the president proclaimed himself to be an "underdog" in the 2012 contest, and he admitted that Americans are not better off than they were when he was elected, according to The Hill.

Well, duh. Strike three.

So let's put it all together. In three years of Barack Obama, we appear to have gone from the slogan "Yes, We Can!" to "Odds Are, We Can't." Americans are no better off than when Obama took office, and the President is unable to do anything to fix the situation. But, of course, it's not his fault. It's because Americans got a little soft.

What a stunning story line from someone seeking another four years on the job. That's certainly not something we'd ever say on a job interview.