Barry Needs a Backbone

The would-be savior of Washington, Barack Obama, is losing fans fast, writes Maureen Dowd for the New York Times, including Dowd's sister, Peggy, a Republican who changed sides to vote for Obama. She, like many, believed Obama would change Washington. He hasn't. And, with the country more divided than ever over race and religion, she now wishes "Barry" would just get a "backbone."

“He hasn’t saved the economy, and now he’s admitting he’s made very little progress," Peggy tells her sister. “I want him in that White House acting like a president, not out on the campaign trail. Not when the country is going down the toilet.” The president, Dowd writes, is in peril. Her advice: "While Obama’s out in the country trying to save Congressional Democrats, he should also think about how he’s going to save himself."

(More Barack Obama stories.)