President Obama's apology yesterday was "extraordinary," and about much more than just a specific Affordable Care Act glitch, writes Susan Page at USA Today: "It was about turning around a downward slide that could threaten the future of his presidency." His administration's own missteps have undermined his signature achievement in ways Republicans never managed. Obama's admissions yesterday "fueled questions about his administration's competence and his own leadership, the most fundamental of presidential characteristics."
Congressional Democrats are already starting to waver in their support for Obama and his ObamaCare. The president's approval rating is currently in the same neighborhood that George W. Bush saw at this point in his presidency, and the public is starting to doubt Obama's honesty and leadership. Presidents have bounced back from these cellars before. But right now things are so bad that a question yesterday about the stalled negotiations with Iran "seemed to be almost a relief." Click for Page's full column. (More President Obama stories.)