Obama and Clinton

Charles Krauthammer looks at the way the high expectations for President Obama may constrain his rhetoric, or shape the popular response to it, in ways different than President Clinton: "Slickness wasn't fatal to 'Slick Willie' Clinton because he possessed a winning, near irresistible charm. Obama's persona is more cool, distant, imperial. The charming scoundrel can get away with endless deception; the righteous redeemer cannot." It may look that way in retrospect, but a lot of the same people who are now complaining about Mr. Obama now didn't find Mr. Clinton particularly charming, either, back at the time. It's also interesting to see a column written about presidential deception without any reference to George W. Bush, who managed in a way to meld the righteous redeemer and the charming scoundrel personality types, and who was accused of lying over and over again by Paul Krugman and by various anti-war protesters. Yet another example of how quickly things can change.