I think every president has an idea of what kind of president they want to be when they take office. And then life gets in the way.

George Bush wanted to be a domestic policy president, who focused on education policy. His first effort was No Child Left Behind, but then the wars happened. He neglected his signature policy, which was torn apart and ruined by number-manipulating state bureaucrats. Money got sucked into a war that he hoped would end in one week. He ended up as a mocked, failed War President. A punchline on late night TV.

Obama wanted to usher in a new era of prosperity and equality. Instead, he's getting buffeted by an economy that won't pick up steam. 

How much of this failed economy is Obama's fault? Is he failing the economy or is the economy failing him? Could he have done more with the stimulus? Taken a stronger stance against Tea Party types? Used his rhetorical skills to put a spin on this bad situation?

The most discussed New York Times article among my Facebook friends (yes, a scientific sample) is Sunday's Opinion piece by Drew Weston that argues that Obama has failed us. 

There is something tragic about the modern American Presidency. We let this guy's imagination go wild during the two year election campaign. Let him dream of greatness. We give him about two months to achieve those lofty goals in a political system that grows more dysfunctional, polarized, bureaucratically calcified by the year. When he inevitably fails, due to circumstance or human frailty, we mock him, hate him, loath him. 

Jonah does not want to be president when he grows up. Who can blame him?