WashPo: 'Letting others take the lead on complex problems has become a hallmark of the Obama presidency'

Is President Obama losing his cheering section in the Washington Post? Maybe. But then again, Lori Montgomery and Zachary A. Goldfarb write for the paper's business section. But it's a start.

President Obama plans this week to respond to a Republican blueprint for tackling the soaring national debt by promoting a bipartisan approach pioneered by an independent presidential commission rather than introducing his own detailed plan.

Obama will not blaze a fresh path when he delivers a much-anticipated speech Wednesday afternoon at George Washington University. Instead, he is expected to offer support for the commission's work and a related effort underway in the Senate to develop a strategy for curbing borrowing. Obama will frame the approach as a responsible alternative to the 2012 plan unveiled last week by House Republicans, according to people briefed by the White House.

Letting others take the lead on complex problems has become a hallmark of the Obama presidency. (Emphasis mine.) On health care, last year's tax deal and the recent battle over 2011 spending cuts, Obama has repeatedly waited as others set the parameters of the debate, swooping in late to cut a deal. The tactic has produced significant victories but exposed Obama to criticism that he has shown a lack of leadership.

Like the House GOP budget plan, the Senate effort — led by three Democrats and three Republicans known as the Gang of Six — aims to cut about $4 trillion from the debt over the next decade. But the group is looking to reduce spending in all categories, while urging a rewrite of the tax code that would raise revenue. The Republican plan would cut spending on domestic programs while protecting the military and preserving George W. Bush-era tax cuts that disproportionately benefit high earners.

Folks, this is what you get when you elect someone to be president who has no executive experience. As for Obama's résumé, he was a state senator--which is a part-time job; he spent the last two years of his US Senate stint campaigning for the office that he his clearly not able to run.

Oh, he was a community organizer. How could I forget!

In a democracy, you get the type of government you deserve. By the way, I thought Obama was supposed to be so smart. Why do others need to take the lead on complex issues?

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