Obama's Inner Thug Emerges

Voters recoil.

Obama’s sag — and it’s definitely more of a sag than a collapse — is a natural function of reluctant Republicans finally coalescing behind Romney, who clinched the nomination Tuesday night with a victory in Texas.

But the president’s enemies, and a few of his friends, think his in-your-face negativity, on display in his attacks on Bain Capital and a snark offensive that included comparing Romney’s statements to a “cow pie of distortion,” have produced a backlash among independent voters who have finally given up the image of Obama as a new-breed politician.

“Face the Nation” host Bob Schieffer started his show on Sunday by summing up those grievances in an exchange with former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs. “One of the refreshing changes when the president was elected — he talked about hope and change,” Schieffer said.

“Whatever happened to hope and change? Now, it seems he’s coming right out of the box with these old-fashioned negative ads.”

Gibbs, echoing arguments made by Obama’s team for months, said it isn’t fair to create a double standard by letting Romney attack Obama with abandon — and super PAC cash — while penalizing Obama for fighting back. But no one ever said politics was fair, and Obama’s team is clearly groping to find a successful balance between the high ground and kicking Romney until he hurts.

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