There has never, ever, been a more pitiful presser than the one conducted last week by President Obama.

◼ The beginning of the end for Barack Obama - Joseph Curl/Washington Times

In a nutshell, he said sure, everything’s a mess, but he just didn’t know. Introspective for the first time, he acknowledged he “fumbled the rollout” of Obamacare, said his “you can keep it” pledge “ended up not being accurate” and admitted that his “credibility” is in the dumper. And he tossed out this gem: “What we’re also discovering is that insurance is complicated to buy.” Ya think?

...Twenty hours after Mr. Obama’s depressing presser, 39 Democrats joined Republicans to support the “Keep Your Health Plan Act of 2013.” And just like that, No. 44 became a lame duck, eviscerated and emasculated. The shutdown? Ancient history. The fractured Republican Party? Gone with the wind.

Instead, the headlines are suddenly focused on dissension in the Democratic Party, in Mr. Obama’s Cabinet, and in Congress, where lawmakers are running for cover over Obamacare, abandoning the party’s standard-bearer to save their own political skins. In the blink of an eye, Mr. Obama’s approval rating plunged to 39 percent — exactly where George W. Bush found himself after weeks of dire Katrina coverage.

“When you take a look at history, when presidents in their second terms drop on credibility, trust and approval, they never come back from that,” former Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd said last week. “When we look back three years from now at the end of his presidency, we’re going to all say this was the tipping point of his relevancy.”



◼ When the Obama Magic Died - Fouad Ajami/Real Clear Politics

The current troubles of the Obama presidency can be read back into its beginnings. Rule by personal charisma has met its proper fate. The spell has been broken, and the magician stands exposed. We need no pollsters to tell us of the loss of faith in Mr. Obama's policies—and, more significantly, in the man himself. Charisma is like that....