Has any modern political figure ever squandered political goodwill in the manner of Obama--trading near messianic devotion from a hundred million for not even a cup of proverbial porridge in return? His political pratfalls occur only as often as he makes decisions. But even the most hardened Obama backers had to shudder and roll their eyes this week when Barack fixated on college basketball "brackets" instead of ongoing tragedy, chaos and the loss of tens of thousands. It became transparent--in a way in which only disasters bring clarity--that Obama is a boy amongst men, only haphazardly observing history's progress the way a house cat mindlessly follows a fluttering object.
