"He Was Supposed To Be Competent"

Peggy Noonan discusses the grumbling which is turning into rumbling against Barack Obama.

President Obama created the expectations which are stewing him now:

'This is what happened with Katrina, and Katrina did at least two big things politically. The first was draw together everything people didn't like about the Bush administration, everything it didn't like about two wars and high spending and illegal immigration, and brought those strands into a heavy knot that just sat there, soggily, and came to symbolize Bushism. The second was illustrate that even though the federal government in our time has continually taken on new missions and responsibilities, the more it took on, the less it seemed capable of performing even its most essential jobs. Conservatives got this point—they know it without being told—but liberals and progressives did not. They thought Katrina was the result only of George W. Bush's incompetence and conservatives' failure to "believe in government." But Mr. Obama was supposed to be competent.'

Ms. Noonan does not rejoice. We are facing major crises in several parts of the world, and we need a president who is respected for his deeds and team not just his rhetoric.