Will the Word 'Likeable' Stick to Obama?

By Geoffrey P. Hunt

U.S. presidents have suit coats and jackets made from flypaper and Velcro. Words stick to their lapels, sleeves, and shoulders. Words sticking to Abraham Lincoln are "honest," "melancholy," and "resolute." James Buchanan, "feckless." Teddy Roosevelt, "robust" and "adventuresome." Calvin Coolidge, "taciturn." FDR, "soothing" and "patrician." Harry Truman, "dapper," "irascible" and "plain-speaking." LBJ was boorish, manipulative, and profane. JFK, charismatic and urbane. Jimmy Carter, naïve and soft-headed. Bill Clinton, charming and incontinent. Richard Nixon, uncouth, introverted, dishonest, forever "tricky Dick." What words should stick to president Barack Obama after seeing him in action for over three years? How about "incompetent," "irresponsible," and "historically illiterate"? Self-absorbed and smug? Divisive and deceptive? Weak-kneed dissembler and imposter? These words cling to Obama, with the same persistence he claimed Pennsylvania working class folks "cling to guns and religion...and antipathy towards others not like them," displaying an astonishing departure from words we were promised -- hope, healing, and prosperity. But, consistent with an irresistible narrative, "likeable" is the latest sticking point cited by Obama's fawners, flatterers,.... (Read Full Article)