The most valuable tool in a president's political arsenal is slipping away from Barack Obama. Once people believe a leader is a liar, it is very hard for that person to be effective in his role. The credibility crisis that is starting to engulf Barack Obama has many roots. Certainly, his many broken political promises (no higher taxes on anyone who earns under 200k, for instance) are working against him. But politicians routinely break promises. Nothing that new, although George H.W. Bush's experience with "read my lips: no new taxes" bodes ill for Obama 2012.Far more serious is the growing perception that Obama is, in the favorite word of Holden Caufield, a "phony" -- someone who makes stuff up in order to fool people about who he really is."A sports fan can spot a phony far more quickly than most people," writes Richard Baehr, AT's chief political correspondent. Baehr continues:Another example of phony: Obama shooting hoops with the CBS announcer...(Read Full Post)