It's a remarkable fact that President Obama rarely seems angry. In fact, the only time I can remember him blaming political opponents was when he was joking--and even then, it wasn't personal. Instead, he merely describes his difficulties as taking office in difficult circumstances, or having to get to work digging ourselves out of a hole. No accusatory tone, no name-calling, no finger-pointing, nothing but a focus on the future.
Given the circumstances he faces, that's amazing. The Republican Senate minority leader, for instance, has said:
"The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."
And does that out-rank doing what's good for the country? Apparently so. For the past two years, and presumably for the next two, the minority leader has flouted senatorial procedure to intentionally slow the legislative branch to a crawl, has collaborated in holding up government appointments and in general acted in bad faith.
If President Obama's disciplined calm weren't genuine, though, he'd occasionally crack, as his opponents got under his skin. But no....
Nor do I expect him to tout his reserve. That, too, would go against character.
But surely a pundit or vocal voter will eventually notice, that at least at the White House, the tone in Washington has indeed changed.
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