>On a completely personal level, there's much about Obama that I admire. There have been a few select speeches where he has (rightly) blasted the behavior of irresponsible young men. But I would not underestimate his lack of anticipation in ANY significant political area.
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>When Obama was in Illinois, he had a HUGE reputation for passing the buck. If something in Washington wasn't to his liking, he didn't try to introduce legislation, he didn't take the initiative that others have....he wrote letters. This became somewhat of a joke in Washington. He may be the biggest intellectual arm-chair president we've had in a long time.

He's a politician. I don't say that as a putdown, but as reality. Politics is brutal. Not just in the U.S., and not just in recent U.S. history. I do not know of a single politician who didn't pass the buck, vote for a bill they didn't like, not vote for a bill to avoid controversy, etc.

Did Obama do that more than most? Maybe, but like any competition, you play to win. And politics is a game with few rules and very high stakes.