And the Problem Is

News Flash: Biden Gives Obama’s Stimulus Package High Marks
Paragraph 1  The massive economic stimulus package President Obama pushed through Congress last year is coming in on time and under budget - and with strikingly few claims of fraud or abuse - according to a White House report to be released Friday.

Paragraph 7  The report, a copy of which was provided to The Washington Post, is one in a series of assessments prepared by Vice President Biden, who was charged with overseeing implementation of the stimulus money, the largest effort in U.S. history to counteract the effects of a recession. (Washington Post, 10/1/10)

The sitting Vice President releases a report that concludes that a controversial domestic policy program of the sitting President was a huge success. And the problem is?

Image and Imagination
Why the shift? Partly it's a tribute to Obama's successful effort to change America's image: It's just easier to think of the United States regaining a leadership role today than it was at the end of Bush's presidency. Partly, it's a response to global realities. Iran has proved resistant to engagement; China has proved to be less the "responsible stakeholder" and more the typical, muscle-flexing rising military power; and even Obama officials sense the "reset" with Russia reached its high point with the START treaty and the last round of Iran sanctions and is headed downhill. And partly it's that the United States is not a nation of "realists," and deep convictions about the superiority of democracy over other forms of government almost always shape its foreign policy. (Robert Kagan, Washington Post, 10/1/10)

So let’s review. Obama has successfully changed America’s image. Meanwhile, Iran is resistant, China is irresponsible, relations with Russia are off their highs and Iran is headed down. And the problem is?

Coming Apart at Every Nail
The Democratic Party right now is showing signs of coming apart under the pressure of the election and two years of an unpopular presidency. But it's not a split in two, with the left versus the establishment. It's more like a splintering, with left-leaning activists distancing themselves from the party's politicians, and moderate politicians distancing themselves from Mr. Obama. (Peggy Noonan, WSJ, 10/1/10)

The best three sentence summation of the current state of the Democrat Party.