FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Tonight has the potential to be one of "those" moments for a president - a defining slice in time for Mr. Obama that could determine his relevancy from here on out.
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Nearly 60 days since the worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. history - Pres. Obama will address the American people from the Oval Office for the first time since he was elected.
And the pressure is definitely on. The Gulf Coast oil spill could carry a tremendous political price for Pres. Obama - perhaps putting re-election in 2012 out of his reach.
Lots of people - and we're not just talking Republicans here - are disappointed with the president's response to the oil spill. According to a U.S.A. Today/Gallup poll, seven out of 10 Americans say Mr. Obama has not been tough enough on oil giant BP and a majority rate his response as "poor" or "very poor." An Associated Press poll shows 52 percent disapprove of the way the president is handling the spill.
That means when it comes to tonight's speech - there better be some real meat on that bone and not just more fancy rhetoric delivered with the aid of a teleprompter.
And it's not just about the oil spill. Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post about Pres. Obama's shrinking popularity. The president's 2008 rival, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is now more popular than Pres. Obama by any measure - favorability ratings or job approval.
Of course, Clinton is on much safer ground than the president - as she tends to stick to relatively low-profile issues.
But it's still not a good sign for Pres. Obama when the polarizing former First Lady is beating him in the polls... one more reason why all eyes will be on the president tonight.
Here’s my question to you: If the election were held today, would President Obama win a second term?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
B. in Tennessee writes:
We voted for hope, we voted for change. Now I just hope it will change. We trusted rhetoric during the campaign and gave him a chance, but he seems stuck on rhetoric. I don't want another speech tonight, I want him to call the brightest minds from across the world and solve the problem at hand. I doubt he'd win if the election were today...I certainly know he's lost my vote.
Loman writes:
He has the toughest job of any president in the modern era. He is doing an above average job. I believe he will win again because this tide too will turn. Besides the Republicans do not have a candidate or the policies to win.
Don writes:
I doubt it. President Obama has shown a rather astounding lack of political acuity for a Chicago guy, coupled with an overall knowledge of what it takes to lead a great nation. He's great at teleprompter.
Stephanie writes:
I'm biased because I didn't vote for him in the first place, but it seems to me that when the curtain was finally pulled back on him, the American people discovered he isn't as great and wonderful as so many desperately wanted to believe in 2008. Hope and change are nice, pretty words – but they have no substance.
Gene writes:
Your crystal ball is cracked. Obama is doing a great job under terrible circumstances. He will win in 2012 because he will have been the best president we have had in a long time: intelligent, informed, decisive and – yes- calm. We don't need a raver as president. And we don't need pundits as prophets.
Rick in Cincinnati writes:
He wouldn't be re-elected before this oil spill, Jack. He blew his second term by the way Democrats went about getting this health care bill passed.
Wayne writes:
Yes, if he were running against McCain and Palin. No, if he were running against someone competent.