FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
While the U.S. may avert a debt ceiling crisis - and that's still very much an open question - the president might not be so lucky when it comes to a political crisis of his own making.
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Critics on the left and the right are slamming President Obama for how he has handled the debt ceiling crisis.
An article in the Daily Beast called "Obama Gives it All Away" suggests this is the lowest moment of Mr. Obama's presidency. It claims he's "ushering in a Conservative era" by simply handing over the keys to the Republicans.
The debt deal has also complicated the president's liberal support - you know, the people he'll be relying on to vote for him next year. Many in his own base believe President Obama has given up on one issue after another and ditched his supposed priorities.
As one Democratic Senator tells Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, "We are watching Obama turn into Jimmy Carter right before our eyes." Doesn't get much tougher than that.
Singer and activist harry belafonte says that President Obama and his mission have "failed" because he lacked "a certain kind of moral courage."
And in the Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan writes that President Obama is "A loser. and this is America, where nobody loves a loser." She's right. She points out that even at their lowest points - Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush had supporters who still "loved them," but not so for Mr. Obama.
It's no surprise that President Obama's poll numbers are headed down; and according to a new Gallup daily tracking poll, he's hit an all-time low approval rating of 40%.
Here’s my question to you: How has the debt ceiling crisis altered your perception of President Obama?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
M.:
The mismanagement of the debt ceiling crisis has left me with absolutely zero confidence in Mr. Obama. This is not the change that I believed in or voted for. I feel that my vote was swindled from me in return for false promises and a leader with no backbone.
Dave in Phoenix, Arizona:
This man stood there and promised us big things, yet he seems to disappear when things are most important. I wish we had better leadership, but we are stuck with him for five more years. I don't believe Republicans will ever win another White House after what they have done this year.
Donna:
It hasn't altered my perception of him, Jack. He's still the same level-headed man that people voted for back in 2008. I think people are forgetting that never has a president been faced with so many challenges.
Jeff in Hawaii:
Jack, I voted for President Obama. I won't be voting for him again. He's sold out the American middle class to big business and the wealthy. He's shown why so many of us Democrats are looking for a leader with a backbone.
Rachelle:
I cannot even express my disappointment in the president and the Democrats. The nerve of them trying to get us to swallow this lousy pot of tea. What a bunch of wimps – they folded like a rusty lawn chair. They let a bunch of Tea Party freshmen dictate the whole agreement. It's a sad day for the middle class. I will miss us when we are gone.
Calvin:
My perception of President Obama hasn't changed. He cut the best deal he could. If the country defaulted he gets blamed. He was the adult in the room. That either party was willing to go over a cliff is scary.
Sean in Michigan:
Not really, he's always reminded me of Jimmy Carter.