It has been fascinating to witness the protean Barack Obama these past two plus years.  He came to national prominence with an indisputable record of liberalism; campaigned for president as an agent of collaboration, pragmatism, and change; "governed" initially as a partisan ideologue; and now, is morphing, possibly out of panic, into a political opportunist.

Quite a journey in such a short period of time.  But, really not so surprising when his lack of real world decision-making experience is considered.  As President Obama and the country are learning, accountability changes a lot.  It's one thing to throw grand ideas against the wall and cleverly adjust the specifics depending on audience, but it's another thing entirely to be held responsible for results, not to mention every utterance.  It's also considerably more challenging when the media isn't as much of a fawning enabler.

Like many golfers, Obama was a world beater in the safe confines of the practice range (i.e. the campaign), but he has shown to be all too human on the harsh and unforgiving course that is Washington politics.  No wonder he's attempting to stay in campaign mode as much as possible.

I'm a firm believer that nobody can be truly ready for the immense pressure, scope, and challenge of the presidency.  However, the learning curve can be scaled more rapidly if one enters the playing field with the scars associated with real management responsibility.  Alternatively, it is possible for the experience vacuum to  be filled by close advisers.

Unfortunately, Obama and his inner circle are lacking on both counts; they are collectively and conspicuously bereft of any meaningful executive experience.  And, compounding the problem, those who might typically be expected to offer balance or counter arguments, were for a time, I believe, rendered mute by Obama's bizarre, media-perpetuated aura of infallibility.  Fortunately, that bubble has burst.  The manifestation of all this has been undisciplined, meandering, and muddled messaging—punctuated by thin-skinned, often panicked responses to criticism.

It explains why one day the economy is a catastrophe and the next it's on the road to recovery.  It elucidates why the President extraordinarily and unusually recommends buying stocks in the midst of a market meltdown.  It helps to illuminate why he pledges to get rid of earmarks, then signs a bill loaded with them, only to subsequently decry and defend them at the same time.  It makes clearer why he and his team make direct ad hominem attacks on private citizens/media members who dare to question his policies.  It clarifies why two days after excoriating President Bush for his use of signing statements, President Obama does the exact same thing.  It informs us as to how overconfidence led him to misinterpret his mandate and propose a radical expansion of government.  These are but a handful of many such examples.

So, as we witness President Obama's maturation and flirtation with political opportunism, perhaps we can take solace in the fact that he's in strong company when it comes to setting aside ideals in favor of political expediency.  It was Thomas Jefferson, who in one of the most dramatic turnabouts in presidential history, eschewed long-held beliefs regarding keeping federal power in check and protecting states rights by completing the Louisiana Purchase via executive order (due to perceived time constraints), rather than a constitutional amendment, which he believed was the proper course of action.

Let's hope Obama doesn't expand government the way Jefferson expanded U.S. territory.