EVEN THE DEMS ARE WHISPERING – AT 8:28 A.M. ET:  About President Obama's lack of leadership.  From the first day, Obama never seemed to like the job.  He just wanted to have it.  Good food.  Great concerts at the White House.  Terrific private jet.  But the work load.  Jeez, who needs that?

Now even Democrats are starting to buzz about Mr. Obama's indifference, even on budget matters.  From the Washington Examiner:

With no real compromise in sight on a 2011 budget, lawmakers are growing frustrated with President Obama, saying he failed to take a leadership role to help resolve the months-long fiscal stalemate.

"The president ought to play a much greater role," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., following a closed-door meeting of the Democratic caucus Tuesday that centered on the budget. "I think the president doesn't want to be engaged in this kind of fight, and it's not right. He has to step up."

Involved?  Is that in the Constitution?  Where does it say "involved"?

The Senate was scheduled to hold test votes by early Wednesday on two competing measures that would fund the remaining seven months of the fiscal year, but neither bill was expected to garner the 60 votes needed to pass.

"It's back to the negotiating table," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.

Feinstein isn't the only one complaining:

Feinstein's comments followed a floor speech by freshman Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, in which Manchin questioned the wisdom of holding votes on the two doomed spending proposals and who criticized President Obama's lack of involvement in the budget standoff.

"Why are we doing all this when the most powerful person in these negotiations -- our president -- has failed to lead this debate or offer a serious proposal for spending and cuts that he would be willing to fight for?" asked Manchin, who is up for re-election in 2012 and is considered politically vulnerable.

Remember that two years ago Obama was being presented to the American people as a demigod, who would solve all our problems with a wave of the hand.  Now he won't even wave the hand.  A wink, maybe.  But no hand.

And get this:

Obama last week tapped Vice President Biden to head bipartisan budget talks. Biden showed up in the Senate for an hourlong meeting and then departed for a weeklong overseas trip.

"I don't know of anything that came out of Biden's visit," Feinstein said.

Another frustrated Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, said his party is not even discussing a compromise plan.

"There was no discussion about a path [to compromise] and I'm not sure there is a path," Nelson said.

COMMENT:  The bloom is definitely off Obama's rose.  Add to this his failure to lead during the revolts in the Mideast, his offhand treatment of the Australian prime minister when she visited earlier this week, and we have a picture of a president whose record may have as many blank spots as his life story.

But don't despair, Barack.  Katie Couric will save you in 2012.

March 9, 2011