Montreal Gazette - Becoming a bully-in-chief; What he needs to do is instill a healthy dose of fear in his allies and opponents

(Gil Troy teaches history at McGill University)

"The downgrading of America's credit rating just days after the debt-ceiling fight ended - followed by wild stock market gyrations - risks branding Barack Obama's presidency as a historic failure. The S & P analysts made it clear that they were passing political judgment on the United States, not just making an economic assessment. While Republicans clearly share the blame for U.S. political gridlock, Obama shoulders most of the burden as the person in charge…"