President Obama, who once seemed fortune’s child, is now the least lucky of men. Two years ago, he and his goals seemed as one with the trends of the era. He was a man of destiny, if he said so himself, and when he didn’t, Newsweek and Time said it for him. He was FDR redux, the liberal Reagan, who would change the direction of government. Triangulation — and fear — would no longer be needed. The era of big government being over itself would be over. Unlike President Clinton, he would dare to dream big.

But after only five months in office, something began to go wrong. Voters rebelled against spending and health care; Greece and other countries began to go bankrupt; and numerous states in this country faced the same problem, done in by extravagant benefits to government workers and other forms of domestic largesse.