Democrats had their third Jacksonian moment of the Great War on Terror at 11:30 p.m., May 1, 2011, when President Obama went on national television to tell us all that under his instructions Navy SEALs had invaded a mansion in Pakistan and dispatched the author of the Sept. 11 attacks to a permanent hangout in hell. It was a rare kick-ass moment for the academic-in-chief, who was not used to having flag-wavers pump fists and shout “USA!” over his doings, or getting the warm praise of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney.

In the 2008 primaries, he lost Jacksonian voters to Hillary Clinton, and was losing them to Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain in the general, until the financial implosion swamped everything. Does he have a chance now to win some of their hearts?