Obama Admits 'Tactical' Mistakes

Barack Obama is proud of his many legislative accomplishments, but lately he’s been dwelling on the mistakes of his first two years, and spending “a lot of time talking about Obama 2.0,” one aide tells the New York Times in a sweeping profile today. Obama tells reporter Peter Baker that he’s learned “tactical lessons,” saying he didn’t spend enough time thinking about politics, and let himself be portrayed as “the same old tax-and-spend liberal.”

“There is probably a perverse pride in my administration—and I take responsibility for this—that we were going to do the right thing, even if short-term it was unpopular,” he says. But he’s learned that “you can’t be neglecting of marketing and PR.” Obama’s staff, meanwhile, is downright “shellshocked,” according to Baker—far from their initial euphoria, they admit their boss can’t be the next Lincoln after all, and “in their darkest moments … wonder aloud if it is even possible for a modern president to succeed.” (More Barack Obama stories.)