Barack Obama: What a difference a year makes

A year ago Democrat President-elect Barack Obama was riding a wave of popularity in the United States and abroad. A month later his policies began sparking nationwide protests that continue to this day.

A year later his approval ratings are in the tank as are those of his Democrat-controlled Congress. He has been at the helm of unpopular legislation jammed down the throats of an unwilling American public ... he and his Democrat colleagues have turned deaf ears to protests from millions of conservatives who have called, written, visited electeds' offices, and taken to the streets in protests like I have never seen in my lifetime.

Over a million conservatives marched on Washington, DC, on 9/12/09 to protest bailouts, stimulus bills, cap-and-trade, nationalized health care ... even more are concerned about the proposed closing of Guantanamo Bay and trials of terrorists being moved to New York City. After his lackluster response to the Christmas Day terrorist, many feel Obama is not serious about preventing terrorist attacks in this country.

Today's Washington Examiner editorial sums up the unease of the American people and demonstrates how far Obama has fallen in the past twelve months:

But it's not just Obama who has generated a massive shift, particularly among independents, against what the Pew Research Center's Andrew Kohut calls "activist government." Only a fourth of all Americans approve of the direction Obama and Congress are taking the country, according to a Gallup survey. A similarly dismal proportion approve of the job being done by Congress under the leadership of Reid and Pelosi. Nearly three-fourths of those surveyed prefer that Congress do nothing to reform health care rather than take final action on either the Senate or House versions of Obamacare. And 79 percent of Americans view government corruption as the most important issue facing the country. That can't be encouraging to a president who learned his politics the "Chicago Way."

Will Democrats continue to march over the will of the American people as they have the past year? Will Americans continue their response by protesting in the large numbers we have seen? Will they respond by rolling up their sleeves at the local level and making a change there?

Time will tell ... but as many have noted, Barack Obama is the best "community organizer" they have ever seen. He is moving America Right.