By Andrew L. Jaffee

President Obama and his policies are in trouble, no doubt. It is interesting to note how several mainstream media outlets basically admit his ship is sinking, yet try to throw a positive spin on their “news.” The BBC enumerates six high profile resignations from the Obama team, asks, “So is this a case of rats fleeing a sinking ship?,” but spins, “Most presidential watchers say no. ” TIME Magazine asks, “Obama Is in the Jaws of Political Death: Can He Survive?,” but spins, “The politically good news for Obama is that no matter what the outcome of the midterm elections, everything changes in January.” TIME does correctly point out, “Republicans will have a greater obligation, politically and morally, to help govern, rather than thwart and badger” — i.e., “put up or shut up” and “we’d all like to see the plan.” But let’s see what these two mammoths of mass media concede about Obama’s performance.

The Beeb:

… These White House exits come at a time when Mr Obama is struggling to lift his approval ratings out of the doldrums.

The economic recovery is anywhere from slow to stagnant, depending on which economist is opining. The number of unemployed Americans continues to rise. …

TIME Mag:

… With the exception of core Obama Administration loyalists, most politically engaged elites have reached the same conclusions: the White House is in over its head, isolated, insular, arrogant and clueless about how to get along with or persuade members of Congress, the media, the business community or working-class voters. This view is held by Fox News pundits, executives and anchors at the major old-media outlets, reporters who cover the White House, Democratic and Republican congressional leaders and governors, many Democratic business people and lawyers who raised big money for Obama in 2008, and even some members of the Administration just beyond the inner circle. …

Moreover, there is a growing perception that Obama’s decisions are causing harm — that businesses are being hurt by the Administration’s legislation and that economic recovery is stalling because of the uncertainty surrounding energy policy, health care, deficits, housing, immigration and spending. …

But Obama has exacerbated his political problems not just by failing to enact policies that would have actually turned the economy around, but also by authorizing a series of tactical moves intended to demonize Republicans and distract from the problems at hand. He has wasted time lambasting his foes when he should have been putting forth his agenda in a clear, optimistic fashion, defending the benefits of his key decisions during the past two years (health care and the Troubled Asset Relief Program, for example) and explaining what he would do with a re-elected Democratic majority to spur growth. …