BO, we hardly knew ye

MANIFESTO

Not real good news for the erstwhile junior senator from Illinois:

Public confidence in President Obama's leadership has declined sharply over the summer, amid intensifying opposition to health-care reform that threatens to undercut his attempt to enact major changes to the system, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Among all Americans, 49 percent now express confidence that Obama will make the right decisions for the country, down from 60 percent at the 100-day mark in his presidency. Forty-nine percent now say they think he will be able to spearhead significant improvements in the system, down nearly 20 percentage points from before he took office.

[A major factor in President Obama’s slide in today’s Washington Post/ABC News poll ... is his surprisingly sharp drops among Democrats and even liberals.]

Paul Krugman coincidentally prepared us for the numbers this morning.

UPDATE — Salon.com is all over this story, including an overview by editor-in-chief Joan Walsh.

UPDATE II — Here's another sidebar to Obama supporters' nervousness regarding their president.