Obama's bungling of Shirley Sherrod issue overshadows administration's legislative accomplishments

WASHINGTON - The day after skidding to his worst approval rating, President Obama and his team came across as rattled and defensive - traits Americans don't like in their leaders.
The administration's stumble-bungling in the Shirley Sherrod melodrama is an epic case of lousy damage control - and that's putting it mildly.
By sacking Sherrod on the strength of a doctored video posted by a blogger on the Obama-bashing right, the White House seemed afraid of offending conservative media critics - and white voters who helped elect an African-American President.
"They're so panicky about looking anti-white that they overreact and do things so they can't be accused of being pro-black," a prominent Democratic official complained to the Daily News. "It was very sloppy execution."
By contrast, it's difficult to imagine Bill or Hillary Clinton, who as First Lady hammered the "vast right-wing conspiracy," so easily caving to the conservative attack machine that skewed the "evidence" against Sherrod.
Compounding the misery, the Sherrod mess stepped all over the President's marquee achievement of the week - the landmark financial regulation reform bill.
His carefully orchestrated bill-signing ceremony was swallowed whole by the media's fixation with Sherrod.
The flap capped the second straight off-message week for Obama. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was incensed when press secretary Robert Gibbs said Democrats might lose the House in November.
The White House was forced to sue for peace. Obama pledged to raise more money for the Democratic campaign committee, but the incident underscored lingering tensions between the White House and congressional allies.
The irony is that while Obama's job rating dropped to 44% in a Quinnipiac poll, his legislative accomplishments continue to pile up.
The anemic numbers fuel reservations about his leadership style and difficulty communicating his message more crisply.
That doesn't mean he's doomed, much less a goner for reelection a political lifetime away in 2012. Defenders say it's simply the summer doldrums, which will dissipate as the economy continues a slow recovery.
Still, with only months until the midterm elections, more bad news is certain to raise jitters among party leaders.
"Ronald Reagan did a lot of bad things, but people trusted him and thought he was strong," a Democratic veteran fretted. "Obama is doing a lot of great things, but unfortunately, a lot of people don't seem to trust him and think he's weak."