Forget about his base.  Polls seem to indicate that while many folks want to believe in the President, their conviction is waning.  The mantra of Hope and Change, that inspired millions across the full spectrum of the voting electorate has fallen a bit in less than four years.  People are suspicious.  

The latest decision of the Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act has resulted in a concern, many concerns, of how this will play out.  Seniors are wondering how this affects them. Medicare!  Businesses are wondering how this affects their hiring plans. Costs! Younger voters may be wondering how the ruling will result in a mandatory enrollment plan.  On this, we will see.  Independents are trying to muddle through the morass of regulations within the new law and its consequent rulings.  Questions!

Wondering is not the same as questioning.  Wondering precedes questioning.  Wondering is a state of both uncertainty and unknowing - it is unrest and more.

Wondering is not positive state of mind.  Wondering implies uncertainty.  Wondering is opaque to transparency. Wondering is a strong negative to the hopes of change.  Wondering breeds distrust.

Trust* in the Presidential mission is what the public is seeking.  Obama?  What is the trust factor? Trust in leaders is crucial. Trust in legislation is important.  Trust in the courts has been a staple of our country.  Trust in the future is paramount.  Trust is a strong positive that seems to be missing in the Obama mission and message.

Trust, not wondering, is what most people want, even crave, in their leaders.  How many have this?

*The book Trust: The Social Virtues and The Creation of Prosperity, Free Press, 1995, by Francis Fukuyama, sets forth a theory of national trust based on non-kin relations.  He describes low trust nations such as China and France, and high trust nations such as Japan, Germany, and the United States.  Can it be the United States is gradually migrating to a new status?  After all, it is now seventeen years later, when the USA was at the height of its economic powers.