Reid Cherlin: “Beltway wags have long wondered how it is that Obama, such a gifted communicator, can’t manage to tell the story of his own accomplishments. As an insider, that criticism always annoyed me, because it conveniently ignores the realities of how things have changed. As an outsider now, I see the point. If someone this talented and this appealing can’t succeed in forging consensus – or even settle on a consistent narrative about what he’s done – then what hope is there for the next president? We suddenly find ourselves living in a post-narrative world, and our politics, somehow, are going to have to adapt.”

