More than a bad day: Worries grow that Barack Obama & Co. have a competence problem

When a totally reliable liberal rag like the NYDN starts to question the competence of an uberlefty like Obama, you know there's a problem.

Not long ago, after a string of especially bad days for the Obama administration, a veteran Democratic pol approached me with a pained look on his face and asked, "Do you think they know what they're doing?"

The question caught me off guard because the man is a well-known Obama supporter. As we talked, I quickly realized his asking suggested his own considerable doubts.

Yes, it's early, but an eerily familiar feeling is spreading across party lines and seeping into the national conversation. It's a nagging doubt about the competency of the White House.