Flying under the radar. Maintaining plausible deniability. Leading from behind. Voting present. All these phrases have come to symbolize President Barack Obama's political career and now his presidency. He lectures others on how to live, work and vote but takes no real action himself that might be used against him in future campaigns. While many on the ideological right have called him out on this strategy for years, it is only recently that voices from the left have joined the chorus demanding actual leadership from this president.

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MSNBC's Chris Matthews, previously one of Mr. Obama's strongest media supporters, recently lamented that the president "was being coy, cute, too clever by half" with regard to his handling of the debt crisis. Regarding the president's comments days after the S&P downgrade, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank wrote, "The most powerful man in the world seems strangely powerless, and irresolute, as larger forces bring down the country and his presidency." Specifically on Mr. Obama's statement that "There will always be economic factors that we can’t control," Mr. Milbank rejoined that "it would be nice if the president gave it a try."

With this eroding confidence in his job performance even from the left, President Obama might be close to a level of failure at which he has nothing left to lose. It's one thing to protect a strong and healthy brand by playing it safe to avoid risking that reputation. But once the brand has been exposed as nothing more than a slick marketing campaign for a disastrous product, it's time to either take decisive action to improve it or take it off the shelves.

In that sad little speech after the downgrade, President Obama announced that he intends to present his own recommendations for deficit reduction "over the coming weeks" but don't expect him to actually put himself on the line by offering a specific plan. His record shows he will most likely do nothing of consequence and then find a way to blame someone else for his failure to lead.