It's All Politics 12:57 pm Tue March 12, 2013  Why Obama (And
Any President) Fails To Meet Expectations  As with other recent
presidents, Barack Obama is disliked and distrusted by roughly
half the public. But some of his perceived failings may be the
result of an inflated expectations game that all modern
presidents must play. Credit Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images
Originally published on Tue March 12, 2013 3:06 pm  Whether
President Obama attacks members of Congress, takes them out to
dinner or pays them visits on Capitol Hill, he needs their
support in order to achieve major parts of his agenda.  That
presidents are at the mercy of Congress when it comes to budgets
and legislation is an obvious point, and one deeply embedded in
the U.S. constitutional system.  But it's a truism that often
gets overlooked in the rush to assume that what a president
wants, a president can get.  "We are taught that presidents are
the center of government, and great presidents can make things
happen," says Matthew Eshbaugh-Soh