Edward Luce in the Financial Times:

American presidents with the greatest record of bipartisan legislative achievement, notably Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan, got their way by intimidating opponents, not by splitting the difference. As Machiavelli famously observed, it is better for a prince to be feared than loved. For all his intelligence, nobody fears Mr Obama.

During his campaign, Mr Obama electrified Americans by promising bold action to suit turbulent times. “Did John Kennedy look at the moon and say: ‘That looks kind of far away. Let’s be realistic’?” Mr Obama said on the hustings.

As president, Mr Obama has argued that joblessness and idle capacity are a blight on America’s future. But he has not yet found the ideas, or the political will, to propose any remedies. It is as though he is prescribing aspirin having diagnosed cancer.

Where is the evidence of intelligence in Mr. Obama, Mr. Luce?