John: The President’s record is not the issue. The issue is: Can he win

the coming general election against a smooth-talking, well-prepared

candidate backed by the full weight of the broadsheet press, network TV,

Hollywood, the universities, etc., etc?

Watching the Democratic candidates this past few weeks, I’ve been

complacently assuming that he can, quite easily. I feel less sure about

that after the Russert interview, and a lot of people are of the same mind.

THAT is the issue.

The President really needs to work on presentation. If he doesn’t, he

could lose in November. Look at the polls — it’s a close race. Everything

counts, everything matters. The record? Certainly. But also

presentation.