John — Since we’re throwing out predictions about future chatter, here’s one I think is coming down the pike. If Obama continues to sink, the “America is ungovernable” talk is going to return on steroids. After all, Obama’s a super-genius and the Democrats had control of everything, so clearly the system is broken and the presidency is too weak institutionally (or some such). Of course, Tom Friedman has been way ahead of the curve on this argument. His column yesterday was yet another embarrassing cry for help. And other progressives have previewed slices of this argument with their jihad against the filibuster.

Soon, all of these Jimmy Carter comparisons will intensify (again if Obama continues to slump. I’m not sure he will if we really have a V-shaped recovery). Recall that Carter had allegedly proved that the presidency was “too big a job for one man.”

Of course, Reagan famously quashed that sentiment for a while. And that’s a problem for the “ungovernable” school. So here’s my additional prediction: Liberals will blame the new media climate. Reagan didn’t have to deal with a 24-hour “soundbite culture.” Obama does, and that soundbite culture is keeping America from fixing it’s problems. This, in turn, will rapdily become a simplistic “Fox News is evil” mantra.

Indeed, if you listen, Obama has been laying the groundwork for that argument quite a lot lately.