ABC's Matthew Dowd said President Obama is facing a 'diminished presidency' following a rough 2013 Tuesday prior to the State of the Union.
Dowd contrasted the excited, hopeful atmosphere in 2009 with the struggles today's White House is experiencing:
DIANE SAWYER: What about Matt Dowd, our political adviser, both sides of the aisle. Do people just watch this to find out how much vital energy he has? How much confidence he has?
MATT DOWD: I'm struck by that. And this is actually the incredible shrinking presidency. If you reflect on where this started five years ago, I'm reminded of Pete Seeger, the folk singer that just passed away. His song, 'To Everything There Is a Season.' And we've gone from a time to dance, at his inauguration five years ago, to many people, a time to mourn. That's the arc of energy in this presidency. From what he's proposing or what people are talking about he's proposing with executive action, and the big stuff he did before, it's a much diminished presidency.
