Like Megan McArdle, the author of this article on Bloomberg, I was taken aback by Obama's remarks after the midterm elections. They were defiant on the one hand and oddly ignorant on the other. His policies and his party had been soundly rejected and he was essentially telling the GOP to stick it.
As Ms. McArdle put it - "Most notably, of course, he said he would take executive action on immigration by year's end unless Republicans passed a bill. It’s certainly a bold negotiating tactic: You can do what I want, or I’ll go ahead and do what I want anyway. This is how you “negotiate” with a seven-year old, not a Senate Majority Leader."
Does Obama Even Know How to Negotiate? - Bloomberg View
It's a good article and a quick read, but it leaves me thinking the next couple of years are going to be very difficult. Obama desperately needs a Leon Panetta-type chief of staff to break through his insularity.