Nora: I think we’re both doing pretty darn well for a couple of over-70 dames. Oooops! Did I let out a secret?

As for whether Obama has failed, it all depends on your “metric” (not sure if I used that correctly – first and probably last time I’ll ever write it). If failure means the economy is still lousy, then yes. If success means things are much better than they would have been under a Republican, than no (but it is awfully hard to measure). He has failed to nail down a healthcare solution, which is perhaps good news to your brother and bad news to you and me. He has failed to live up to his soaring rhetoric in the campaign, and many liberals are disenchanted. He has had lots of behind-the-scenes successes. He has found and killed Bin Laden – perhaps even Republicans could agree that that is a success.

But if your idea of success is that the rich get way richer and don’t have to worry about ever paying taxes, then he is a giant failure. And if you hate his policies, the thought that he might one day figure out how to wield political power must be terrifying. If you think business should have free reign, without any governmental force regulating it, then Obama is a nightmare. Most of all, if you think the invisible hand of the market provides the solution to all our problems, then Obama has completely failed. How anyone can hold these views is beyond my comprehension, but many do, including some very smart people. I’m still waiting for them to explain their views to me in a way that makes any sense.