Debt Ceiling Is Obama's Latest “Waterloo”

Writing in the Washington Times this morning, columnist Jeffrey Kuhner looks at President Obama's position on the debt ceiling and declares “it will be his Waterloo -- the effective end of his presidency.” According to Kuhner, Obama, exactly like Napoleon before him, “wanted too much, too soon. Now comes the long, humiliating and fatal retreat.”

With that proclamation, the debt ceiling has joined an ever-expanding club of divisive political issues that have earned the distinction of being labeled Obama's “Waterloo” by the media. The past “Waterloos” for Obama include, but are not limited to:

Health care reform: “Repeal is not impossible. It may even be Obama's Waterloo.”

The BP oil spill: “Forget Katrina: Is BP Obama's Waterloo?”

The economy: “A little more than six months before the 2012 election year begins, the economy looms as Obama's potential Waterloo.”

Afghanistan: “Will Afghanistan Be President Obama's Waterloo?”

GITMO detainee trials: “This could very well be Waterloo for Obama, he has stepped in it with this Khalid Sheik Mohammad matter.”

The November 2009 elections: “This, last night, may well have been Obama's Waterloo.”

And these Waterloos, of course, stand alongside Obama's various Katrinas, Watergates, Iraqs, 9-11s, Iranian hostage crises, Enrons, and My Pet Goat moments.