Thanks! There are a few around here that constantly doubt my basic intelligence because of my screen name. So, I'm way too touchy about it. I'm sorry and appreciate the kind words.
Best part is...if my optimism don't work out on this...there will be something new to be optimistic about tomorrow.
Having said that, you're on to something regarding the President behaving different. However, I identify the cause as something else. I think his behavior has been very typical of second term Presidents when they suddenly realize that winning does not give them momentum, but rather stalls it. Perhaps it's exhaustion from the campaign, or exasperation at having to fight the same battles over and over, or disappointment that a win in Presidential politics rarely comes with any sort of mandate, or that Americans tend to look at all politicians cynically...but whatever it is, I don't think it's new, becuase I've seen it before.
President Reagan was roundly criticized by the right (and of course left) during the first half of his second term for being too soft on the Soviets, being distracted, not battling his political opponents hard enough when they came after him. They consistently opined that they wanted the "Reagan of the First Term" back again and wondered what had happened to him.
In the end, history has absolved President Reagan of most of what his critics flailed him with at the time...while also making clear failures that we often forget and certainly did not identify at the time—namely tepid SCOTUS picks and ME capitulation. I believe that President Bush will be viewed in a similar light twenty or thirty years from now. Beloved personally, a successful ME policy in Iraq...and mistakes relating to things we can not anticipate right now.
As another Freeper call this "President Bush's Don Regan episode." I think that sums it up rather nicely.