Exactly. I think he learned his lesson over the last several months letting the Dems badmouth him and Iraq without the WH responding. When he finally did over the last couple of weeks his ratings went back up. No more sitting back and taking it!
Hopefully, it's the end to his "new tone in Washington." I like his current tone a lot better, and according to the polls, so do many other people.
It is a no win situation for the President.
If he lets the Democrats constantly attack him without defending himself, many people assume the allegations are true.
If he is constantly returning fire then people complain about the constant bickering and divisiveness.
By responding he is somehow dignifying their remarks, lowering himself to their level.
The ideal situation would be for the President to stay above the fray and let other people do the rebuttals.
And we know that's not going to happen.
So for now we have the President fighting singlehandedly against the terrorists, the lords in the senate, the entrenched bureaucrats in government agencies, the world of academia and the major media.
It seems that the pillars of society are against "W".