I do think Obama is panicking and I think that's unprecedented. However, Obama is really trying to sell his plan to America, and that is what a president ought to do.
I think Bush (for whatever reason) decided not to communicate his message directly to the people, and instead relied on Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann to get the word out. Bad move.
It's already been sold to the American people! The phoney-in-chief has already got the votes needed for the "plan" to pass....he's full of crap trying to dupe the American populace into thinking that Pubbies are holding this up! What a sham! And Obama? What a thug!