This in and of itself, is a very offensive and patently ELITIST way of writing.
How dare they?
The AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE "ABOVE". The Government is the Servant of the People.
This also infers that those with scholarly, academic, intelligent backgrounds are necessarily and exclusively liberal and don't think Obama has done ENOUGH to advance socialism. Little do they realize those, millions in fact, with great insight and intellect REJECT Obama outright, have always and do so even more these days. Idiots!
You wrote:
“From above, by elite opinion about his competence. From below, by mass anger and anxiety over unemployment”
This in and of itself, is a very offensive and patently ELITIST way of writing.
I say:
I noticed the same thing. Apparently only the elites are fit to judge Obama’s competence according to the elitists at Time magazine.
Still, all in all, this is a remarkable anti-Obama piece in a propaganda rag that has shilled for Obama 100% of the time for Obama during the last 2 and 1/2 years.