Another reason why Obama is rapidly taking Carter's place as worst president in recent memory and with the possible exception of James Buchanan, EVER, is because the crisis we now face is largely of his own making as well as that of his party.
Admit it, kids--we haven't had a major incident on our soil, there hasn't been a significant overseas political crisis on par with the Iranian hostage crisis, etc., yet the Obama administration still is powerless to deal with even relatively minor issues, instead overblowing them to make them seem worse than they are, or in the case of Afghanistan, ignoring them. Unemployment is high, to be sure, but we do not have the rampant inflation of the late 1970's/early 80's (at least not yet--but it's coming.) However, that is due to many of Obama's policies and expiration of the tax cuts which is just around the corner.
Bottom line, rhetoric met reality, and Obama can't bring himself to come to grips with the fact that his policies are in fact NOT popular with most Americans.