"It's clear to us we're going to have to go to the mat for those people -- as we have been doing -- by ourselves and not necessarily with the support of the administration," he said, referring to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security recipients.
A Bad Taste
Senator Frank Lautenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey, said Obama "tried his best to make sure we didn't default, but that doesn't mean the medicine isn't so strong that it just tastes awful."
Obama's 2008 campaign was fueled by his promise for dramatic change in Washington, as well as the sense of history associated with the possibility of electing the nation's first black president. Even without disappointing his most ardent supporters, recreating that energy -- to mobilize volunteers and push voters to the polls -- was going to be a challenge for the incumbent.
"After two and half years of the presidency, the glow that many of them felt the night of the Iowa caucuses or the night of his general election has certainly faded," said Tad Devine, a Democratic strategist who advised Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts in the 2004 presidential.
Doug Schoen, a former strategist for President Bill Clinton, said Obama is losing the confidence of supporters because he isn't governing with a clear philosophy.
Politics and Principles
"It's less about losing a loving feeling than seeing a person who is veering from issue to issue, cause to cause, more out of politics than on principle," he said.
Still, Devine said energy behind Obama in 2012 will depend some on who the Republicans nominate.
"If we have a Tea Party nominee for the Republican ticket, I think we'll have a lot of enthusiasm for Obama," he said.