Mr. President. When you're in a hole. Stop digging!

The biggest problem with this president and the presidency is not just the jobs numbers as the pundits will like to make you believe. It is the increasing perception by the coalition thatelected him, that the president is in bed with the same group that screwed the country up. Both on the left, and the right, people believe the administration can not be trusted to truly bring the change it promised. And the president is humoring these belief with his actions.

While many on the left, right and center applauded the president's choice of Hillary Clinton, his near mortal challenger in the Democratic primaries, as secretary of state, most were appalled by his choices of personnel for almost all important political office in the land - most were former Clinton aids. It was like Obama decided to give the electorate what it has rejected at the polls - another Clinton Presidency. The President's choice of Rahm Emmanuel, a former Clinton White House aid, Leon Penatta, even Tom Daschle all pointed to a President that would be tied to the Clinton apron string. In time, the Clinton influence on his presidency would only grow with the appoint of Gaitner, Summers, Rommers and a legion of other Clintonistas. And so the recovery started as a well orchestrated Clinton White House hold overs. The new President called it pragmatism, but what was happening was an erosion of trust by his supporters and fueling of the opposition as his image as a change agent began to take a beating - albeit unfairly.

In less than two years, Barack Obama has seen his image as a national healer taken a beating, mostly as a result of conciliations to his opponents,  both close and far. To appease the Clintonistas, Obama ignored his own better angels and selected lots of Clinton passies. To appease the right, he retained Bob Gates and made several concessions in his signature legislations from the stimulus plan to health care to the financial regulations. In the process, he continues to draw fire from all sides, but more importantly ensured that any meaningful impact of his ideas will be mooted because of the excessive compromises. In time, as his image of  strong and great leader weakened, he began to attract attacks from even more quarters. Joe Wilson called the President a liar, on the congress floor - there was no repercussion. Ad soon, everyone from left to right started calling the President a liar. The word is out that this President will hold no one accountable. The man is too good to exact a reward for bad manners, and so every ant will call him name, and is image will continue to falter - even amongst crazy despots in Afghanistan and Iran.

But that is not just all. Recent news have it that the President is now courting  former President  Clinton to help with the economy. He had to appoint former Clinton Budget Director to come back to help fix his budget - Why does this president continue to believe the solutions of tomorrow can be found in the policies of yesterday? Why is he convinced that the genius of the Clintonistas is what made the boom of the 1990s possible? Why is he falling into the same age old and worn argument that only men make events and not the other way round. The Clintonistas have not helped this president, and the evidence are obvious.  Almost every Clinton hold over in the administration have some deep ties or others to special interests including lobbyists. The impact of crowding his White House with so many of them is that the President exposed himself to claims of hypocrisy, even when it cannot be argued that his White House is the most transparent in history. Tim Gaitner, Tom Daschle, Larry Summers all took unnecessary political capitals away from the President as their Tax foibles or past associations became associated-evils with direct impact on the nature of the President's men. Somewhere in the White House, the President's political operation could not manage a senate succession process without dragging the President's name through the gutter of Blago-Mess. And in time, it became apparent that the Blagoyevich scandal will not be the last one of the President's men political flat-footedness - Sestak-gate continues to give Democrats heart burns while Bennet-gate is already creating some ripples. And the Clintonistas have a hand in all if not all of these mess. After-all one of them is the President's chief of staff!

Ok, the President can not run away from the Clintons. But he can at least start appointing new hands instead recycling old Clinton appointees and aids to every opening in Washington. Sometimes, the President should realize, experience could be a very bad thing - even when that experience included changing a budget deficit as far as the eyes can see into a budget surplus as far as the eyes can see. Context matters!

No one, not any of the Clintonistas, or any one else in this country, have experience, any experience dealing with this issues at hand. Because at no other time has the nation been buffeted with two distinct Wars of choice (Afghanistan and Iraq - even though Bush tried to make them one - War on terror!) and an economic calamity of global proportion and an unparalleled debt and budget deficit, at a time when no new American invention seems to be on the horizon to change the world! The crises facing this nation are not limited to just the obvious (Wars, economic meltdown - and joblessness, immigration imbroglio, and a massive oil spill), but they also include the less discussed (lack of competitiveness of American labor, the Chinese ascension -and yes, it is not a zero sum game). So why turn to the Clinton? Because they have experience? Why not find the best minds out there, but who may never have been in government and try something new! Yes, they accuse the President of being radical (at least the right does), why not try something radical like appointing Paul Krugman as the Budget Director (Why Krugman? I don't know, just not Clinton's last Budget Director). But the President, in an effort to appease and in his show of confidence in the Clintonistas picked Jaco Lew to replace Peter Orzag a former CBO Director.

Truly, the challenges Mr. Obama faces as President continue to mount, made no less worse than by the vicious vitriols by embolden clowns from the right; but the President needs to consider that surrounding himself with has-beens does not necessarily spell boldness or portent any serious hope or change. The nation is wary of old wine in new bottle. Its time to stop digging and start looking at new hands, fresh bloods and creative ideas.