Obama, the decider

President Obama announces his decision to relieve Gen. Stanley McChrystal of his duties as the head of the war in Afghanistan. AFP/Getty Images
President Obama's decision to relieve Gen. Stanley McChrystal of his oversight of the Afghanistan war Wednesday was painted by his allies -- and many in the media -- as a prime example of strong and decisive leadership.
"He was resolute, " said Democratic strategist Paul Begala on CNN. "He was very serious. He was very professional about it."
Michael Crowley of Time magazine called Obama's decision to fire McChrystal and recruit Gen. David Petraeus to run the Afghanistan war the "firm action of a hands-on executive."
The rave reviews for Obama as leader stand in stark contrast to the findings of an NBC/Wall Street Journal national poll -- released Tuesday night -- that suggest the ongoing oil spill is negatively affecting Obama's image in the eyes of the American people.
According to the poll, 49 percent of respondents said Obama had strong leadership qualities -- a significant erosion from the 70 percent who said the same in a January 2009 NBC/WSJ poll.
A similar trend line was apparent when people were asked whether they agreed with the idea that Obama was "firm and decisive" (44 percent now, 63 percent in January 2009) and that he has the "ability to handle crisis" (40 percent now, 46 percent in January 2009).
The impact of the oil spill on those numbers is clear from the data. More than one in five voters (22 percent) named the oil spill as the highest priority facing the country, rivaling "job creation and economic growth" (33 percent) as the top priority.
And, on the oil spill, Obama's handling of the issue is slightly more negative -- 42 percent approve, 50 percent disapprove -- than his overall job performance number, which stands at 45 percent approve/48 percent disapprove.

For Obama, then, the crisis created by McChrystal's baffling -- at best -- comments in a Rolling Stone profile actually affords something of an opportunity to bend public perception back in his favor.
The White House moved quickly to take advantage of that opportunity -- doling out details for a series of tick-tocks written by the big media organizations (including this one) that cast Obama as simultaneously deliberate and decisive.
An example: "The president didn't want to see pettiness; that this was not about personalities or reputations. It's about our men and women in uniform and about serving the country," one senior Administration official told the New York Times.
This president and his team understand that unforeseen circumstances are forever interrupting the best-laid plans of any administration. (Remember how Obama was going to spend all of his time talking about the economy? That was, of course, pre-oil spill.)
Put another way: Any successful presidency is built on making lemonade out of lemons.
The early returns on the Obama administration's attempt to do just that when it came to McChrystal are positive. But the NBC/WSJ survey suggests that the oil spill is providing a powerful counterweight as the president seeks to reassert the image of himself as a leader that helped get him elected in 2008.

By Chris Cillizza  |  June 24, 2010; 2:07 PM ET