Did you hear about the man who jumped the White House fence recently? The Secret Service chased down President Obama and managed to talk him into coming back and finishing his term…

If you think that is one wicked joke with which to greet Barack Obama on his 50th birthday (last Thursday), you ain’t heard nothing yet. Only a few days ago, someone remarked, he was in his 40s and his approval rating was in the 50s; now it’s the other way around – he’s in his 50s and his rating has plummeted to the 40s. At the birthday party, Obama didn’t even get to cut the cake; hard-line conservatives insisted on cutting it, along with cutting him and his government down to size…

American presidents, and leaders anywhere for that matter, enjoy a honeymoon period with the electorate. Obama is no exception. If anything, he is seen to have enjoyed an extended honeymoon lasting nearly two years, from the time he won the presidential race in November 2008, at which point his party controlled the White House, Senate and Congress, to the time he lost one House last November. Even after that he got sporadic boosts, like when he nailed Osama bin Laden on a 50-50 hunch. In fact, in the hours after that spectacular strike, when he was on cloud nine (or 49), it was said he’d pushed Republicans to the brink of extinction and nailed his own re-election too.

How quickly the mood has changed. In the weeks since, the boyish grin has given way to a middle-aged scowl.