Thomas McClanahan, KC Star
Like a change of momentum in a big game, the last two weeks have brought an almost palpable shift — and for President Barack Obama, a long-running nightmare of bad news. The economy, which had been strengthening, suddenly downshifted. The jobless rate ticked up. Growth estimates were revised down.The political significance of events comes not in the snapshot but in the trend, and when a favorable trend for an incumbent suddenly breaks and turns bad, the effect can be politically devastating. Supporters lose hope. Once-friendly pundits turn away, giving permission to others to do the...