Until recently, if you were listing the strengths of Barack Obama and his administration, you would have emphasised the president's calm, controlled demeanour and the competence of the people around him – a welcome contrast, in both respects, to the previous administration. In the blink of an eye, this has turned upside-down. Friends and foes are accusing Mr Obama's White House of multi-dimensional bungling and are holding the president's temperament up to ridicule.

Much of the criticism is unfair. Some of it is ridiculous. But this does not mean it will not stick.

The still unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is the main cause, though not the only one. It is too soon to know how effective the latest attempt to stop the leak will be, but the likely environmental damage from oil that has already escaped is causing ever mounting alarm. The situation has been worsening for weeks, critics point out, yet the White House has seemed only semi-engaged. They complain that Mr Obama's leadership has been ineffective and indeed barely visible. He should have pushed BP aside; he should have put the military in charge; he should have conveyed a greater sense of urgency; he should have shown he “gets it”.