SIX Months of President Obama, 44

FIRST THOUGHTS.
*** Six months ago today, Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation's 44th president. But it seems much longer ago than that, doesn't it? Since that cold day in January, so much has happened: the legislative fight over the stimulus, the rescue from those Somali pirates, the budget battle, the president's first European trip, the Obama vs. Cheney duel over national security, the Sotomayor nomination, the Cairo speech, the aftermath of the Iranian election, the Russia-Italy-Ghana trip, and the current fight over health care. In his article in the Sunday New York Times Magazine, Matt Bai likened Obama to an iPod shuffle. "Obama is the nation's first shuffle president. He's telling lots of stories at once, and in no particular order. His agenda is fully downloadable. If what you care most about is health care, then you can jump right to that. If global warming gets you going, then click over there." But there's a danger to this, Bai adds. "Random play may popularize your music in the aggregate, but it doesn't foster the same kind of investment in the songs themselves. U2 may have more fans than ever, but that doesn't mean these listeners can name half the tracks on the band's latest release."

*** Still Personally Popular, But Less So On The Issues: Six months in and one piece of conventional wisdom appears to be holding: Obama is personally more popular than his proposals. According to a new Washington Post/ABC poll, the president's overall approval rating stands at a still-strong 59%. But his ratings on the issues have declined: 49% approve of handling of health care (down eight points since April), 43% approve of his handling of the deficit, and 52% approve of his handling of the economy.

*** All Obama, All The Time: On the first day of his seventh month in office, the Washington Post also front-pages that Obama is launching an all-out media blitz on health care. "With skepticism about the president's health-care reform effort mounting on Capitol Hill -- even within his own party -- the White House has launched a new phase of its strategy designed to dramatically increase public pressure on Congress: all Obama, all the time." More: "'Our strategy has been to allow this process to advance to the point where it made sense for the president to take the baton. Now's that time,' said senior adviser David Axelrod. 'I don't know whether he will Twitter or tweet. But he's going to be very, very visible.'" Indeed. Today, from the Children's National Medical Center in DC, Obama will once again deliver remarks on health care. On Wednesday, he's holding a primetime news conference. And the following day, he heads to Cleveland, OH.

First Read with NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd, every weekday on MSNBC-TV at 9 a.m. ET.

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