The smart Democrats who don't have a direct stake in Obama (and this includes many people with ties to Hillary Clinton still smarting from the 2008 primary season) are speaking out about the miserable Obama campaign, putting themselves on the record as warning of the disaster ahead. They are pros who will be around to pick up the pieces if the disaster they sense coming actually works out the way they fear.

Willie Brown, former mayor of San Francisco, but more importantly, legendary boss of the California state legislature for over a decade, is one such pro. He writes a Sunday column for SFGate.com, the SF Chronicle's website, and in it he tells the awful truth:

The president's trip to the Bay Area last week made it painfully clear that the Barack Obama re-election campaign has lost its mojo.

There was no life, no personality, no memorable line or moment and no real enthusiasm in the entire fundraising foray. In short, there was no buzz.

It was like a summer rerun of a show that wasn't very interesting to begin with.

That's bad enough, but Willie's diagnosis is worse for Obama. He likens Obama to a rock star in 2008:

...the trouble with rock stars is that they drop like a rock once fans conclude they are "over."

The trick in politics is not to be a one-hit wonder....

Obama, the one hit wonder. That's a moniker that could stick, sooner or later.