COLUMN: BoJo has lost his mojo with Obama comments

The arrival of President Barack Obama into the EU Referendum debate has been a much-needed shot in the arm for the Remain campaign. Undoubtedly, this injection of support has been carefully planned and coordinated by all involved to have maximum impact.'¨
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Apr 2016, 12:35 BST
Updated 27th Apr 2016, 13:38 BST

The Leave side were under no illusion that the intervention of the leader of the free world would have a negative impact on their argument. Which is why they attempted to control the narrative before the President even began to speak. Boris Johnson’s declaration in The Sun that Obama was anti-British because of his Kenyan roots was a deplorable attempt at smearing the opinion of Britain’s closest ally.
And yet this tried and tested pattern of tomfoolery has propelled Bojo to the heights of political office, and it is clear his intention is for it to propel him even further. 
This past bumbling affront to normal political etiquette has been received well by the British publiwho seem to hold Bojo in high regard when compared to the drab political actors that surround him. Carefully cultivated, this persona has seen him get away with many things from getting stuck on a high wire to being sacked by the Times newspaper for making up a quote, events which would have ended the careers of lesser politicians.
This time though it seems different. Bojo has actually lost his mojo. For in making racist insinuations about President Obama’s feelings for the UK, he has inadvertently picked on one of the few politicians who is more highly regarded by the British public than he. With approval ratings ataround 76 per cent, Obama isn’t just any old target. 
What is even more alarming is that Bojo’s apparent deft hand at political and comic timing seems to have escaped him as well. Not only did he pick a fight with one of the most charismatic politicians in the world, he did so as they were sitting down to lunch with the Queen, an individual whose approval ratings are at 90%. The clearly warm and personal relationship that Obama and the Queen share has only further compounded the problem for Boris, for his attack can be seen as an attack on the judgement of the Queen herself. Either his staffers clearly hadn’t done their homework or Boris was having a very off day when this article was written. Instead of dominating the narrative about the President’s intervention, Boris has managed to out-Farage Farage. Something which isn’t a mean featThe impact on the Leave campaign remains to be seen, but what is clear is that Bojo has gone from spouting bumbling bull to toxic twaddle.