The Obama campaign has been reeling since losing the first Presidential debate of this election cycle in front of67 million viewers. They've tried--and thus far failed--to craft a narrative to explain away the debacle in Denver. Previously, we reported to you that Obama Senior Advisor David Plouffe, who ran the President's successful 2008 campaign, (falsely) accused Mitt Romney of lying. In a rare comedic moment from the typically robotic former Vice President Al Gore, he suggested on Current TV that the Mile High City's altitude was the reason Obama was low on energy and enthusiasm. Neither of those caught on with the mainstream pro-Obama media.

Now the Obama Administration is floating their latest excuse: that the campaign, particularly Romney stand-in John Kerry did not channel Mitt's aggression enough.

From CBS's "This Morning":

Norah O'Donnell: "Some Democrats say [Obama's] campaign needs a wake-up call. Bill Plante is here with that part of the story. Bill, you've been talking to your sources; what are they saying?

Correspondent Bill Plante: "Well Norah, they're simply upset and really outraged. They blame the President's team, first of all, for not preparing him to meet the challenge of an aggressive Mitt Romney. They say that nobody in the room challenged him, including the guy that he was debating with, John Kerry, because, as they say, he wants to be Secretary of State so he's not going to get in the President's face. And Presidents are used to deference; they're not used to people challenging them like that. So they think that the debate prep was terrible, but they also fault the President himself for not understanding that Romney was going to be more aggressive."

The 2012 Obama campaign continues to prove to be a stark contrast from their 2008 effort. In 2008, then Senator Obama used youthful ebullience, soaring rhetoric, and a precise campaign infrastructure to capture the hearts and minds of the American people. In 2012, the President seems increasingly lethargic and quick to make excuses for missteps on the campaign trail.

What once was "Hope and Change," now is "Mope and Blame," and this time it's John Kerry under the President's bus.