Obama returns to D.C. from Camp David

CAMP DAVID, Md., Sept. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Sunday returned to the White House after taking a break at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, the White House said.

The president -- faced with sagging poll numbers and myriad domestic and international concerns on his agenda -- used the time at Camp David to relax and decompress as he prepares for what some analysts say will be the second phase of his presidency, The (Baltimore) Sun reported.

The newspaper said Obama's poll numbers have brought him from the exciting figure of historical importance he was at the time of his inauguration to a place much more akin to previous presidents. It noted his job approval rating is slightly lower than Ronald Reagan's was at a similar point in his first term, roughly even with George W. Bush's and substantially higher than Bill Clinton's.

"I think we can overstate how big his problems are," Andrew Kohut, director of the independent Pew Research poll, told the Sun. "There were such high expectations for him. That's part of this. But it would be unrealistic to think that he would go sailing right through with his high rating, given all the problems the country faces."