He had come to power in similar fashion. An 88-member observer team from the Southern African Development Community praised the election for its peace and credibility and high degree of tolerance.

VOA: standard.2009.10.19

This is presidential historian and author Robert Dallek: "Once the public turns against a war, once it is convinced that you are embarked upon if not a losing enterprise then something that is going to produce a quagmire, it creates tremendous political difficulties for the president and it undermines his credibility, trust in his judgment and his ability to put across his domestic reforms,"

VOA: standard.2009.10.09