Reality Strikes: Obama Lowers Expectations; Puts Hope on Hold

Early on in his campaign, Barack Obama accused his detractors of wanting to “boil all of the hope out of him.” The audacity of hope guy wasn’t about to let that happen. Now that he’s won the election, Obama is pulling the same kind of trick he pulled shortly after receiving the Democratic nomination when he made a quick right turn and lunged for the center, reneging on almost every pledge he’d made to his wild-eyed left-wing supporters. But I don’t recall that he tried, as they say, to “lower their expectations.”

Quelling a brief rebellion by thousands of his Facebook friends, Obama continued to easily turn his political rallies into revival meetings with his adoring fans chanting “Yes, we can.”

The sudden transition from the candidate to the president-elect has had a sobering effect on Obama. Now, instead of “Yes, we can,” the One is saying, “Well, look, maybe later on we can.”

The change has been so dramatic the AP’s Nedra Pickler and Beth Fouhy this evening are accusing Obama of having put hope on hold.

“In two appearances since he was elected, Obama has emphasized the monumental challenges the country faces and warned against expectations that he will bring a quick fix. The change he promised on the campaign trail will come, he told an eager nation, but it will take some time.”

‘“We are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime,’ Obama said at a news conference Friday.

“Obama faces war and recession, and an ambitious list of campaign promises like tax cuts, expanded health care and a new approach to energy. No president can do it all at once, and politically Obama needs the country to be patient so it isn't disappointed when he doesn't deliver monumental change overnight.

‘“It is not going to be quick, and it is not going to be easy for us to dig ourselves out of the hole that we are in,’ he said.”’

I can’t speak for the millions who voted for Obama on his promise of hope and change, but I’ve said all along that I don’t need a charismatic politician to give me hope; my hope is rooted in my faith. And neither Obama, nor ten like him, has the power to put it on hold.