Obama Lays Plans to Kill Expectations After Election Victory

[tbranch]

By Tim Reid, The Times of London

Barack Obama's senior advisers have drawn up plans to lower expectations for his presidency if he wins next week's election, amid concerns that many of his euphoric supporters are harboring unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve.

The sudden financial crisis and the prospect of a deep and painful recession have increased the urgency inside the Obama team to bring people down to earth, after a campaign in which his soaring rhetoric and promises of "hope" and "change" are now confronted with the reality of a stricken economy.

One senior adviser told The Times that the first few weeks of the transition, immediately after the election, were critical, "so there's not a vast mood swing from exhilaration and euphoria to despair."

The aide said that Obama himself was the first to realize that expectations risked being inflated.

In an interview with a Colorado radio station, Obama appeared to be engaged already in expectation lowering. Asked about his goals for the first hundred days, he said he would need more time to tackle such big and costly issues as health care reform, global warming and Iraq.

"The first hundred days is going to be important, but it's probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference," he said. He has also been reminding crowds in recent days how "hard" it will be to achieve his goals, and that it will take time.

"I won't stand here and pretend that any of this will be easy -- especially now," Obama told a rally in Sarasota, Florida, yesterday, citing "the cost of this economic crisis, and the cost of the war in Iraq." Obama's transition team is headed by John Podesta, a Washington veteran and a former chief-of-staff to Bill Clinton. He has spent months overseeing a virtual Democratic government-in-exile to plan a smooth transition should Obama emerge victorious next week.

The plans are so far advanced that an Obama Cabinet has been largely decided upon, with the expectation that most of his senior appointments could be announced shortly after election day.

[bdickens]

Wow. Talk about hubris. I'll bet Michelle is already picking out the drapes.

[The Annoyed Man]

If only he had set about lowering expectations before the general election campaign, he could have saved us all a lot of trouble. So what ever happened to "Hope" and "Change?"

[cwood3]

C'mon people. It ain't rocket science. If I wanna sell you my best cuttin' horse (aka old betsey), I'll tell ya how good she is. When you call back and complain, I'll swear she just has to get to know ya.

[bdickens]

Ya mean hope you get some change back after you get robbed in order to give a bunch of professional couch potatoes a fatter paycheck for doing nothing but sucking up your air?

[flintknapper]

If only he had set about lowering expectations before the general election campaign, he could have saved us all a lot of trouble. So what ever happened to "Hope" and "Change?"

He's just gonna have to go on "hope" now, because all the "change" he proposed was never doable. I've been trying to tell democrats that for a year now.

Unfortunately, common sense (and apparently simple mathematics) are not strong attributes of those I have spoken to.

I think we can all agree that certain "change" is needed in Washington, but we must be careful as to what kind we get.

[The Annoyed Man]

You know, it's racist to doubt or question Saint Obama. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves!

[flintknapper]

You know, it's racist to doubt or question Saint Obama. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves!

Oh I am, I truly am ashamed.

May the fleas of a thousand camels infest my body for ever doubting Saint Obamanation!

I beg his forgiveness.

[WEC]

I read a great quote about Obama's promises.

Every time he opens his mouth, he promises ice cream. Half of the nation acts like nine year olds and want the ice cream he's offering. The other half of the nation realizes we're the ones who have to feed the cow.

[HighVelocity]

I'm about to go to Sonic for some Tots and a Dr Pepper. I hope I get some change barack.

[flintknapper]

I'm about to go to Sonic for some Tots and a Dr Pepper. I hope I get some change barack.

If you do, feel free to tip whichever carhop you feel deserves it most (not necessarily the one who earned it).

[bdickens]

Every time he opens his mouth, he promises ice cream. Half of the nation acts like nine year olds and want the ice cream he's offering. The other half of the nation realizes we're the ones who have to feed the cow.

Priceless!

[Bart]

I don't think my expectations of him can get any lower.