Obama Faces High Expectations

Barack Obama's faithful are expecting a lot from him.

No. Really? Why?

Could it be that he spent tons of money on commercials, saturating TV and radio, making promises? Could it be that people bought into what he was selling during his half-hour infomercial?

WASHINGTON -- They captured the White House under a mantra of "change" and scored big gains in Congress promising a "new direction."

Now Democrats have to figure out how to fulfill those lofty promises without alienating the very people who handed them the keys to the government for the first time in more than a decade.

Barack Obama and dozens of Democratic congressional candidates won Tuesday by resurrecting the party's brand in the South, Midwest and West, reaching deep into Republican territory, much of it conservative ground. They activated new voters, especially the young and minorities.

The result was a stronger hand in Congress and the election of a charismatic new national leader. But instead of claiming a broad mandate for their most cherished priorities, Democrats are sounding notes of caution rooted in painful lessons of the past.

They won't overreach, they promise, even as the liberal activists who form their base clamor for fast, sweeping changes.

Won't overreach?

Democrats are natural overreachers.

"The country must be governed from the middle," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has spent much of the last two years working to quell intramural fights between liberals and conservatives on everything from ending the Iraq war to curbing the deficit. "You have to bring people together to reach consensus on solutions that are sustainable and acceptable to the American people."

What a joke!

Far Leftist Pelosi isn't a moderate. Her definition of "middle" certainly isn't the same as a conservative's definition.

I think all this talk about governing from the "middle" is just an intentional effort to lower expectations, part of the game plan. She's setting up an out for Obama and herself and her party.

The Dems can blame the Right when they fail to fully deliver on all those promises. They had no choice but to modify their proposals to accommodate the people on the Right. In effect, the Right is being used as their safety net. This is nothing but a strategy to break promises.

She also acknowledged, however, that Obama faces "more expectations than any president I can ever remember in my life time."

So does his party.

When Obama willingly took on the role of messiah, he took on the expectations that come with being a savior.

He said he could walk on water. People, the gullible, believed him. Now, he better not sink.

Any high expectations are the result of the promises made by Obama and the Dems.

If the voters aren't satisfied with what they do, if their product doesn't live up to the promises, there is no return policy, no money back guarantee.

No problem. Obama and the Dems can blame the Right. They always do.

Demonizing the Right is a win-win for them.