Originally posted by jibeho
Obama's supporters have very high expectations.
I don't think you can accurately speak of Obama supporters as a group that thinks with one mind. Surely there are many who have unrealistic
expectations, but from my experience, those people are, for the most part, his detractors.
The first sentence in the OP's excerpt says it all. Some people expect him to cure cancer and create world peace before he's even gotten into
office!
But these expectations were created
by the people, not by him. If you listen to what he
said (which I know a lot of people don't) he
was very clear that this isn't going to turn around on a dime. In fact, he said it would take a long time to see the change and it wasn't going to
be easy and we'd have to sacrifice.
If people thrust his actual words aside in favor of their own starry-eyed hopes that he's going to "fix" their lives, that can hardly be blamed on
him. After all, many of his most ardent supporters (moi) have no such lofty ideas.
One of the most important messages I got from listening to Barack Obama over the past year is that this isn't about HIM. HE cannot save us. He will
do his part, but we must take the responsibility ourselves! He will help us where he can, but this isn't up to him. It's up to US.
So for those people who are sitting back, whining about how they don't yet see change yet and about Obama not filling their expectations for this
country, I invite you to check his message again. And listen this time instead of having hope that some savior is going to come along and make your
life easy.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been
more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.
...
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the
government can't solve every problem.
...
I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by
brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
...
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not
only ourselves but each other.
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