THE THINGS THEY MEAN LEAST ARE THE ONES THEY SAY TO WIN PRIMARIES:

For Obama supporters, post-inauguration letdown is inevitable: On many issues, including gay marriage and the Mideast, his backers seem to have just assumed he didn't mean all those things he said on the campaign trail. (Jonah Goldberg, January 18, 2009, LA Times)

Presidential inaugurations are in many ways the high-water marks of any presidency because they're so full of hope. All things seem possible. The rivalries and backbiting haven't set in yet, at least not publicly. Even the inevitable disappointments over Cabinet picks and White House staffing are tempered by the wide-eyed dreams of an ambitious agenda. Everyone -- or at least everyone who backed the guy -- has that "we can make this the best yearbook ever!" feeling.

Then comes the letdown. No, I don't mean Barack Obama will be a failed president. But even the most successful presidents bitterly disappoint some people, usually some of their biggest supporters. Indeed, they can only disappoint supporters because disappointment first requires confidence and hope. Those who voted against Obama can either have their low expectations fulfilled or be pleasantly surprised.

Many conservatives, for example, had hoped that George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism" was simply a marketing slogan. They were dismayed to discover he really meant it.

A truth that the Left still hasn't processed.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 18, 2009 9:26 AM