High Expectations

General George Marshall was probably the most highly regarded general officer during World War II. In fact, it was considered likely that he, rather than Dwight Eisenhower, be given command of the Allied Forces in Europe.

However, he was not given this command. Rather, he remained in Washington, D.C. running the Department of War.

Why?

It wasn't because he was considered inferior to Eisenhower. (No disrespect here -- Eisenhower turned out to be a great leader; but he was no Marshall.)

No. Marshall was not given the ground command because there was a fear that he would fail.

Again, Marshall was the best thing we had going; but if he were to fail, then who would the Allies turn to? Eisenhower, in this respect, was expendable.

(Read this for the details.)

Well, the high -- and probably way overoptimistic -- expectation is that Obama & Co. can fix this economic mess.

As one Chinese dictator is reported to have said it doesn't matter if the cat is black or white as long as it catches the mouse. So if Obama -- whom I have my doubts about -- improves the economy then more power to him.

However, I think the problems we face are profound and it's going to take some time to fix. Granted, some in the news media, see their job primarily in terms of supporting his Presidency; others, will be likely to jump ship in a heartbeat. (The gutless New York Daily News endorsed BHO with a lot of qualifiers, e.g., "we expect..." Watch them run when it gets worse.) The steady drip of negative reporting will hurt. (Just ask John McCain.)

Thirty years ago Reagan stood firm despite the fact that the economy "dead in the water" before it improved. I'm not sure if Obama has the political stamina.

More importantly, I'm not sure the American people have any either.

What if he fails? Where is his Marshall?