Medeshi March 11, 2009
Obama: Managing Expectations and Understanding the Economic Crisis
Rarely has the expectation game been as complicated as it is for President Obama. Presidents are, still, to a substantial extent, judged by the performance of the economy during their term in office; and Obama is unlikely to be an exception. It would seem, therefore, that Obama has every reason to reduce hopes for an economic recovery in the immediate future because this would make it possible for voters to reward any economic recovery by supporting the Democrats in congress in 2010 and Obama himself during his 2012 reelection bid. The expectations calculation is not so simple for Obama because the tone coming from the White House is viewed as having an effect on the country's economic performance.
