Obama is "shocked, shocked" that his supporters expect him to be an agent of real change. He has built up his image as the messiah of hope and change in order to win an election. The disillusionment that will follow when he cannot live up to the image will be a terrible impediment to governing, which will make things politically very difficult for his party in 2010, and for Obama himself in 2012.

Obama is backing away from the idea of unconditional talks with Iran, but may be falling into the trap of talking to the Taliban in Afghanistan. This is another area where Obama will disappoint his hard core supporters.

Karl Rove says history favors the GOP in 2010. His conclusions are based on the numbers, and I agree with him on that. As I wrote above, however, I think the GOP's success in the next two elections will be based the disillusionment of Obama's supporters and the negative effects of an economy in a deep recession.

The Treasury Department is redefining the $700 billion bailout plan. Next year will be the year of the bailout.