Pre-Ramble: The Inauguration of Barack Obama will be remembered as a profoundly significant event. The crowd, the security, the cold, the ceremony, the oath, the speech, the message, the flags, the cheers, the tears, the poem, the daughters, the dignitaries, the stars, the song, the invocation, the parade, the ball, the dress, the dance - a crescendo of pageantry ushering our rock-star, superhero, champion-of-all-things-good-and-noble across America and into the White House. A dizzying spectacle of patriotic pride and unity unparalleled in the history of our country.

No pressure there. In a gasp to manage expectations, the newly elected president tempers his much-anticipated Inaugural Address with the recognition that exceedingly hard work awaits us in the days and weeks ahead, stressing that “the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many… “  He acknowledges as well that these challenges “will not be met easily or in a short span of time.” Once in the White House, the anointed leader finds his way to the Oval Office, unpacks his pencils, and looks to an exhaustive list of to-dos. He signs a series of executive orders designed to make a clean and intentional break from “business as usual” and establish a “shovel-ready” tone around his transition effort. Sure – smart, strategic, prudent.

But no! Even before the last Inaugural port-o-potty has rolled off the National Mall, journalists are already ambushing the President in the press room, and giddy critics scrutinize the fall-out from Week One. Week One!? Apparently, some of the new president’s most ardent supporters already feel “let down”… It has been only two-and-a-half months since Mr. Obama was elected, but his Yes We Can coalition is already “fraying at the edges...,”… “Mr. Obama’s willingness to adapt carries the risk that he will either alienate his liberal base or fail to convert Republicans whose support he hopes to win…,” … Critics warn that the White House must “follow up their words with real behavior“…

OH, FOR PETE’S SAKE!  We just elected this guy! Less than a week ago he was the symbol of national unity, charged with Camelot magic, and gazing into the eyes of his best girl on the dance floor. What happened to the honeymoon? The First Hundred Days? Where is the “transition” part? In so short a time, how can President Obama be anywhere within lobbying distance of “frayed,” “alienating,” or “failure to act”? Hold on to that last port-o-potty, I’ll show those early detractors “shovel ready.”

The Take-Away: GET REAL - AND GET THE HECK OFF MY CLOUD! I’m not ready to give up the energy and spirit of the hope-driven, love-fest that was/is the Obama promise. I still want the counterveiling force of competency and change that Obama represents in the face of political corruption, dismal economic indicators, and daily bomb blasts in the Middle East. I still want to feel good about where the nation is heading; where the world is heading. I still want to think that we can do better that what we’ve been doing for the past eight years. I want to give this fresh new administration a chance. It is beyond premature to be calling this game.

Post Note: The song “Get Off My Cloud“ was written by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of the British rock band, The Rolling Stones, in expression of their aversion to people’s unrealistic expectations of them following the hugely popular hit song “Satisfaction.”

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