The audacity of hope and the mantra “yes, we can” seems to be giving way to the cold comfort of pragmatism and a dim, “well, maybe.”

“We all have to be very careful about the expectations that we are putting on this man, our president-elect,” Reich said. “If we all assume it’s going to be the first 100 days, we’re going to be disappointed.”

The man who was Obama’s chief campaign strategist is moving to lower expectations, too.

“We are inheriting an array problems unlike any president has faced, maybe since Franklin Roosevelt in 1932,” David Axelrod said. “It’s not going to be easy, not going to be quick.”

After being pounded with promises of hope, change, and lower taxes for all--and after being told that no mountain was too high to climb--Obama’s folks want us all to dream a little smaller.

But, if you look really hard, you might find a funny joke about the small change left over after Obama’s inevitable tax increases hit us next year. It just won’t be very funny.

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