Expectations – Barack Obama and Harvey Two-Face

Recent polls are showing that Barack Obama became even more popular as the inauguration approached. The expectations for Obama run high, and the promises he has made may be even higher. This trust in one man to make-do on lofty promises may be familliar to someone who has seen The Dark Knight. Harvey Dent, the white knight district attorney of Gotham City: Two-Face, a twisted foe of justice. They are one and the same, although the people who trusted him, including Batman, could never have imagined this to be so. Dent’s Idealism, the expectations of the people, and the grim reality of the situation combined to create a murderous monster. Obama has the expectation, and possibly an even greater expectation than the fictional character of Dent; Obama speaks as though he may have the same level of idealism; and Obama faces the grim reality of hardships he listed in his speech (economy, health care, education, war, terrorism, etc). One can only trust Obama to stick to his promises unlike Harvey Dent who failed the people of Gotham. Had Batman not taken the fall for Dent’s shortcomings, all hope would have been lost. If Obama comes up short of the goal line, even by a foot, it could have drastic consequences on the morale of America. Thankfully, this is not a movie script, and the outcome has not been written yet.