Change They No Longer Believe In

It's only taken two weeks, but some of the ardent Obama followers in the press are falling away. Take for instance this editorial in the Charlotte Observer:

When Barack Obama was running for the Democratic nomination last year and then for the presidency in the fall, one of the most attractive things about his candidacy was his promise of change that we all could believe in.

He campaigned on a promise of change that would mean no more cozy lobbyists-in-government schemes, no more ethically-challenged appointees ignoring laws that apply to everyone else.

Two weeks into the Obama presidency, we like his campaign better than his administration. While Mr. Obama has set the right tone for approaching the monumentally hard work ahead of this government and while some of his appointments are outstanding, others were either badly botched or reflect a half-hearted commitment to the change principle central to his ballot-box success last fall.

"We like his campaign better than his administration." There's a lot of that going on right now.

Even learned members of the media are having problems with the notion that someone might make promises in a campaign he can't possibly keep once in power. You think they would have figured that out long ago.

Of course, it probably won't stop them from endorsing Obama again in 2012 - even if he doesn't change.