Actually, Zack, I don't think the President's hope ever left. He's message is just not sensationalized enough for the news media to stay engaged, not to mention capturing the American short attention span (no, I'm not recommending the President run around shouting his message, just that the media actually go out and highlight what the President is trying to outline instead of engaging in speculative conjecture as to what he'll do next and how the Republican would react). The democratic senate was too timid, so the President had to constantly court them to get anything done. Republicans saw an opportunity with deficit investment, and they went for it (who could blame them, politics is politics). In the beginning the President said the deficit was going to have to go up significantly in the short run to take care of some of the issue we've neglected for a long time. Republicans strategically co-opted the message by playing the no jobs, high deficit card on issues we already knew and insisted that the American people had spoken. Those in the news media didn't effectively call them on it, but we got to know some golfer's life in intimate detail, when we were not too busy mulling over Palin. The President's message remained obscured. If people can't focus long enough to listen to what the President is trying to get across, is there any hope of actual implementation (let's not forget those trying to make sure he doesn't succeed).