Eight months ago, it was close to blasphemy in these threads to suggest that Obama might not be the great hope for the future. One reads daily of spreading disillusionment of the constant watering down of his health care proposal - and the probability that even that will not pass. An American army of 130,000 is still in Iraq with little sign of leaving. The war in Afghanistan goes on, with troop figures increased, with the war spreading to Pakistan, and no end in sight. The American economy shows no sign of recovering. The use of detention camps has not ceased.