Obama Lowers The Bar

President Obama used his appearance on Leno to promote his budget plan, the stimulus, and reaffirm his confidence in his Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The President also sought to reassure Americans that the economy will recover, but tempered his remarks by saying that patience is required. “We will come out on the other side stronger and a more prosperous nation,” the President said. “That I can guarantee you. I can’t tell you how long it will take, what obstacles we’ll face along the way, but I promise you this: there will be brighter days ahead.”

The American public…patience!? Good luck with that. But I can't help feeling that Obama himself contributed in part to these unreasonable expectations through a little rainmaking of his own. Here are the growth forecasts put out by the Obama budget team (in red) followed by a consensus forecast made up of private “blue chip” forecasters (in blue):

2009: -1.2% -1.9%
2010: +3.2% +2.1%
2011: +4.0% +2.9%
2012: +4.6% +2.9%
2013: +4.2% +2.8%

HT on the data: Greg Mankiw

He can’t tell us how long it will take? According to his Administration’s forecasts, prosperity is right around the corner. Obama has banked his budget (and our collective futures) on it.