That mandate he came to the White House carrying? Gone.
That change thing? Gone.
The new hope that this guy was different and was going to do the right thing? Gone, alas.
The new President certainly had a bold to-do list. Did he mishandle his mandate? Perhaps he'll look back on these first two years and conclude that he did. Did he try to compromise too much by watering down what he wanted? Ditto.
Did he forget James Carville's sage advice to then-candidate Bill Clinton that "it's the economy, stupid." Yup.
Conservative commentators had a field day blasting Mr. Obama as a socialist (he's hardly that) and dissing him nightly. And they were incredibly effective with the daily hammering. But the lack of focus on creating jobs, jobs, jobs and the spending of capital needed at home on a war in Afghanistan, left the President in a lose-lose situation. And he lost on Election Day.
It was a toned-down President Obama who took the podium today, offering his "I take responsibility" reflections along with an olive branch to the folks who are now headed to Washington loaded for bear. But the truth is that the Republicans - now with control of the House - talk about not compromising their core beliefs and about their singular focus of bringing down the President's agenda. One has to wonder if Mr. Obama doesn't wish he had done a bit of that - or at least offered the same kind of bluster - during these past two years. And his offer for a retreat for the new Republican leaders and his fellow Democrats, perhaps at Camp David? We'll see if the suddenly energized Repubs - who are under their own pressure from the right with the fledgling Tea Party winners - even accept.
Meanwhile, the election cycle begins anew. The Presidential campaign begins today for 2012.
Our political reporter Dave Evans is in Washington for us tonight, and he'll have the latest at 11.
One more note about the bloom being off the rose, and it comes under the heading that my dad used to love to throw at me: Liars figure, but the figures don't lie. According to our polling experts, who have crunched the figures from the 90 million Americans who voted yesterday, about 29 million people who voted for Mr. Obama for President in 2008, didn't show up at the polls yesterday. Now THAT'S disillusionment. And in two short years.
Speaking of the economy, one barometer might well be ticket prices at local sporting events - at one team, at least, doesn't seem to think that we're in for boom times.
Or maybe the Mets just realize that hiking prices for a team that has fared so poorly the past few years isn't a smart business decision. Or perhaps it's a combination.
Whatever - the Mets today said the team has "restructured" its ticket pricing program by reducing prices an average of more than 14%. Not so amazin' - but perhaps a few more people will show up for games next season.
Scott Clark will have that and all the night's sports, at 11.
Also at 11, a different look at car recalls. There are about 600 new recalls every year - so imagine what it's like if you're trying to buy a used car, and keeping track of all the recalls as you peruse the car lot. Tonight, Lucy Yang helps navigate the informational minefield.
We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Lee Goldberg's AccuWeather forecast. I hope you can join Liz Cho and me, tonight at 11.