During his two years of campaigning, Barack Obama could do no wrong. Mistakes large and small were ignored or explained away by the liberal journalists who adored him and were forgiven by voters who believed they had found “The One” who would deliver hope and change to Washington. Many big names, including conservatives, bought into the media-driven hype.

Now that Obama, in office only a few weeks, is pushing policies that are driving America toward economic collapse, some of his fans are beginning to realize that perhaps electing a neophyte as the leader of the free world wasn’t such an enlightened choice. They are turning on Obama.

Here is the evidence:

David Brooks, New York Times columnist (via Hot Air)

• Oct. 16, 2008: “[I]t is easy to sketch out a scenario in which he could be a great president. … Though he is young, it is easy to imagine him at the Cabinet table, leading a subtle discussion of some long-term problem.”
• March 2, 2009: “Barack Obama is not who we thought he was.“

Christopher Buckley, pundit (via Hot Air)

• Oct. 10, 2008: “Obama has in him … the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for.”
• March 1, 2008: “If this is what the American people want, so be it, but they ought to have no illusions about the perils of this approach.”

Jim Cramer, CNBC financial analyst (via Ed Driscoll and The Campaign Spot)

• Oct. 5, 2008: “[T]here is a growing belief on Wall Street that Barack Obama has the capacity to lead us out of this wilderness while John McCain does not. I’ll go a step further: Obama is a recession. McCain is a depression.“
• March 3, 2009: “This is the most, greatest wealth destruction I’ve seen by a president!”

Don’t be surprised if you read or hear more of these mea culpas. As Obama fans in the media and elsewhere remove their blinders and see the realities of life under the Obama administration, buyer’s remorse will become commonplace.

Cross-posted at Accuracy In Media