I can’t help but wonder when America will finally understand that the newly elected president is not a savior. Americans are expecting this new presidency to turn the country into a utopia in which all its problems will somehow disappear.

Barack Obama’s election as the first black president was truly significant, and I must recognize this important accomplishment. Regardless of my disagreement with his policies, I will support him as my president. I will not resort to the distasteful criticism and ugly hate that have been aimed at President Bush for the past eight years.

However, Obama made many promises on the campaign trail that I feel that are too far-fetched and will leave many discontented.

If people had taken time to truly understand what the Obama campaign stood for besides “change,” they would not expect the world of him. This is not solely his supporters’ fault. Obama feverishly criticized the current administration for all the problems in the world — and promised to solve them. It is impossible for anyone to fix the economic crisis, rid the world of terrorism and attain world peace in four years, yet this is what the Obama campaign sold the American people.

Obama will soon understand firsthand that bringing change as president of the United States is not as simple as he claimed. He will have to leave the celebrity status of the campaign trail for the sobering and important issues the country faces.

As the old saying goes, “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” and I feel this rush to rid Washington of President Bush and, by extension, the Republican Party is only temporary. Perhaps the next four years will reveal that strong leadership in hard times is worth more than taking risks for “change.”

Idealistic odes to “hope” and “change” can make us feel warm and fuzzy, but words won’t solve real-life problems.

Events in California may foreshadow how the next four years eventually turn out. Because of home foreclosures, a troubled economy and massive spending, there will be a 1.5 percent raise on sales tax, along with a few other tax hikes in the state, according to The Wall Street Journal. The politicians won’t be paying for it — citizens will.

The Obama administration and Nancy Pelosi are already looking to start up their version of universal health care, which will eventually cost $2.7 trillion, according to forbes.com, along with tax hikes on income tax to about 40 percent and capital gains taxes to about 20 percent, as reported by CNBC. I think Obama forgot to mention that on the campaign trail, when “change” overshadowed any rational thinking.

The new administration will have to raise taxes on everyone to accomplish what it has promised. Again, raising expectations with unrealistic promises is not a good idea.

Perhaps Congress and Obama can take another route to fix the deficit, but common sense and simple math show that spending by the new liberal supermajority over the next four years could have Americans regretting their vote for “change.”

People are looking at this presidency as a fairy tale in which all their dreams will come true, not as the position of commander in chief facing real global problems.

This “change” might come back to hurt the American people, not because there’s anything evil about Obama, but because his policies will end up meaning more taxes on all Americans, a deeper dent to the economy and, in the end, broken promises to the people who voted for him without truly understanding his policies.

Chris Girgis is a senior majoring in biomedical science.