The Obama agenda -- same as his campaign one

Rahm:

Asked what Barack Obama was elected to do, and what legislation he's likely to find on his Oval Office desk soonest, Mr. Emanuel didn't hesitate. "Bucket one would have children's health care, Schip," he said. "It has bipartisan agreement in the House and Senate. It's something President-elect Obama expects to see. Second would be [ending current restrictions on federally funded] stem-cell research. And third would be an economic recovery package focused on the two principles of job creation and tax relief for middle-class families." [...]

"[T]he lesson is to do what you got elected to do," said Mr. Emanuel. "Do what you talked about on the campaign. If you got elected, that's what people expect. Don't go off on tangents where part of your party is demanding an ideological litmus test. Neither of those things was part of the campaign."

Rahm cites instances were presidents are led astray by pursuing an agenda unmentioned during the campaign -- such as Clinton and gays in the military and Bush's meddling in the Schiavo case. He could've also mentioned Bush's efforts to privatize social security.

Lucky for us, Obama ran an issues-based campaign -- healthcare, alternative energies, and Iraq. Iraq! Rahm seems to have conveniently forgotten Iraq in this interview. We haven't.

But Rahm's overall point is solid -- there are no surprises in store for the American people. Everything on Obama's plate is something he promoted or promised voters. Obama's problem won't be trying to hoodwink them into supporting an agenda he hid during the campaign. His biggest problem will be fulfilling those promises.

People hoped and delivered for him. He now needs to deliver to them.