The title of this NBC article is "As challenges mount, ardor for Obama cools; An impatient world wonders how much the president-elect can deliver". The first 2 sentences of this article are "Barack Obama got a global standing ovation long before he was elected president. But in a fickle and fast-moving world, the overseas reviews are already turning mixed". The implication couldn't be more clear. Obama won't have a honeymoon period to acclimate to the presidency. With the economy in tatters, Osama bin Laden still well camouflaged, casualties mounting in Iraq and an Israeli-Palestinian conflict that could get out of hand any day, Obama has no time to waste.

According to Massimo Gramellini, writing in a commentary for Italy's Le Stampa magazine, "Just two months ago, the future president seemed a cross between Superman and Merlin the Magician. Now he himself admits (that) he won't be able to keep all (of) his promises and who knows? Maybe someone will ask for his impeachment by the end of next week". This guy is pretty skeptical. If Obama is in fact impeached by the end of next week he would break the record of the quickest president to become impeached. OK, so there's one skeptical opinion.

Next up is a section entitled "Enthusiasm has diminished" and it has...significantly. According to Samuel Solvit who leads an Obama support group in France, "The idealism has diminished. Everyone was dreaming a little. Now people are more realistic". This signifies a huge shift in people's attitudes before and after the election. During the campaign a great speech could easily get people fired up. Achieving everything in those speeches...that's another matter.

According to NBC, "Muslims want to know why Obama hasn't joined the chorus of international criticism of Israel's Gaza offensive. Last week, posters of him were set on fire in Tehran with shouts of "Death to Obama!" The last opinion was skeptical. This is the first opinion of outright oppposition.

According to Adel Fawzi, an Egyptian government clerk in Cairo, "By the time he takes office, hundreds or thousands more will be killed in Gaza and it will be too late for him to act". Of course Fawzi is talking about Palestinian civilians because Obama, along with Secretary of State designate Hillary Clinton, is biased towards Israel.

According to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, "He has a big vision of how America can contribute to the long-term prosperity of the world". Again having a big vision is one thing. ACHIEVING that big vision is quite another matter.

According to German chancellor Angela Merckel, "The chances of us working this out are good".

NBC issued the following analysis about these two leaders' thoughts about Obama: "BritishPrime Minister Gordan Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merckel both say (that) they are confident the Obama administration will succeed in working with Europe and China to build a stronger global economy". Working with China to fix the global economic mess is a dangerous proposition because China operates on the assumption that they can rescue the world and this simply isn't true as their economy is now slowing at a faster rate than western economies because western economies don't have much room to fall since countries such as the US and EU are already experiencing zero or negative economic growth while China is still expanding at a modest 6%, but this figure is falling quickly, although Chinese authorities will never admit this.

Finally, there is a section entitled "Monumental Challenges" and this is the most important section. We are now in a transition period from the outgoing Bush, who is leaving with a 26% approval rating to Obama who is coming in with approval ratings of more than 70%. So if Obama isn't up to the task, it will be a disaster.

According to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt in a speech to Parliament, "I think (that) it's difficult to find a president with such a number of expectations as Barack Obama". The key word here is "expectations".

According to Reginald Dale, a senior fellow at the Center for Straqtegic and International Studies in Washington DC, "The United States can't solve all the world's problems. It doesn't have enough money or military power. And the president is constrained by Congress and the Constitution. The founding fathers wanted to stop someone from being like a monarch" and that's a good thing. Dictators often lead their countries down the road to gloom.

Furthermore, "There are all sorts of logistical questions. What if they suddenly captured Osama bin Laden? Where would they put him? It's very easy for people abroad to take these issues as symbols of what they think is wrong with America. They need to understand that Americans don't like these things any more than they do".

The penultimate section is entitled "Blunt advice from some", specifically Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who said mockingly that "I don't want to tell President Obama what to do", but according to NBC, "He did anyway: If Obama wants to free up billions of dollars, Chavez said, he should pull US troops out of Iraq immediately and shrink Washington's bootprint around the world". Notice the words "immediately" and "bootprint". This is an ultimatum. Perhaps Chavez thinks that Bush is still in power?

According to NBC, "That's the problem said Reginald Davis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington: People simply expect too much, practically ensuring (that) Obama will disappoint".

According to Mexican Treasury Secretary Agustin Carstens, "At the end of the day, we have to be realistic". Another cautious ho-hum assessment/expectation of Obama.

The final section of this report is entitled "High Expectations", implying that the stakes for Obama cannot be higher.

This section has opinions from commoners. According to Dean Cole, a 41-year-old fruit vendor in London, "We still have high expectations". Obama "strikes me as a man of honor. When I see him I think "That's a man on a mission". So Cole is optimistic about Obama. This is the first working class opinion, a group that Obama has promised to provide relief and help.

According to Maria Gabriella Lunato, a 53-year-old saleswoman in Rome, "He will not be just an American president, but a person who will spread justice around the world". According to NBC, "Maria Gabriella Lunato, a 53-year-old saleswoman in Rome reveres Obama as if he is a pope". There's another incredibly high opinion of Obama.

Finally, according to Lise Lindbeg, a 72-year-old retiree in Stockholm, Sweden, "I feel sorry for the poor thing. People expect him to be a savior - some kind of messiah. You just can't expect to become president and change everything when there's no money".

So, it seems like everyone has high expectations for Obama except for Hugo Chavez, with some people being outright optimistic and others more subtley so . With this in mind, we can only wait and see whether or not Obama can deliver on all of his election promises and hope that he can.