Obama's first mistake?

Expectations for Obama's greatness are so high in some quarters that at times it seemed he was leading a cult rather than a political campaign. Obama did nothing to tamp down his supporters' expectations before the election, a decision I assumed he would revisit after.

Then I started to hear a lot of talk yesterday about how the president-elect is trying to assemble an "all-star" cabinet. Putting aside the question of whether a has-been like John Kerry constitutes a "star," is this really the kind of theme Obama ought to be sounding? I would think he would be better served by announcing he's looking for "hard workers who have the patience and stamina to handle the day-to-day work needed to build success over time." Hire John Kerry if you must, but don't raise expectations any higher than they already are.