Howard Fineman points out that Obama is moving quickly and staying one step ahead of his critics.

If you are like me you have been struggling to stay positive about this new President while trying to make sense out of all of the frustrating information that the media keeps revealing concerning the struggles his new administration is having, the promises that may not be kept until late in the term if at all, and how many Bush policies are being left in place.

Some days I actually say to myself, "I simply have to have faith". But I am not a person known for blind faith. Instead I ask questions, examine answers, and ponder what is not being revealed.

Now Howard Fineman of Newsweek helps to put my mind at ease as he reveals that Obama may have more tricks up his sleeve then David "freaking" Copperfield.

Obama wants to pile up a crushing lead on the scoreboard early in the game—when his popularity is high and he can still lay all the blame on his predecessor—and hope that the resulting momentum will impress the world (he goes to Europe for the G-8 in April), reluctant global investors (the sovereign wealth funds are sitting on trillions) and, of course, American voters and consumers.

The guy appears laid back, and he can be patient when he has to be, but right now he believes in motion—lots of it. If you move fast enough, he also knows, people don't have time to flyspeck details—and some of the details in his new budget, the outlines of which he released Thursday, are either squishy, controversial or both. There are literally hundreds of things in the budget to focus on, but I will pick out just three:

1. War Arithmetic. In a clever bit of budget making, Obama is taking advantage of George W. Bush's dishonesty to make his own budget look better. The former president's administration never counted spending on Iraq and Afghanistan in the regular budget it sent to Congress. By taking the hit early, and including that spending—now roughly $140 billion a year—Obama will be able to claim major savings down the road. In 2011 and 2012, that spending is slated to decline to $50 billion a year. So Obama and his budget crew can book savings of $180 billion—assuming, of course, that Obama is in fact able to wind down those wars.

2. Rosy Scenario. The simplest way to make the future look good is to assume that it will be. That is what Obama's budget does. Independent experts, on the Hill and in the private sector, are predicting that economic growth in 2010 will be (to average their estimates) about 1.7 percent. The president is assuming that growth will be nearly double that number. The rosier outlook allows Budget Director Peter Orszag to pencil in much smaller spending numbers for things such as unemployment insurance, and larger ones for receipts from income and employment taxes. Bottom line: much smaller deficits in the famous "out years."

3. Taxing Carbon. The "cap-and-trade" concept originated in the world of environmentalism, but it has dawned on federal officials and politicians that it's potentially a colossal source of tax revenue. Lord knows we have more air pollution than we know what to do with, so why not tax the heck out of those who produce it? Specifically, the scheme would tax carbon emissions by the pound, and allow polluters to trade the "right" to pollute by paying taxes. The original aim was to encourage electric utilities to develop new, non-carbon technologies, on the theory that if they didn't need the "carbon credits," they could sell them to those who still do. Obama is hoping to raise $79 billion in 2012 by implanting this system.

Some of these ideas are absolutely brilliant, and some of the others in the stimulus plan are concerning, but what cannot be argued is that Obama recognized that he had to move, and move fast, or else the economic and military tiger traps left behind by the Bush administration would have crippled his presidency and made him a one term Democratic anomaly.

George Bush and the Republicans purposefully sabotaged our economy, stuck us in an intractable military conflict, and damn near broke the country, all so they could turn around and blame the whole mess on the Democrats and their new President, in order to return to power in four years. The only way such a hateful plan will work is if people believe the Republican talking points constantly spouted by the MSM, and lose confidence in President Obama.

Obama may be the coolest politician I have ever seen. And I have wondered if that is not simply a facade that is just one catastrophe away from crumbling completely. But as I watched him deliver his speeches, work the crowds during economic townhalls, and deliver the goods in interview after interview I have come to believe that the hype actually may not have been hype at all. President Obama really is going to make everything okay.

I have no earthly idea how he can pull such a thing off, but for some reason, and totally out of character for me, I really believe he is the one man that can do it. And perhaps keeping our hope alive until we start to see results may be exactly the kind of help that our new President needs to deliver on his promises.

So from way up here in Anchorage, Alaska I am still with you Mr. President. And I still have my hope.