"Everybody today in the United States is looking to point a finger for the problems," the teacher says as she takes a break from running the 4-H petting zoo at the annual fall festival in this leafy Michigan town of 9,000 just west of Lansing. "Well, the problems started long before (Obama) got into office. It's too soon."

On the other hand, three years after she got her master's degree in education, Norris, 38, who voted for Obama, is just scraping by on $75-a-day substitute-teaching jobs. With the housing market down, she and her husband, Jerry, owe more on their home than it's worth.

As the anniversary of the election approaches, the tidal wave of hope that swept Obama into office has ebbed and some perceptions...