I would’ve thought that wild horses couldn’t have dragged President Obama away from a gigantic football stadium packed to the brim with 65,000 cheering devotees, but most unfortunately, a chance of thunderstorms during the evening hours means that Democrats were regrettably compelled to move Obama’s speech to an indoor venue with a capacity for a mere 20,000 liberal enthusiasts. It’s okay, though — for the more than 40,000 would-be attendees who presumably made and put money into travel and transportation arrangements to be there for their champion during his big moment, they got a consolation prize: An apologetic conference call. The magnanimity is truly overwhelming.

President Barack Obama acknowledged to supporters Thursday that it’s “disappointing” that he won’t be able to address them in the Bank of America Stadium here because of a weather forecast that includes thunderstorms.

“I regret that we’re not all gathering in one place to deliver my acceptance speech tonight,” he said on a conference call for the 65,000 people who had been given tickets to hear him accept the Democratic presidential nomination. But, he said, “I could not ask you, our volunteers, our law enforcement, first responders to subject themselves to the risks of severe thunderstorms.” …

Obama acknowledged that ticketholders are “disappointed” and said he was, too, and that the staffers who planned the stadium event are “crestfallen” about the change. He encouraged them to go to watch parties in Charlotte or wherever they are.

Such a disappointment. Anyhoo, on to the main event. At least some of Obama’s fans, it seems, are ready to preemptively forgive him for a speech that will likely lack in any real substance. Even though a second Obama term would mean that ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank would be in the clear, and some sort of debt deal stopping us from falling over the fiscal cliff would be inevitable, the argument goes that there just isn’t much else our persecuted, put-upon president would be able to accomplish, because those dastardly House Republicans will still be in the way! It will most likely mean more gridlock, but that’s not his fault; he’s a real leader, and we should just elect him anyway:

Those would be humongous accomplishments, and it’s possible that historians looking back could regard just those three achievements as ample evidence of a successful presidency. Unfortunately for Obama, the future judgment of history offers no help for the quandary he faces in his speech tonight. Everyone wants to know exactly what Obama plans to do in his second term, even if everyone also knows that as far as new policy initiatives are concerned, by far the most likely outcome of an Obama second term would be another four years of gridlock. …

Obama could spend his entire speech detailing a sheaf of job-creation proposals, infrastructure spending, and educational initiatives, none of which would have a chance in hell of getting past a Republican-controlled House, or he could note that just doing nothing at all would be a magnificent triumph. … Talk about your rhetorical challenges!

I find myself irresistibly reminded of these Gin Blossoms lyrics: “If you don’t expect too much from me, you might not be let down.”