Premediating the Outcome of the Stimulus

In yesterday's New York Times, Frank Rich explained just how difficult it has been for Obama to effectively premediate the effects of the stimulus bill. Rich alludes to an "America-in-denial that must hear warning signs repeatedly, for months and sometimes years, before believing the wolf is actually at the door."

Rich futher elaborates on the precarious position Obama is in: "If he tells the whole story of what might be around the corner, he risks instilling fear itself among Americans who are already panicked...But if the president airbrushes the picture too much, the country could be as angry about ensuing calamities as it was when the Bush administration’s repeated assertion of 'success' in Iraq proved a sham."

I find the questions being posed here quite interesting, and quite relevant to understanding the logic of premediation. On the one hand, how does one premediate potential disastrous consequences without creating a self-fufilling prophecy (a very real danger, it seems, especially when it comes to the economy)? On the other hand, how does one premediate a secure and stable future (think of Obama's future-oriented rhetoric, from "Yes we can" to the constant motif of "hope") without seeming naive and misguided when such realities fail to materialize? I'm curious to see how Obama walks this tightrope in the upcoming months.