From Bill Schneider
CNN Senior Political Analyst

    
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Many Americans may be long on enthusiasm for President-elect Barack Obama's history-making election but may be short on something he's asking for: patience regarding the economy.

"The economy's likely to get worse before it gets better. Full recovery will not happen immediately," Obama said Monday.

How much time will voters give the new president to turn things around? With the magnitude of the crisis sinking in, the public may be giving the future president some breathing room.

In the meantime, Obama might be guided by President Reagan's experience in the 1980s.

No sooner did Reagan take office than the economy began to get a lot worse. Unemployment jumped to more than 10 percent, the highest level since the 1930s. It's about 6½ percent now.

By 1982, voters were getting anxious. Republicans lost 26 House seats in the midterm election. President Reagan's response? Stay the course.

A lot of voters stuck with Reagan because he had defined a course. By 1984, their confidence paid off.