Emanuel, too, notes that his crystal ball has suffered occasional cloudiness: In March 2020, he said the country would get back to normal around November 2021. For that, his friends dubbed him “Mr. Pessimist.” Now, his message is at least as unwelcome: It’s going to be at least spring 2022 and possibly much longer before most people are ready to resume normal activities, because of the spread of the delta variant, continuing resistance to vaccines and widespread anxiety, especially about children who are not yet eligible to get vaccinated.