Thursday, November 06, 2008
Beer Googles And Waking To An Illusion The Next Morning...
...or several months down the road.
The cultists got to have their big night, 'Lots of tears, hugs, and swaying in unison with loud chants of "yes we can!" (I won't make the obvious analogy because it's so self-evident).
The more times I see Obama speak the more obvious his self-consciousness in speaking becomes apparent. I dare say that the cadence becomes more like Martin Luther King each time as well (not because of "race" but because he clearly knows how to copy the style of a great orator). A person certainly can't be faulted for merely mastering the art of public speaking but in Obama's case it's clearly overkill. If it wasn't for the current economic crisis that struck only recently, his soaring words and style would be downright odd (like Handel's "Messiah" as background music in a hardware store). Even with the current challenges facing Americans, Obama's dramatic "change the world" drama is a bit much. He's never really come across as "arrogant" to me. His style is skillfully more subtle than blatent arrogance but he does seem to convey the idea that he is a great man in great times about to do great things when, in fact, he's just a politician with a thin resume and some dubious friendships who is going to ram through some left-wing legislation – nothing really all that dramatic about that. It's not like it hasn't been done before. Of course, this time he has a congressional majority to help him do some things that saner times would be checked and balanced. On more than a few occasions he has expressed his disappointment with America's constitution and his desire to amend or alter its basic spirit. After all, America's constitution was only the well thought out work of some geniuses inspired by Montesquieu and John Locke. This is Obama we're talking about – The One. He surely has some better ideas for us to follow – "peace be upon his name."
The hard core Obamatons will stand (march?) by him no matter what happens in coming months, but the hard core are not the reason why Obama won the election. A lot of relatively moderate and even borderline conservatives tipped the scales to this unknown and inexperieiced charleton. The virtual media blackout on his flaws and constraints on hardball (and reasonable) questions left the O-Man looking farily moderate. Add to this the deliberate construction of a bear-hunting religious nut caricature of Sarah Palin, and some average folks took their chances with the smooth orator.
One of the few things Joe Biden said during the campaign that will no doubt come to pass is that Obama will be "tested" by our adversaries –duh.
He'll be tested even though he already passed the test. All past statements and sympatheis from the messiah are a virtual go-ahead to Russsia, China, Iran, and North Korea – "be nice or I'll call the U.N."
Domestic issues and the economy are a whole other can of worms. To "progressives," go ahead and try building yourselves another socialist mega-state. To the moderates who voted for "the one..." get read for some major disappointment (you will be taxed more, directly or indirectly through passed on higher prices). To Euro-socialists; Bush is gone, you may have to start actually facing your own serious problems. The country that is supposedly disproportionally "racist, Islamo-phobic and right-wing" has just elected a black guy with a Muslim name and early upbringing, a communist father, and a personal philosophy of government that is at least on par with some of Europe's most leftist political scoundrels.
Obama will get a year or so to blame every flawed decision and action on the legacy of George Bush. After that, that excuse will become a bit old with all those moderates that basically flipped a coin "for change." Then they'll be asking themselves what they should have been asking during the election, "Who is this guy?"
