Obama Lama Dama Ding Dong
Jimmy Carter ruined politics for my wife. He was, she will tell you with a wistful gaze, the first candidate she cared about. The first candidate who she thought could actually make the world a better place. The first candidate who just seemed wired differently than the rest. We all know the rest of the story. Iran. OPEC. Malaise. In the end, my wife became another person who snorted cynically at all politicians. Who thought the "The System" was rigged to destroy good men and maintain the status quo. The Man from Plains let her down big time. It has, ironically I think, taken a truly horrendous President to trigger a cautious re entry into terra politicus.
I fear that the same fate will be in store for some Obama supporters. Although the Senator from Illinois has my support, I worry that legions of his fans ("supporters" seems like an understatement, mere "supporters" don't faint at the sight of him) are going to be let down when they find out he is human.
The Senator's fan base seems to have a way of talking about him as though he is a combination rock star, artist, or writer. He alone has some transformative power, some deep wisdom about our country and the human condition. His journey is talismanic, a metaphor for just about anything you want a metaphor to describe. Many don't really seem to care about his politics. They are in this for "the Man."
Trouble is, "the Man" will inevitably disappoint them. He will show himself to be human. He will make some compromise, wander into some grey area, dodge some issue, victimize himself with some indiscretion, or worse, run into a wall like the Man from Plains. (Right now he is sending checks totalling over $600,000 to the campaigns of various super delegates, a move some might call buying votes.) When that happens... and it will... his supporters will undoubtedly suffer spasms of biblical proportions. They will pluck out their eyes and rent their garments. They will wail that they were let down again. Their faith that one man could transform a nation is betrayed. Oh why, why, could he not be as transcendent as we had hoped? Why, why must he have human flaws? Why, why did he play the game to win?
They will become cynics because their unrealistic hopes were dashed. In time they will fancy themselves worldly wise and jaded. Some will just go back to voting Republican and rolling their eyes at all those idealists who think they have an option other than rolling over. They will probably trot out that damn Churchill quote about young men and old men and think it is really insightful. (To be fair, my wife has never fallen to this depth.)
The sad thing here is that the Obama Hangover, like all hangovers, is a product of the mixer, not the booze. By investing themselves so much in the man's personality, and by making him a slate or their personal hopes and dreams, many Obama supporters privilege the Man over the Ideas. They get caught up in the Coke and not the rum. They forget that tonic is useless without som gin. They forget that progressive politics is more important than any one progressive. They forget that universal healthcare, living wages, fair trade, peace, civil rights and liberty are worthwhile goals whether furthered by the Senator from Illinois or the Senator from New York. The candidates are just afterthoughts.
I hope that some Obamanites start drinking their politics straight and discard the sweet mixer, 'cause its the sugar, not the booze, that will kill you.
At least when the Obama Nation's moment of disillusionment comes .. and it will... my wife will feel your pain. Then she will tell you to get over yourself and maybe tell you tales of what happened when Americans stopped watching the henhouse because those horrible Clintons turned out to be human and not transcendent and they made us all cynical and.... well you know that story.
I fear that the same fate will be in store for some Obama supporters. Although the Senator from Illinois has my support, I worry that legions of his fans ("supporters" seems like an understatement, mere "supporters" don't faint at the sight of him) are going to be let down when they find out he is human.
The Senator's fan base seems to have a way of talking about him as though he is a combination rock star, artist, or writer. He alone has some transformative power, some deep wisdom about our country and the human condition. His journey is talismanic, a metaphor for just about anything you want a metaphor to describe. Many don't really seem to care about his politics. They are in this for "the Man."
Trouble is, "the Man" will inevitably disappoint them. He will show himself to be human. He will make some compromise, wander into some grey area, dodge some issue, victimize himself with some indiscretion, or worse, run into a wall like the Man from Plains. (Right now he is sending checks totalling over $600,000 to the campaigns of various super delegates, a move some might call buying votes.) When that happens... and it will... his supporters will undoubtedly suffer spasms of biblical proportions. They will pluck out their eyes and rent their garments. They will wail that they were let down again. Their faith that one man could transform a nation is betrayed. Oh why, why, could he not be as transcendent as we had hoped? Why, why must he have human flaws? Why, why did he play the game to win?
They will become cynics because their unrealistic hopes were dashed. In time they will fancy themselves worldly wise and jaded. Some will just go back to voting Republican and rolling their eyes at all those idealists who think they have an option other than rolling over. They will probably trot out that damn Churchill quote about young men and old men and think it is really insightful. (To be fair, my wife has never fallen to this depth.)
The sad thing here is that the Obama Hangover, like all hangovers, is a product of the mixer, not the booze. By investing themselves so much in the man's personality, and by making him a slate or their personal hopes and dreams, many Obama supporters privilege the Man over the Ideas. They get caught up in the Coke and not the rum. They forget that tonic is useless without som gin. They forget that progressive politics is more important than any one progressive. They forget that universal healthcare, living wages, fair trade, peace, civil rights and liberty are worthwhile goals whether furthered by the Senator from Illinois or the Senator from New York. The candidates are just afterthoughts.
I hope that some Obamanites start drinking their politics straight and discard the sweet mixer, 'cause its the sugar, not the booze, that will kill you.
At least when the Obama Nation's moment of disillusionment comes .. and it will... my wife will feel your pain. Then she will tell you to get over yourself and maybe tell you tales of what happened when Americans stopped watching the henhouse because those horrible Clintons turned out to be human and not transcendent and they made us all cynical and.... well you know that story.
posted by Jack Reed at 9:50 AM
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