Obama’s Big Day – An Inauguration or a Coronation?
Watching the events leading up to the swearing-in of President-elect Barack Obama as the next American president, I can’t help but notice the curious reaction of Americans to the impending inauguration ceremony. Indeed, both the reactions of the public and the maneuvers of the Obama camp lend to the notion that we’re not so much witnessing the swearing-in of a political leader, but the coronation of a new king.
There’s no question that the last eight years has seen an erosion in both the strength of the American economy, but also it’s influence on the global stage and for a people that pride themselves as being the envy of the world, that’s an understandable hard pill to swallow. Usher in a young-ish, charismatic and eloquent political figure and it’s not hard to see why the general American public is currently swooning on Obama’s every move. Add to this the fact that Americans have had themselves represented on the world stage by a man who continued to butcher the English language as if it weren’t his native tongue, and Obama’s lyrical use of words becomes unquestionably a breath of fresh air.
But with the American economy becoming progressively worse each day and wars being fought on two fronts with no foreseeable end in sight, with civil rights for both majority holders and various minority groups under assault due to newly legislated acts like the Patriot Act, Obama’s tendency to brush wide strokes of a vision for a better tomorrow should no longer be mistaken as a pragmatic plan for how to address these issues currently dogging the United States. Indeed, many outside of the US are now growing weary of Obama’s rhetoric, looking to him to provide more substance and less style to address these pressing issues.
Of course, those deeply entrenched in the Obama camp are quick to jump to his defense, arguing that it’s not fair to expect so much from someone who’s recently ascended through the political machine to land the job of leading the country. However, it is Obama himself who is responsible for creating this assumption; even now he’s attempting to align himself with the likes of Lincoln and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.. The reality, though, is that any challenges Lincoln faced were only within his country and not on a global scene. And while Martin Luther King was able to speak of visions and hope for a better future, a political leader can’t afford to proffer poetic verse as a means of governance. As those who lived through the Great Depression can attest, hope doesn’t put food on the table.
The time has now come for Obama to drop his continued use of dramatic, stirring speeches as a means of instilling hope into his constituents and instead, provide some clearly defined plans and policies that can be publicly debated, challenged and discussed. Clearly, the American public feels the same with a recent poll showing a large majority of Americans are in favour of Congress denying Obama access to the remaining funds in the bailout program until he delivers concrete plans detailing what exactly he intends to do with these public funds. That more than anything is reassuring that we might see a change in American policies as the American public would appear to have learned about the dangers of blindly trusting those they put into political office, regardless of how well they can sculpt with the English language or whatever platform they use – be it ‘national security’ or ‘economic stimulus’ – to justify their plans for their country.
It’s clear that a sense of euphoria and excitement is permeating the American psyche right now, swept up in the well-orchestrated movements of the Obama camp with their prevailing rhetoric that America can recapture the ‘good ‘ol days’ when their country was prosperous and respected the world throughout. It’s a wonderful dream, but the time is fast approaching where Obama can no longer use such imagery to engage, or perhaps distract, his constituents and instead, he has to provide a clear map showing exactly how he plans to lead them through the desert in search of that mythical promised land. After all, he’s already admitted that he won’t be able to keep many of the promises he made during his campaign for the job of President, promises that no doubt were a part of his grand vision for a new America. It’s those words, more than poetic verses and allegories to a time long since past into American history, that should echo as a stern warning to all who are currently enraptured by his eloquence to question and demand a better description of what exactly Barack Obama envisions as a better America for tomorrow. The American public are entitled to no less than that.
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I like your article. I do not get into conversations with people about politics, but you did bring up some valid points. The media is great, isn’t it? Ha Ha A lot of people are looking at Obama as a celebrity. I would not want that on me! I feel sorry for whoever becomes President. What a job!!
Thanks Doraz. I appreciate that.
Politics is a nasty beast to get into discussions with, particularly because many insist on categorizing people as either Democrats, Republicans, right-wingers, left-wingers, social conservatives, . . . Honestly, it’s amazing any discussions are had at all given how many prefer instead to hang out in their respective cliques where the like-minded can graze together, patting each other on the back for being right and turning their noses up at those who beg to differ. It’s the high school social setting scene all over again.
You do bring up another interesting dilemma for Obama – his portrayal, if not the manner in which he presents himself in certain social settings, as a quasi-celebrity/media star. One thing everyone can agree on is that in the States, people love their ’stars’. However, the problem with America’s love affair with celebrities is that after a certain point, there’s this obsessive need to watch these very people that were held in such high regard crash and burn. Obama as it is has enough pressure to deliver the goods on getting America ‘back on track’. Having this celebrity veneer added to his persona is definitely not going to help him several months from now when we enter the rougher waters ahead. So, yeah, I wouldn’t want this job either, though apparently there are some pretty nifty fringe benefits like top-tier medical coverage and a generous pension plan. That and you get your own plane.
Thanks for adding to the conversation.
“Coronation,” Tanveer? Really? Have you ever looked at the gentleman’s voting record in the Senate, or are you just quoting some random, resentful Fox News correspondent today?
After eight years of an executive which demonstrably fabricated evidence as an excuse for war, extended its own powers, and committed war crimes, among others in a list that reads like dystopian fiction, I think the American public can be excused for wanting to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the idea of a chief executive who has shown legitimate intelligence, awareness of our country’s true condition, respect for his audience (more than I’ve seen in decades from any president), and intent to get legitimate work done on their behalf.
moeskido, perhaps you should read my article instead of simply reacting to the headline . . .
In my second paragraph, I clearly pointed out that it’s easy to understand the American public’s elation over Obama’s rise to the presidency after what they experienced under Bush for the last eight years. So why you need to explain America’s excuse “wanting to breathe a sigh of relief” here is odd to say the least.
And unlike you, I’ve backed up my points with links to real news sites, specifically, the Associated Press and Gallup, organizations that I can’t imagine any well-read individual piling in with the likes of Fox “News”. Also, Obama’s Senate record has no bearing on the issues I bring up since as Senator, he’s never had to develop plans for economic renewal, or how he’ll get the troops out of Iraq, and how to make real inroads in Afghanistan. If Obama’s plans were so clearly drawn, markets in Asia wouldn’t be falling due to political uncertainty; rather they’d be rising because concrete measures are known and understood. Curious how you conveniently overlooked all these facts.
And speaking of Fox News, I’ve already written on my blog what I think of that ‘information’ source. Trying to dismiss my points by attempting to align it with an organization like Fox News simply because it challenges your own position and/or beliefs is hardly a means to present a countering stance, let alone convince others that you have anything valid to present to the debate. It’d also be useful for you to review what other issues a writer has written about before you attempt to categorize or dismiss the points being made. Jumping to conclusions without taking into consideration all the facts is never a practical or reasoned approach.
It’s always a good rule of thumb to take a moment and reflect on what the writer is saying instead of letting your emotions get the best of you. That way, you can respond in a more rational fashion and present a countering position that others can review and challenge, as opposed to simply resorting to making attempts to downplay a person’s intelligence as you did in your comment above. The kind of reaction you’ve posted here, to be quite honest, makes you sound more like the very people you are claiming to despise and consequently, someone I doubt many reasoned individuals would take seriously.
In any case, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this issue.