How do you run against someone who isn’t running on anything? That’s exactly the problem facing anyone who’s up against Barack Obama. His campaign is fluff, devoid of specifics, drifting by on the sails of change. What kind of change? Who knows, but it doesn’t matter, change is good (unless it’s the climate). If anyone calls Obama out on the fact he’s even less experienced than JFK, it becomes and issue of race. His campaign is based entirely of lofty emotional rhetoric. It’s the perfect twenty first century candidacy. Obamamania is almost like a religion. Some of his own supporters are even noticing how strange this phenomena is becoming.
Excuse me, but this sounds more like a cult than a political campaign. The language used here is the language of evangelical Christianity – the Obama volunteers speak of “coming to Obama” in the same way born-again Christians talk about “coming to Jesus.”
But he’s not Jesus! He’s not going to magically enable us to transcend the bitter partisanship that is tearing this country apart. And even if he is elected, in no way will that show that somehow we have “gotten beyond” race.The Obama campaign’s instruction to their volunteers to steer clear of policy questions. How can we truly bring about real political change if the movement the Obama people are building is devoid of ideological content, content merely to mouth gauzy generalities about “coming together” and “yes we can”? Such a movement becomes a cult or personality rather than engine for social justice and political transformation. And personality cults can be a huge turnoff to those who are not already drinking the Kool-Aid.
I should note that I have already suggested that the Kool-Aid Pitcher Man be the new mascot for the Democrat Party. The real question is this, does it really matter? Does it really matter that Obama thinks? Aren’t issues secondary? He’s a great story, great speaker, and he wants to unite us. Isn’t that enough? Shouldn’t our votes be based entirely on how we feel? I see American moving from cynicism to apathy so very quickly. Who has time to care when we feel so good?
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