Posted by
Starspangledblogger on Thursday, February 01, 2007 6:45:34 PM
The Obama phenomenon currently gripping our nation is not really all that new. It is just the most recent manifestation of an already-abominable reality of American politics. It is the abomination of style over substance.
As of this writing, the U.S.A. is still the world’s foremost superpower. And, paraphrasing Stan "The Man" Lee in the pages of Spider-Man: with super-power comes super-responsibility. And yet, we still seem to favor style over substance in choosing our leaders and representatives.
Obama is not the first or last to benefit from this rather childish political habit of ours. We have long ago decided that image is more important than meaning. When was the last time a presidential candidate with glasses was a serious contender? When was the last time we had a real contender who was shorter than average height? Dukakis was short, and he paid HE!! for it. So did Carter (never mind the fact that they were ineffectual dweebs, head to toe). And we don’t even want to consider the possibility of a bald nominee for one of the major parties. Can’t happen. It will never happen. It hasn’t happened since the 1950's, so why should we expect it now?
Perhaps I’m alone in thinking that we may rob ourselves of troves of experience, talent, and abilities by taking such superficial, shortsighted view of our potential leaders, placing undue emphasis on physical attributes? Does a man’s imperfect eyesight hinder his ability to lead? Does his paucity of follicles render him inept? Does the distance between his feet and his forehead make a man a mouse?
In such a culture as this, is it surprising that an insubstantial hack like Barrack Obama would be considered a big time player? He has all the bona fides that matter. He’s youngish, a stylish dresser, ethnic, and (in the words of Joe Biden) clean and articulate. Obama is the real deal in our Paris Hilton-obsessed, American Idol-watching, Oprah-worshiping culture.
All Barrack needs now is a catchy compound name (ala Tom-Kat or Brangelina) to link him to some other beloved media icon. I have it! I have it! OPRAHMA!!! To heck with the election. Let’s just crown him right now.