The obsession has hit home. A new class at BU is offering perspective on Obama in relation to the Civil Rights Movement (See Page 1). It could prove enlightening, but we know how it went: people saw the name Obama tied to a class and flocked to it.
While it is easy for many to appreciate the excitement surrounding our new president, it’s also a frustrating phenomenon. The country’s cultural, and by extension, journalistic response to Barack Obama, both the person and the presidency, leaves doubts as to the depth of enamor. Are we in love with the policies or the image? Blind faith in political leaders has proved disastrous time and again, and while we’re not expecting a dictatorship in the future, there are disadvantages to extremism, no matter how uplifting it may seem.
Forget the countless collectible coins that you can buy ($19.95!) featuring Obama’s visage. His celebrity status is endearing but it’s also detracting from his ability to convey a serious persona, one that goes beyond skin deep characteristics of any sort. The New York Times itself on Wednesday reported on the trivial minutiae of Obama’s world: his affinity for warm weather, his khakis and even how late he stays in the Oval Office. Hollywood would be jealous, if most of its elite weren’t fawning as well.
In times as rough as these, a country does need a hero, and Obama could well be it. It’s no surprise that so many have latched onto him, but the infatuation is quickly adding up to useless rhetoric. In reality, Obama has at least four years before we know just how much praise, if any, he truly deserves as our leader.
But what do you expect? The Times needs to sell papers, lest it lose its headquarters. There’s self-serving venal hypocrisy for you.
We are beyond encouraged by our new president, but let’s not forget that all we have so far is talk heralded as gospel. The sooner the fad goes by the wayside, the better.