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Obama might fail (sorry)
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While Mr. Obama’s leadership abilities quite obviously extend far beyond those of standard men, I begin to question the viability of his rhetoric as time goes on. Certainly we can’t be too harsh on the man only a few months into his historic first term. However, I, as one eager citizen whirled up in the Obama machine that came to a head last November, have begun to expect some measure of result. When I listen to Mr. Obama speak these days, I’m not filled with the same sense of panacea that seeped into my world as the presidential election
moved on.
“Wall Street” and “Main Street” and “hope” and “change” and a multitude of buzzwords injected into the public sphere as speech after speech of Obama’s happened to sound eerily similar got a little fishy for me. At the time, that was okay: it seemed the consistency of the campaign far eclipsed the importance of excitement and variety in any sense. But here we are after putting onto the shoulders of Mr. Obama perhaps the greatest national burden of all time and Obama’s xeroxed language remains. I say again, it has to do with measurement of result.
“They will not be met easily or within a short span of time. But know this America: they will be met,” Obama said in his inaugural address in regard to America’s cute lil’ “problems.”
“None of this will come without cost, and it won’t be easy,” Obama reiterated in an address to Congress Feb. 24.
Considering the shift in audience, Obama’s take on delivery should be noted. But so too should the nearly identical speeches given a month apart. I ask: has Obama put himself on too high a pedestal? The sense I’m getting from the man is a slowly deflating balloon of promise – he can’t outdo himself at some point, especially when the nation consistently expects professorial elucidation to flow from him.
“Can Obama change the world?” ran the ticker on one cable news network’s coverage of the inauguration. Well, to put it simply, he cannot. The problems with this nation have become too ideological for citizens to expect anything revolutionary from the middle-aligned president. Passing another stimulus plan shocks more than subdues me. The act is shortsighted and callow, playing to impatience and the same tired American ideals Obama angrily told Congress not to come to the table with in negotiating the bill.
As MSNBC reported Wednesday morning March 4, Mr. Obama is more popular than ever. As a figurehead of hope and the pure notion of change, Obama does a great job. I can’t deny this. But still, he’s just a figurehead. An important symbol, but only that: a symbol. I mustn’t forget his humanity, but I also can’t expect too much more from the man.
The reassuring thing to consider even in the face of failure is this: in what sense does the economy, the status of our nation, or the failings of those in power control how one is able to live? Wall Street is gone. My temperament, for one, didn’t change when this happened. Yes, we’re all poor. And even remaining poor for the rest of our lives looks me in the face. So, while discovering over time the result of Obama’s administration may be wonderful or horrifying for the state of America, the measure of our happiness still is not given in dollars and cents. It never will be.
DALE W. EISINGER
Culture Editor