Catching up on blogs after my return from Port Townsend, I was impressed by this excellent post from "Celestial Lands" entitled "I'm beginning to become concerned". His concerns were sparked by this video:
It bothers me, too. It is an example of the quote I have referenced before: "there is a God shaped hole in the human heart that must be filled with something". I don't mean that people are sacrificing small animals to Senator Obama, but many are placing levels of hope and faith in him that are usually reserved for Gods, not mortals- you can actually see tears and hear choked up voices when some people speak of him.
The supplication at the end of the video, "When you get to the top, don't forget about me", carries the whiff of a threat when you consider that no President can deliver the kinds of changes that Obama's supporters are talking about. Consider the issues:
IRAQ. Experts agree that if we just pull out next January, there will be civil war and purges to rival the killing fields of Southeast Asia- that assessment has a stronger consensus than Global Warming. That is why the Democratic congress has kept funding the war despite their pre-election rhetoric. President Obama is not going to leave as his legacy a mass slaughter; hence, we will remain in Iraq until a viable government is in place. Optimistic experts say that will be 18 months to two years; many say three to five years. Not even the management of the war will change dramatically; even Haliburton will retain their no-bid contracts. Bush hired them for the same reason Clinton did for his Bosnian war; they were the only company with the manpower and expertise extant, and still are.
GAS PRICES. No matter who the President is, gasoline prices will be driven by the market, and will go up and down as supply and demand drives them. The demands of China, India, and the rest of the developing world are going nowhere but up. Alternative fuels? The Department of Energy was created to find them, and thirty years and tens of billions of dollars later there still isn't a viable alternative- President Obama isn't going to change that in four or even eight years.
ENERGY POLICY. Nuclear, hydroelectric, and wind power are all opposed bitterly by environmentalists and animal rights activists- core constituents of the Democratic party. (however, in a truly bipartisan effort, Kennedy and Romney worked hard to kill the offshore wind farms in New England) The next President will be forced eventually to ok drilling offshore and in ANWAR- forget gasoline, we need five million barrels of oil a day just for the plastic and chemical industries.
GLOBAL WARMING. President Obama will not get the Kyoto Protocols ratified; when President Clinton tried, the Senate voted 95-0 against it. As long as the world's largest producer of greenhouse gasses- China- refuses to sign on, we won't either.
THE ECONOMY. Let me sum it up this way: the primary reason why Congress' popularity polls are down in the single digits is the economy. Don't you think that if there was any way to improve it quickly, they would do so? Do you think they like being unpopular?
Obama's supporters believe, with a truly religious fervor, in changes that no mere President can deliver. I hope his charisma can carry them when reality sets in; I fear for public order if it doesn't. David was right to quote Frank Herbert:
Here lies a toppled God.
His fall was not a small one.
We did but build his pedestal,
A Narrow and a Tall one.
3 comments:
I just want to say that if one ignores the political part of the video it is a beautiful and inspiring song.
So much so that it does not even feel like a political song at all, which like yourself and David also frightens me. I am an Obama supporter and I think he will make a good president (and a better President than McCain) but I agree that the status and expectation being placed upon his shoulders is not only unrealistic but also boardering on fanatical.
I think the reason Obama appears messianic is that he is seen on a backdrop of 30 years of right wing nihilism. He is the first person in a generation on which our highest ideals as Americans can be reflected.. No doubt he will stumble it will be highly anti-climactic to many but at least he is carrying the torch.
I don't know about that- don't you think that Reagan tapped those same emotions, made people feel good about themselves and America?
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