". . . little shall I grace my cause

In speaking for myself. Yet, by your gracious patience,

I will a round unvarnish'd tale deliver . . ."

(William Shakespeare's Othello, I.iii.88-90)

Friday, August 29, 2008

Disillusionment

I found last night's reaction to Barack Obama's acceptance speech among Fox News analysts to be highly interesting. The more liberal-leaning pundits Nina Easton and Juan Williams were less than enthusiastic, enumerating various ways in which the speech did not meet expectations. Conservative Bill Kristol, on the other hand, had high praise for the speech and what it had managed to accomplish. I can't help wondering if the difference in reaction is attributable to the more grounded and and realistic view of humanity that conservatives tend to have. Barack Obama is just a man, after all--an exceptional man, by all means, but still just a man. Neither he nor John McCain has it within his ability or power to create heaven on earth. And yet the worshipful behavior of some of Obama's followers suggests that's exactly what they expect from him. When he fails to deliver on that promise--when people start to realize he is just a man and not a god--there is bound to be some disappointment. Maybe we're finally starting to see that.

2 comments:

Elephantschild said...

How could Obama ever have lived up to the messianic hyperbole that's been surrounding the guy? Maybe, just maybe, if he'd rained manna down from heaven, magically lifted himself into the air as he was finishing the speech, and picked Hillary as his Veep.

Did you catch, in his speech, his promise to subsidize fuel efficient cars? Sheesh. You could almost see all the feel-good candy being flung from the stage, flying thru the air and landing in the open mouths of the attendees.

Cheryl said...

I just heard Rush Limbaugh (who btw is tickled pink about the Palin pick) suggest that McCain could have ended his rally with Palin today by announcing that while he and his VP pick hit the campaign trail they would appreciate it if Obama could go down to the Gulf and stop Hurricane Gustavus.

Whaddya say, Barack? :-)