Posted by
Bryn T. Jones on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 11:54:50 PM
The First Lady Michelle Obama famously commented on America that the "bar" gets moved up right when folks are doing everything they need to succeed. Well, in keeping with that, it seems President Obama is more than happy to allow the media to keep raising the bar of expectation. He has yet to denounce the euphoria that surrounds him or correct the rising public expectation for his presidency. He hasn't come out and told people, "No, I will not be paying your mortgage, put gas in your tank or eliminate your utility bills."
With the inaugueration done with, I wonder how long it will be until the glow dims on Obama's star? There certainly were times during his campaign that he took some hits and showed his obvious displeasure at being lowered to human standards. He took vehement exception to a certain down-home girl from Alaska pointing out his absurdities regarding the supposed rising ocean levels. More importantly, I wonder if President Obama will drop the aire of self-importance?
Early in the campaign we heard off-handed comparisons of Barak Obama and Abraham Lincoln. But the comparisons have not been limited to his home state. Rather, they have grown to include the inaugural Bible used by Lincoln, as well as some who seem to think President Obama has somehow fulfilled a mission started by the first Republican President. I fear that the joke about measuring Mount Rushmore for Barak Obama's bust wasn't so much of a joke.
Looking at his retoric, anyone can gleen what they like from his speech. If you want a president who is tough on our enemies, he declared we will defeat them and unapologetically, to boot. If you want us to use governement money to fund embrionic stem cell research (despite the disappointing results of that line of research) then he is going to start that. If the so-called global warming is one's cause, he will make sure we stop it. And like a good politician, he failed to spell out the specifics of any one of those declarations, leaving it up to each person to interpret it in their most desired way. I suspect our new President will dish more of the same for the next few years.
What he won't be able to do, however, is hide his actions. While he is a clever politician with a press core more loyal than any government run propaganda branch of the Soviets, he will be unable to control the ham handed liberal ajenda of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. He will face the choice of going along with his fellow Democrat "progressives" and usher in a New-New Deal of disasterous proportions, or govern from the center-right and find a less damaging middle ground.
Given his unremarkable history, I don't hold the bar too high for him. I hope he proves me wrong, but it appears we may be in for a term of exhuberant hope while willfully ignoring the lessons of history.