CURIOUS to see whether all this hype had any merit, I perused the Book of Revelation over the weekend. My suspicions were correct. The junior senator from Illinois does not ride a white horse, nor does a sharp sword protrude from his mouth with which to strike the nations. Alas, no matter how much we liberals want him to be, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il) is not the Second Coming. Some members of the media seem to abandon all pretense of objectivity as each newscaster barely attempts to disguise his or her adoration. But for the good of the country, and for the good of their party, liberals should not let their excitement overwhelm either their ability to judge Obama critically or their ability to regroup if His Holiness does not make it past the primaries.
The mainstream media does little to quell the liberal hysteria surrounding their anointed one. Referencing people who had come to hear Obama speak at an event, Susan Miller, a reporter for the Boston Globe, swooned, "Crowds clamor to get close to him, reaching to touch him. People often compare him to Robert Kennedy, saying the charismatic Illinois lawmaker inspires hope [in the] party." CNN news anchor T.J. Holmes referred to Obama as a "rock star" on the Saturday morning news, to which his senior national correspondent replied that Obama "doesn't love the spotlight so much as the spotlight loves him."
Fawning aside, there is much truth to the correspondent's statement. Let's face it -- Obama's story is made for the movies, especially if he wins the White House. No matter how much the media tries to be fair and balanced, Obama's meteoric rise in the political arena cannot be ignored. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't summon their journalistic skills and give other candidates an equal chance to shine.
Much of this media frenzy reflects overall American desperation for true leadership, a president of whom we can all be proud again. Obama is surely a diamond in the rough in this regard. In his 2004 keynote address to the Democratic National Convention, Obama proclaimed, "The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states...but I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states...We are one people ... all of us defending the United States of America." This is the message of reunification our country desperately thirsts for. Obama's eloquence is undeniable and deeply healing for a country torn asunder by war. But a way with words does not always correspond to good leadership, especially regarding foreign and domestic policy decisions.
When liberals conduct their primaries, they must see past the constructed image of Obama as some sort of savior and realize there are quite a few obstructions to his victory, not to mention the race issue. Obama has a liberal record. Obama is pro-choice, anti-capital punishment, pro-gun control, and he even supports allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security. While this may make liberals squeal with delight, it may make even moderate Americans think twice. Furthermore, his lack of foreign policy experience will pose tremendous problems.
There is considerable confusion about Barack's Muslim past as well. Liberals don't think religion should mix with politics, but the last few elections show this simply isn't reality. Especially in this War on Terror, Americans inevitably will feel uneasy about electing a man with an African and Muslim heritage, no matter how baseless these fears are. One can only guess what Republican spin doctors will do with the black candidate whose middle name is "Hussein."
Ironically, there are quite a few parallels between President Bush's race in 2000 and Barack Obama's current position in the national spotlight. Both candidates represented something desperately lacking in the former president. In 2000, Americans wanted to restore morality and honor to the Oval Office after President Clinton betrayed national trust profoundly. Bush, a born-again Christian running on a platform of "compassionate conservatism," seemed like the perfect antidote. In this race, Obama is like a fresh, mint mojito after a long trek through the desert. In many ways, he embodies the American dream. He is articulate. He is progressive. He reads and writes books. For many Americans weary of the sitting president, Obama simply would be a nice change from the illiterati of the Bush inner circle.
As we've seen with the failures of the Bush administration, just being different from an unpopular predecessor does not guarantee success in his own term if does indeed win. Obama offers a lot of talent and hope to the country, but if a dark secret of his were to come out, his fall from grace would be reminiscent of a Greek tragedy. No matter how much hope liberal Americans have for Obama to be the realization of all that is good in America, we must see him as a good candidate like any other -- unless Obama starts walking on water.
Marta Cook is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at mcook@cavalierdaily.com.
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