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A U T H O R
"A Play for Power"
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Santa Bama
To those that made the trek to the Mall in Washington, or watched the inauguration on television on January 20, January 21 must have seemed a lot like December 26. You know, the day after Christmas ... the day after all the presents are opened. A day when some folks finally realize that much to their dismay, they aren't getting all that they wanted or all that was promised. Not only that, many of the gifts they are receiving aren't exactly as advertised.
Yep, much like December 26, January 21, 2009 was a day when reality set in: a day that was void of the magic that kept so many going throughout a bleak and cold November and December ... a day that demanded some mental gymnastics in order to dodge the depression that followed.
Throughout the campaign, the media told us that as in the movie Miracle on 34th Street, Santa Bama was real. A lot of folks believed; a lot of folks went and sat on Santa Bama's lap. They whispered in his ear and told him what they wanted. And much like any good department store Santa, Santa Bama made promises.
Sure, he occasionally slapped the hand of those that would pat his fake belly or tug on his fake beard and that planted some doubt in the minds of those that saw it. A few of us even caught his sly "wink, wink, grin, grin", but the vast majority did not. So those that like an eight-year old wanted so desperately to believe, did so, without reservation.
Then came the inauguration. Then came the speech. The inaugural speech. A speech that one critic has said was flat and mediocre; totally void of theme, lyrics, rhythm and cadence. A speech that another critic said "decisively left behind the candidate who made audiences swoon, and the impressionable, faint. A speech that another said "left the million-plus on the Mall euphoric about the moment, but let down and puzzled about the future."
Let down? Confused? Disappointed? Sounds like the Christmas those gaily wrapped boxes I received contained luggage instead of a component stereo!
The British newspaper, the Daily Mail, explains the Obama victory this way:
"The Obama victory was a victory for the hysterical Oprah Winfrey ...the US mainstream media who abandoned any sense of objectivity long ago.
... A victory for a man who has done little with his life but has written about his achievements as if he had found the cure for cancer in between winning a marathon and building a nuclear reactor with his teeth.
... A victory for style over substance, hyperbole over history, rabble-raising over reality.
... A victory for Hollywood, the most dysfunctional community in the world.
... A victory for those who prefer welfare to will and interference to independence.
... Victory for a man who is no friend of freedom.
... A victory for those who believe the state is better qualified to raise children than the family, for those who prefer teachers' unions to teaching and for those who are naively convinced that if the West is sufficiently weak towards its enemies, war and terror will dissolve as quickly as the tears on the face of a leftist celebrity.
... A victory for social democracy even after most of Europe has come to the painful conclusion that social democracy leads to mediocrity, failure, unemployment, inflation, higher taxes and economic stagnation.
... A victory for intrusive lawyers, banal sentimentalists, social extremists and urban snobs."
On Inauguration Day, when President Obama addressed all his Kool-Aid drinkers, he had his say in prose, not in poetry. In stark contrast to what Santa Obama had promised; President Obama didn't give the swooners much of anything to cheer or chant about. His tone was sober; instead of hand outs and bail outs, he spoke about work, responsibility, sacrifice and service.
As he spoke those words, the mood of much of the crowd sank as one that instead of receiving a lavish gift on Christmas morning from their rich old uncle, learned that he had made a donation in their honor to the Salvation Army! No, on Inauguration Day, President Obama told those assembled in Washington and watching on television across the globe what he intended to do to advance his programs, his goals and his ambitions ... but no more.
Even when it came to race, instead of touting the achievements of the civil rights movement and his personal achievement as an African-American, he left it to the old race warlord Joseph Lowery to pray for the day when "... black will not be asked to give back; when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right." (I imagine these crude remarks ricocheted around the mall in stark contrast to Dr. King's remarks made forty-five years ago near that same place when he said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.")
Sounding less like Santa Bama and more like a crafty politician, President Obama used the occasion of his Inaugural to lower expectations. He admonished his listeners not to rely on the skill or vision of those in high office, but on themselves.
Could it be that the man that now carries the weight of the free world on his shoulders has come to realize that he can't part the waters any more than he can deliver on all the promises made by Santa Bama? Promises that he now dismisses as "political rhetoric"?
Folks, our new president is a man with nimble mind, an engaging manner and a wide-ranging intellectual curiosity. At the same time, he's a complicated man - subtle and contradictory - whose ways remain a mystery to many. Regardless of all we don't understand about him, I hope he turns out to be the best president this country ever had.
Anything less and like the lady that left the following message for CitiBank ...
http://www.ace.mu.nu/archives/WEnotrich1.wav
-- we're all going to be terribly disappointed.