[Bill,
January 21, 2009]
So, Day 1
Yesterday's inaugural festivities left me feeling alone. It's not that I am alone; I just don't now too many people who have anything good to say about George W. Bush. I've made it clear that how he's been treated has been a national disgrace. But let's move on. After all, it doesn't seem to bother him as much as it does me.
My reaction to yesterday:
1. It's always moving to witness the peaceful transfer of power. It's a great part of the American story.
2. I think Obama's a bit of a demagogue, but also a complex, thoughtful man who sincerely believes in doing the right thing. If he's conning people, he's conned himself first. I think our president is far more reasonable than his most of his followers. It will be important for me to keep this in mind.
3. I think it's a beautiful part of the American story that we've elected a black man as president. But now that he's president, I hope we hold him to the same standards as the other 42 men who held the job.
4. We still have no real idea what he'll do. Some of his inaugural address was very conservative and could have been spoken by Ronald Reagan. Some of it was inspiring. But there was an underlying arrogance that's worrisome, particularly in his contradictory echoing themes of the past, while at the same time tacitly dismissing the past. He talks about the need to begin work.
We've been working hard. Perhaps we need to redouble our efforts, but the efforts are already there, whether he's with us or not. I'm not explaining it well ... but right in there is the potential tragic flaw in the guy. Of course, he may know that and guard against it. Time will tell.
5. The orgy of adulation -- that's what worries me most. That's the most dangerous sign I've seen in our Republic in my lifetime. People are yearning for some kind of political savior, and that's an extremely dangerous and fascist tendency. I have never seen more than a hint of it before. Now, in the interests of full disclosure, my biggest macro- worry has been that an entertainment-driven culture will eventually become sentimental. And sentimentality leads to fascism. By sentimental, I mean losing your head because of your emotions as a central aspect of your character.
I am not talking about losing your cool or having moments of frustration and anger. I am talking about a willingness to have emotions out of proportion to events, and not think. I have this tendency myself and fight against it. So in this adulation, I see echoes of Nuremberg rallies -- the Germans being the most sentimental people on earth. But I could just be seeing my own worries fulfilled, when something else entirely is going on. (It's called something like selection bias -- you see reified in the world what you've already been thinking about).
6. I choked up when he mentioned Gettysburg.
*****
This all said, I wish our new president well. I will set aside my grave doubts and potential despair and hope for the best. My gut sense is that all this will end in tears, but my head tells me that we don't know the future. God no doubt has his reasons. Jimmy Carter, for example, was exactly the right man for the Camp David accords -- and for whatever his leadership faults, President Carter added an important component to our national dialogue.
I have no doubt that Obama is over-hyped and think he's ill-suited to the job, but I'm willing to see how he performs now that he's in office. But there's often an ironic twist to history that gives me hope.
Here's what I mean: Like hard-headed Nixon going to China, or Reagan seeing through Gorbachev at Rejkavick, or Carter hammering out every last point of contention between implacable enemies at Camp David, or George W. Bush throwing out that perfect strike at Yankee Stadium after 9/11, this administration, in the eyes of Providence, may boil down to one critical moment when Barack Obama will rise to the occasion.
It may have nothing to do with the War on Terror, or Big Government, or the Economic Crisis, or anything else we can predict. He may fail handling all those. This moment may not involve his strengths, but his weaknesses (see Carter's micro-management problem, which was the perfect characteristic to succeed at Camp David). There may be a time when Obama's unique, God-given talents are required, and it may be something small about him that no one sees it now.
My reaction to yesterday:
1. It's always moving to witness the peaceful transfer of power. It's a great part of the American story.
2. I think Obama's a bit of a demagogue, but also a complex, thoughtful man who sincerely believes in doing the right thing. If he's conning people, he's conned himself first. I think our president is far more reasonable than his most of his followers. It will be important for me to keep this in mind.
3. I think it's a beautiful part of the American story that we've elected a black man as president. But now that he's president, I hope we hold him to the same standards as the other 42 men who held the job.
4. We still have no real idea what he'll do. Some of his inaugural address was very conservative and could have been spoken by Ronald Reagan. Some of it was inspiring. But there was an underlying arrogance that's worrisome, particularly in his contradictory echoing themes of the past, while at the same time tacitly dismissing the past. He talks about the need to begin work.
We've been working hard. Perhaps we need to redouble our efforts, but the efforts are already there, whether he's with us or not. I'm not explaining it well ... but right in there is the potential tragic flaw in the guy. Of course, he may know that and guard against it. Time will tell.
5. The orgy of adulation -- that's what worries me most. That's the most dangerous sign I've seen in our Republic in my lifetime. People are yearning for some kind of political savior, and that's an extremely dangerous and fascist tendency. I have never seen more than a hint of it before. Now, in the interests of full disclosure, my biggest macro- worry has been that an entertainment-driven culture will eventually become sentimental. And sentimentality leads to fascism. By sentimental, I mean losing your head because of your emotions as a central aspect of your character.
I am not talking about losing your cool or having moments of frustration and anger. I am talking about a willingness to have emotions out of proportion to events, and not think. I have this tendency myself and fight against it. So in this adulation, I see echoes of Nuremberg rallies -- the Germans being the most sentimental people on earth. But I could just be seeing my own worries fulfilled, when something else entirely is going on. (It's called something like selection bias -- you see reified in the world what you've already been thinking about).
6. I choked up when he mentioned Gettysburg.
*****
This all said, I wish our new president well. I will set aside my grave doubts and potential despair and hope for the best. My gut sense is that all this will end in tears, but my head tells me that we don't know the future. God no doubt has his reasons. Jimmy Carter, for example, was exactly the right man for the Camp David accords -- and for whatever his leadership faults, President Carter added an important component to our national dialogue.
I have no doubt that Obama is over-hyped and think he's ill-suited to the job, but I'm willing to see how he performs now that he's in office. But there's often an ironic twist to history that gives me hope.
Here's what I mean: Like hard-headed Nixon going to China, or Reagan seeing through Gorbachev at Rejkavick, or Carter hammering out every last point of contention between implacable enemies at Camp David, or George W. Bush throwing out that perfect strike at Yankee Stadium after 9/11, this administration, in the eyes of Providence, may boil down to one critical moment when Barack Obama will rise to the occasion.
It may have nothing to do with the War on Terror, or Big Government, or the Economic Crisis, or anything else we can predict. He may fail handling all those. This moment may not involve his strengths, but his weaknesses (see Carter's micro-management problem, which was the perfect characteristic to succeed at Camp David). There may be a time when Obama's unique, God-given talents are required, and it may be something small about him that no one sees it now.