A point which the article circled around, and which Aaron addresses, is the extent to which people feel as though they "know" Obama or can identify with him as a person. To presume such knowledge of a person who is extremely intelligent and who is equally calculated and measured is dangerous. It bothers me that people, in this day and age of cynicism and disillusionment, are still willing to have these blind allegiances.

If things aren't what they're called but what they do, then we don't fully know our president. We certainly don't know whether he and his wife have a great relationship, or whether he'd be a good lover, or whether he can be a part in solving the crises we face. We do know that he has a commitment to public service, that he is well-spoken and far less dogmatic than his predecessor, and that his election was a watershed event that has important implications for "JUSTICE" and our future.

Andrew's depiction of the campaign as allowing people to project their hopes onto Obama, to make him whatever they wanted him to be, seems pretty accurate to me. However, as Aaron notes, this is a worrisome state of affairs if followed by the president's inability to turn America into the land of milk and honey. Popular movements for "change" might help Obama to fulfill his promises, but I think its difficult to underestimate this country's capacity for apathy.

-- WalkerNewell - 11 Feb 2009