Cruising Altitude

Newsweek has a good piece about Obama that shows how well he understands the hopes and dreams projected on the big screen of his image as American Redeemer. They’re not entirely real. Separating himself from the image is crucial; it’s one way he navigated his campaign, and it will be the only way to get things done as president. So it’s good to see him give a completely boring press conference. The expectations for Obama are beyond what any man can achieve, and he seems to understand that when a leader is lifted so fast by a popular groundswell, it’s a psychological phenomenon, an expression of need in a society more than a function of raw talent. This phenomenon can happen to good and bad people, and I happen to think Obama is good, potentially great. But we’ll see. For the moment I’m just pleased that a sober, competent guy I liked from the start has made it to the White House. That never happens.

UPDATE: Colson Whitehead, author and skinny black guy, never thought he’d see the day when a truly skinny president took office.

UPDATE 2: This wish list for Obama story has been making the rounds, and it emphasizes just how historically different the Obama presidency has the potential to be — even, or especially, if none of the interest-group “wishes” are fulfilled. Because of the way he raised money, Obama is less in hock to union and corporate interests than the sort of politicians we got used to in the 20th century. This is dawning on both liberals and conservatives:

“He owes nothing to anyone except the people who elected him,” said Democratic strategist Steve McMahon.

Norman J. Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said that the unprecedented ground organization and campaign infrastructure that Obama built left him less reliant on groups such as labor unions to get voters mobilized and to the polls. As a result, he said, Obama is less obligated to them now.

“He doesn’t have the traditional strings attached,” Ornstein said. “For labor, it’s not like they can come to him and say, ‘You would not be president were it not for us.’ ”

The same is true, Ornstein said, for campaign contributors. In the past, he said, trial lawyers – as a group a reliable supporter of Democratic candidates – could go to a presidential nominee and make certain demands. But he said they can’t do that to Obama because his own e-mail list of small donors has proven it can raise far more.

“The implicit threat of financial blackmail – it’s just not worth very much,” Ornstein said.

That’s where the potential for greatness lies. What if the American empire can be run like the old American republic?

     posted 9 November 2008 by Michael Scott Moore

  1. I like Obama, too, but I watched that whole press conference live and I think it was a solid B-/C+. As a fan, I liked it; as a political wonk, I cringed several times, and I am critical of the fact he “ummmms” too much. Nitpicky, yeah, but he just didn’t seem to have his game legs. The media will be nice about it, and I think he deserves passes for at least six weeks, but it wasn’t anything great.

    e

    — e    Nov 9, 09:58 am    #

  2. Well, that’s the point. It didn’t need to be great. The question in a press conference is whether you treat it as a PR session in a shark tank, or as a chance to explain yourself to the public. He’s not in power yet, so it’s hard to tell.

    — Mike    Nov 9, 12:24 pm    #

  3. Apparently he shut out Fox News. They’ve treated him shabbily, so I don’t blame him. BILD Zeitung in Germany would be an absolute joke if politicians ignored it, which they don’t, and Fox is tabloid journalism like BILD. (Even Murdoch is embarrassed by Fox, if you read that first link.) But it still shows some paranoia on Obama’s part about the shark tank.

    — Mike    Nov 9, 01:04 pm    #