The Glory Train
End of the line!
The BHO Express having traversed 137 miles of countryside has arrived on track number nine in Washington DC. It seems like a pretty ostentatious display of energy waste for this stellar powered candidate and his commitment to conservation. But as has been the case for all of his campaign and the ravenous news coverage surrounding it, it’s all about the show.
By any standard this inauguration portends to be the most symbolic filled event Washington DC has ever seen. Even if some of that symbolism has to be crafted by the scores of PR publicists employed to spotlight each step in the march to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Every media outlet this side of Venus is preparing wall to wall coverage of the swearing in ceremony and all the gala events that follow. Some have even begun covering the coverage a full 48 hours before the big party is scheduled to start. Any criminally minded Californian could probably score enough ill-gotten gain to retire simply following a map of the stars homes as most of the Hollywood elite will be in attendance. All indications are that this will be an event suitable for, well, a superstar.
The McCain camp was roundly criticized for the now famous campaign ad pointing out the ludicrous celebrity status that this thoughtful self-biographer has attained. The ad even instigated nationally covered commentary by that gold standard of political pundits, the little boy Paris Hilton. The scary part is that every move made by the incoming president has only gone to further substantiate the ads correctness rather than dissuade its premise.
But after the last balloon has been popped and the last scrap of confetti has been swept we as a nation will be left with a complete novice as our 44th President and the leader of the free world. He will be supported by a cast of cabinet characters that appear eclectic at best and downright dangerous at their worst. They will all be propped up by a dysfunctional Democratically controlled House and Senate whose foremost focus will be on how to best retain this awesome power through the 2010 midterm elections and the 2012 general election.
To be sure there will be enormous challenges awaiting this new administration and I pray that our new president and his advisors are up to the challenge. But the fear is in the unknown, and as this new president has absolutely no record by which to forecast his performance, the unknown is the largest part of this equation.
The Obama campaign was the epitome of a “say anything” campaign even contradicting their own statements on the same day at different speaking engagements. The unknown is in how they plan to replace rhetoric with action and instead of talking about dreams actually fulfilling some that don’t involve getting elected.
Certainly there will be an extended “honeymoon” period for this historic administration as pundits and populace alike draw on comparisons to the Camelot era of the Kennedy White House. The press is preparing a love fest of epic proportions as indicated by the January 18th Sunday Chicago Tribune which carries the prophetic banner headline “Bound for Glory” before the new messiah has even spent one glorious day in office.
The early moves made by this president will be critical in showing the direction this administration plans to take and in demonstrating to the world that we do indeed have a strong, firm hand on the rudder of state. The legacy of Barack Hussein Obama will be far less about the historic nature if his inauguration and far more about his ability to lead the country and this very dangerous world we live in through some very rough waters. Glory is easy to predict but much harder to attain.
Early indications are troubling in the discussion of actions to be taken in the closing of Guantanamo Bay. The president and his pick for the head of the Justice Department have both stated unequivocally that they plan to close the facility. But when the question comes as to where they plan to relocate the murderous Islamic radicals housed there they return to the tried and true smoke and mirrors that worked so well during the campaign. The fear is not in them closing the facility but rather in them setting a precedent as to how these terrorists will be handled in the future. Smoke and mirrors just won’t work very long when the measure of success switches to results, or the lack thereof.
This president has the ability to make me and a bevy of conservative analysts look like complete fools and I actually hope and pray he does.
But if his cabinet picks with all their negative results of past actions in the Clinton administration and this Gitmo discussion are any indication the fools could be of a far more historic nature.
True glory is bestowed upon those who earn it, but rarely on those who seek it.
