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Ambassador Obama
by
Bethanie Morrissey 7/31/08
I cannot get a straight answer from any of my colleagues. Why exactly do they like Obama? No, seriously. Specifically. What's so great? I mean, I get that he's tall, slender, handsome, and has a great smile. But so does Keanu Reeves, and not even I want Keanu for president. (I want him for quite different purposes, but that's another essay entirely.) But as for Obama, what is his specific appeal? Beyond looks and words, I mean. Beyond what he symbolizes (exoneration from white guilt, and a gesture toward a world that hates America even when we're saving their butts and pouring financial aid down their throats.)
What exactly do they think Obama will do? End war? Well, no, he's said recently that he'd intensify our involvement in Afghanistan... and now he's talking smack about Pakistan!
Even Bush didn't talk smack about Pakistan.
Will he change the world? Well, they think he will, though he didn't even change Chicago, and he had plenty of chances.
Guest
Contributor
Bethanie Morrissey
Bethanie Morrissey is an English teacher in Los Angeles and a veteran of the US Navy. She loves writing, cats, and her Mac.
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Will he bring the races together? Fulfill MLK's dream of all of us sitting down together at the same table? Um... I doubt it. No one who hung out with Reverend Wright for 20 years wants to bring whites to the table, unless we are crispy golden-brown, and have an apple in our mouths.
So what do they want Obama to do?
It seems to me, they want him to 'represent.' Step forth and be the face of America. Go unto the distant lands and smile pretty. Be dazzling. Sell us to the populace. Show me the money! You're fabulous, darling. Fabulous.
No one that I've met, not even his supporters, talks about the decisions they want him to make. They don't give a flying possum WHAT decisions he makes, that much is clear.
He says "Pull the troops out of Iraq!" They cheer.
He says, "We can't pull them out now, the engines can't hold, sir, she's breaking up!" They cheer.
He says "The surge won't work!" and they cheer.
He says, "Since the surge worked, we can probably pull out in 16 months." Even McCain says, "Yeah, probably."
If he sang, "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb-bomb Iran" and even the tree-huggers would sing along.
It's baffling if you're wondering what he stands for and why anyone would want him leading us. Leading us where?? This is not a man who has any idea where to go, much less how to get there.
But I'll tell you what he does know. He knows how to SELL things. He could sell a melting ice-cap to a sober Eskimo. He can show you the money. He can lead a horse to water and turn that water into wine! That's why they call him the Messiah! Want to play 'Where's Obama?' Follow the drunken horse!
In other words, this man is not a President. He's not presidential material. A president is, frankly, someone like George W. Bush. A president is someone who makes unpopular decisions, and everyone hates him. And he doesn't care, because leadership is not a popularity contest.
Can you imagine Obama's reaction to being unpopular? Everyone giving him dirty looks? He'd crap himself. He's accustomed to being loved and adored. He's accustomed to being stroked, petted, cooed over. Women love him. They giggle when they see him, but freeze when he sees them. Then they faint.
You think this man is ready to do something that will have everyone throwing rotten tomatoes at him? Are you high? It would kill him.
Obama is an ambassador at heart. He's the guy you send in to soften up your targets and make them not totally hate the fact that you've cut their budget, re-allocated their slush fund, taken a fresh look at their territorial claims, and right-sized their staff. Heck, he's not even there to do that ugly stuff. He's there in advance to let you know that you are still a very valuable part of the team, and he is counting on you to pull it together ... like only you can! Because no one else could handle it like you!
Obama is good at being uplifting, energizing, inspiring, reassuring... He's the gameshow host who gets the audience whooping and cheering, not the studio exec who says, "Fire that old fellow and hire the guy from that sitcom with the fat secretary." Who loves that studio exec? No one. Who loves the game show host? Everyone!!
The next time a colleague tells me how he loves Obama because he's inspiring, energizing, articulate, and represents a fresh new wind of change, I'm going to agree with him.
Yes, he does. He can go overseas and make people love America again. This is a job for an ambassador.
But it's not what a president does. A president makes decisions. An ambassador is that spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down. ExileStreet
copyright
2008 Bethanie Morrissey
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