November 19, 2008

Abraham Obama

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Would you like your Obamraham in yellow or red?

Gary Wills, like so many others of his smitten cohort, returns to the myth of Finding the Lincoln in Obama, and yet refuses to see -- with millions of others -- that the making of Lincoln was not in his election, but in the Civil War that followed in its train.

No acolyte like Wills seems wants to underscore this brute fact of the Lincoln/Obama debate. Certainly not me. Not at this time.

Instead I take solace from a passage in the Holy Book of Bob Dylan:
While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have
To stand naked.

-- Bob Dylan | It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)

Or, as Gagdad Bob says in the comments:

The problem is, the moment Obama actually does something, he will have made the transition from ideal to real. He will have undergone the formality of existing, which is always an insult to omnipotence -- not necessarily to his, but to that of his cult members. It's the same reason why you can't show a picture of Mohammed.

Posted by Vanderleun at November 19, 2008 4:54 AM
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The problem is, the moment Obama actually does something, he will have made the transition from ideal to real. He will have undergone the formality of existing, which is always an insult to omnipotence -- not necessarily to his, but to that of his cult members. It's the same reason why you can't show a picture of Mohammed.

Posted by: Gagdad Bob at November 19, 2008 10:02 AM

In our instant pop culture, myths come easy and die hard. No story is left to unfold through challenges and time. Rather Obama's adoring sychophants are already preparing his memorial on the national mall even before he's sworn in.

Posted by: Webutante at November 19, 2008 12:47 PM

If Obama proves to be as humorless as he appeared to be during the campaign, I wonder if any comedian will be able to ridicule him without fearing a knock on the door at 3 am.

Posted by: Jewel at November 19, 2008 4:26 PM

Gagdad has nailed it, Obama can never stand up to the scrutiny, or reality, of his basic, and naturally faulty, humanity.

Posted by: Daphne at November 19, 2008 5:24 PM

Gagdad has nailed it, Obama can never stand up to the scrutiny, or reality, of his basic and naturally faulty humanity.

Posted by: Daphne at November 19, 2008 5:25 PM

The Messiah arrives in Washington to a rapturous reception:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f67vXMHE-yo&feature=related

Posted by: MarkJ at November 24, 2008 3:33 PM