http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111602374.html?hpid=topnews
If one were to watch MSNBC or pick up any relevant news magazine, it would appear that Barack Obama, without spending a single minute in the Oval Office, has already been named the "Greatest President of All Time". It seems that, before even taking office, journalists feel content in proclaiming the president-elect as an amalgamation of some of the most respected presidents in our nation's history.
Reporters have no problem comparing Obama to FDR in terms of handling the economy and the expected impending recession. Apparently, rhetoric and campaign promises are enough to put Obama on equal grounds with FDR himself. Call me crazy, but I fail to see justification for putting Obama on par with the man who is credited with saving us from the Depression, the worst economic quagmire in the history of free-market capitalism, before a single act is handed down from the Obama administration.
When it comes to dealing with the perceived fractured, partisan political state of this nation, journalists are already hailing Obama as a reincarnation of Abe Lincoln himself. This even further enrages me, that before even entering office Obama is already being placed on the same level as the man who overcame neverending barriers and tests to bring together a nation literally at war over ideological differences.
As a man who has great respect for US history, I find it insulting that, while FDR and Lincoln had to prove themselves to the world and overcome incredible odds, Obama is being given a free pass, being elevated to this upper echelon of leaders without even being inaugurated.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I agree with Mike, I have seen far too many prenouncments of Obama as the savior of America. In the most recent edition of Time magazine Obama is even shown in a car drawn as FDR. The media is using this new youthful vibrant young leader to play on peoples emotions and get them to buy magazines and papers. This is a dangerous game to play because when Obama comes into office he will be perceived by the public to already be an FDR like figure and therefore judged as such. If this media hoopla around him continues their will be no room for error because as soon as one of his decisions go wrong they will crusify him. But of course this could also go drastically the other direction, perhaps we are giving him too much power and his mistakes will be forgiven because he is portrayed as some kind of savior. All his flaws will go overlooked and we will have a emperor of sorts as some would say FDR has to become to great us out of the great depression. But maybe we need maybe governmental control and a strong leader to get us out of this tough time, only time will tell.
I don't think there is a question in anyones mind that Obama was heavily favored over McCain in the media. I think Bill Maher would even agree on that point. I also think that Obama has a huge uphill battle ahead of him. With the policy changes that he proposed, and the current pile he has been given by the Bush Administration its going to be hard to "turn America around". Who knows, Obama might be a one term president. The expectations might just be set too high, and no matter how good of a job he does he won't meet the expectations. I just hope the American people understand what he has been handed. I hope they know that change can't happen overnight and that most Presidents do a majority of their work in the second term. It's going to take Obama long enough just to fix the problems created between 2000 and 2008, forget trying to solve Americas problems that have always existed. Two wars? Recession? Bailouts? Wallstreet? Not to mention the global warming crises, that has merely been a myth for the past eight years in the eyes of the executive branch. What about the National Debt? Which of course will be very difficult to reduce while cutting taxes. I think this "FDR, Lincoln, and Jesus" point is exagerated, but I do think for many this election represented a major turning point in America. Only time will tell what the Obama administration will be able to accomplish.
I wholeheartedly agree with the vast majority of Tom's response. Obama is months away from taking office, yet it has been declared that, without a doubt, he is already on par with the FDR and Lincoln. However, I predict Tom's 2nd suggestion will ultimately prove true, that the media will completely ignore/forgive any shortcomings of the Obama administration. No matter how Obama performs, he will continue to be seen as the FDR-caliber leader. Any blunder on the part of Obama will be immediately blamed on the "wreckage" of the Bush administration.
As to Matt's post, I am not referring to Obama's advantage over McCain in the election. I am instead discussing the fact that now that Obama is the president-elect, he has already been declared one of the greatest presidents in US history. I disagree with the point that he will not reach these expectations in the public's eyes. I believe that the media will ensure that expectations are met regardless of Obama's actual performance. Like I mentioned earlier, I sincerely believe that any mishap or setback during Obama's tenure will be blamed on the past president. Matt acknowledges that Obama will not be able to fix every problem on his first day in office with a snap of his fingers, however the media (and much of the American public) fails to realize this.
It was recently announced that Obama will likely go back on his campaign promise of abolishing the Bush tax cuts, so it will be interesting to see if the media will continue to hail Obama as the messiah as I have claimed.
Post a Comment