He seems like a courageous fellow. He is clearly a great communicator. Let's hope his words live up to his deeds, unlike Clinton (or Blair for that matter).
I admit to having a bit of a soft spot for George Bush. I always thought his "down home" style of speaking and his phrases, use of the word "folks" etc, was deeply rooted in an American culture and style that is largely misunderstood by the outside world, and mostly reviled.
I also admit to feeling very uncomfortable with the way in which our liberal media felt they had the right to take the piss out of the man by portraying him as a buffoon. To read/hear the obituaries of his Presidency, you might be forgiven for thinking that the only thing Bush ever did was mangle some words and phrases and give us all a jolly good laugh, sort of like an errant chimp at a tea party. I actually think this is hugely disrespectful to the man and his Country.
It occurs to me that this is a trend only covering Republican Presidents - Reagan was treated much the same by our meedja. Interesting to compare their treatment with the morally corrupt and empty presidency of Clinton, for example. I mean, Clinton fucked his way through 8 years in the Oval Office and was on the verge of being impeached before he got out. Reagan, by comparison ? Well all he did was win the Cold War and rescue the World from the threat of Nuclear Armageddon. Oh and Communism.
As Rod Liddle comments in todays Sunday Times:-
' "The nightmare is over,” said Jon Snow on Channel 4 News... I suppose Jon thought that he was speaking for all of us; this is the way with our liberal media elite – they do not think that they are remotely biased, merely that they are the sole guardians of the unvarnished truth. Bush was a nightmare – everyone agrees, from that nice Armenian chap who works in our local delicatessen to the BBC and The Guardian. That is everyone, isn’t it? '
I get the symbolism in the USA of Obama, and it is a triumph of the American dream - Obama is probably its most perfect embodiment - and that countrys ability to reinvent itself but still to retain its core attributes and articles of faith. What I don't get is the reaction to his election by the white middle-class in this country. Obama is not there to save you/us and it's important not to make the mistake of believing he's anything other than the AMERICAN President and will act in anything other than the interests of his country.
In fact, I might be so bold as to posit that the main attraction of Obama outside of his democracy is that he is young, gifted and black and there is no bandwagon that white liberals like hopping onto than one seen to be driven by a slightly anti-establishment figure. It is worth pondering that the image above, has a certain stylistic similarity to the famous posters of Guevera and Castro once de-riguer in any student or "right-on" white-youth's pad.
The very fact that fucking Bono has jumped on board should be enough to ring the alarm bell loud and clear. Oi, give us a lift mate !!
I fear therefore, that Mr Obama's honeymoon in the world outside America may be a little short lived - for example, don't expect him to renounce Israel anytime soon, you know ?. Then again, he won't worry about that and neither will I. He was not elected by me and I have no mandate to challenge him; he must do what he feels is best for his Country and if that happens to coincide at times with what's good for this Country, then so be it.
Obama is a deeply political animal - how could he be anything else to survive the hothouse of American politics and to claim the greatest prize of all ? I really hope he lives up to his billing, but he is not the Messiah and we should not burden him with expectations created from our own insecurities and yearning to see what's wrong with the world (in our eyes) put right.
You don't get to be the President by being Mr Nice Guy - but let us hope that he may have got to be President because he's Mr Right Guy.
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