June 19, 2008
Let Them Down Easy (Stuart Roy)
As I put on a T-shirt this weekend, my 7-year-old daughter made the fairly astute observation that I was wearing a shirt that used to not fit. At all.
"It must be the exercise, Daddy," she said. She was right. And it wasn’t because of this, but because of this guy.
She followed that up with pure flattery. "And if you keep exercising, your muscles will get so big you'll rip the shirt." Apparently, they learn hyperbole and sucking-up at a young age these days.
But to her I'm Superman combined with the Incredible Hulk. Infallible and idolized. It is quite a position to be in. And, knowing how imperfect we all truly are, terrifying. It got me to thinking about when to tell her that we are all just human. As parents, we do the best with the tools we have but are far from perfect.
Naw, I thought. We'll just let this moment last as long as possible. At some point she'll figure it out. Hopefully, it won't be too much of a letdown for her.
But in politics, expectations do matter. In the presidential campaign, when should Barack Obama (D-Ill.) let his supporters down easy? There's been plenty written about his messianic image among the throngs. His rhetoric can be disconcerting.
When does he let them know, direct from the source, that he has lofty goals but is actually only a politician? One thing is for sure. It should have been long before now.
Because Obama allowed the flattery to continue for so long, the usual campaign hits hurt worse. Just today, he made a political decision to opt out of public financing for the general election — a pragmatic decision, given his fundraising acumen. Small problem, though. He piously promised the liberal pressure group Common Cause that he would take public financing and eschew the “evil” special interest money.
Unfortunately for Obama, this is but one case of him acting like a typical pol. He continues to allow himself to be widely separated from even the penumbra of truth when he attacks Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) about how long troops will be in Iraq, even though his assault has long since been disproven again and again. His other documented flip-flops range from illegal immigration to whether or not unions are special interests (which really should be self-definitional no matter what your opinion of Big Labor).
His hardcore supporters won’t be moved. They’ve already done shots of the Kool-Aid. But this type of typical politician behavior is damaging for the independents and crossover voters who once believed that he would embrace a different brand of politics.
It’s best to admit your fallibility on your own terms and time rather than have your hopes and dreams — and more importantly, your supporters’ hopes and dreams for you — come crashing to the ground at a time when your candidacy should be set to soar.
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He should just admit that he is a hard-core Marxist, and that "hope and change" really stand for "this time Communism will work because I'm different". An honest admission like that will make things so much easier, he will not have to flip-flop on anything any more because his ultimate goal will be known for all and he will no longer have any reason to pretend to be what he is not.
Comment by Igor R. — June 19, 2008 @ 4:32 pm
Igor, you are getting downright annoying with your charges of Marxist and communist. That is slander and untrue. You obviously don't use the same dictionary as Americans do. Maybe you should buy a new one.
Why don't you start arguing the issues or is that beyond your capicity? Or why don't you admit that you are devoid of ideas to solve the problems that our nation is facing?
You just engage in diatribe and you offer no solutions. Who needs you?
Comment by smilinjack — June 19, 2008 @ 6:46 pm
Shout out for Jerry Hill and Cross Fit Old Town.
Comment by mccall avery — June 20, 2008 @ 11:24 am
Hi Stuart,
It's Wes (of Crossfit). I strongly disagree! My response here: http://ketchupandcaviar.com/2008/06/20/obama-and-public-financing-a-response-to-stuart-roy/
Wes
Comment by Wes — June 20, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
[...] June 20, 2008 by Wes My Crossfit friend Stuart writes the following piece with which I must respectfully disagree. [...]
Pingback by Obama and Public Financing — A Response to Stuart Roy « Ketchup and Caviar — June 20, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
smilinjack, to me it's obvious: he advocates massive income redistribution, massive government involvement in multi-billion dollar projects and health care, trillion dollars transferred to the UN to fight poverty, unilateral dismantling of critical military programs. He cites Nelson Mandela (a self-admitted Marxist, with long credentials) and Malcolm X, and admirer of Mao, Lenin, and Marx as his heroes that he likes to emulate. He is a friend of a radical terrorist and a member of a church based on liberation theology, which is a Marxist-based movement. I think the charges that he is a Marxist and a Communist are not baseless at all. They may be annoying to you, because they ring true (after all accusing McCain of being a Communist won't stick), but I like making them because I BELIEVE them to be true.
Comment by Igor R. — June 20, 2008 @ 2:44 pm
Igor: Homework assignment. Over the next month, please read and compare the US Constitution with the Communist Manifesto. Differences should be glaring.
Comment by Jay — June 20, 2008 @ 3:35 pm
Jay, what the hell do you want? I've read them both in the past, there are glaring differences, so? Have I advocated replacing one with the other? Have I said they are the same? Have I advocated banning either of them? What have I done to elicit meaningless suggestions from you?
Comment by Igor R. — June 23, 2008 @ 2:10 pm
Igor: I want you to stop making hamfisted generalizations based on ideological extremes. To call Obama a "hard-core" Marxist (as if there were any other kind) demonstrates you know little about Obama, less about Marxism, and nothing about appropriate use of hyperbole. Dry up and blow away.
Comment by Jay — June 23, 2008 @ 2:51 pm