Obama: The Democratic Messiah? (Joel S. Hirschhorn)

[Tace]

Joel S. Hirschhorn -- World News Trust

Jan. 22, 2007 -- What a wonderful political distraction is Senator Barack Hussein Obama. Perhaps a good part of his attractiveness is that he is in so many ways the complete opposite of George W. Bush.

Yet, what amazes me is how our bipartisan obstacle to true political competition continually creates illusions of change and reform. Thus it keeps a grip on Americans’ hope for the future, and preempts public support for more profound political change. Is Obama just another example of how our corrupt political system ingeniously creates candidates to keep hope alive? Is the self-professed progressive Obama the real thing? Is he something other than a conventional politician? I have read many of his speeches and other statements. I applaud his upbeat rhetoric, but few policy details are given.

Joseph Sobran opined that “the Democrats are looking for a political messiah, and many of them think they’ve found one in Illinois’s junior senator, Barack Obama. And Obama is, without question, a very charming, intelligent, and impressive young man who is, moreover, catnip to the press corps.” Cal Thomas made the good point that many Americans look at presidential candidates as political messiahs. He said Obama “can also play dual roles of messiah figure and one of the Wise Men.” And he astutely asked: “Have political ‘messiah figures’ become false gods?

”In truth, none of the current presidential hopefuls have obtained the political messiah mantle as much as Obama has.

Yet I remain skeptical. Is he a true populist? Is he willing to do whatever it takes to become President? In our diseased political system, whatever- it- takes- candidacy produces screw- the- public- politics- as- usual. Here are some things that would truly impress me about Obama’s uniqueness, and that would support viewing him as something other than just another opportunistic politician –- albeit with a race, good looks, anti-Iraq war, and intelligence advantage.

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[natrat]

1. is he a true populist? give me a break-he's unelectable let alone a populist