Obamania

Don't know if you've seen this video, but I had two opposite reactions to it, one immediately following the other. My first reaction was largely positive. I felt like this video encapsulates exactly how Obama really has captured the spirit of this time -- an amalgam of media and pop culture and politics and public sentiment that is more about mood and aspiration than about politics. This is why he got my vote -- not because I think he will be better, but because he has the potential to make us better. Hokey, I know, but I figured that after the worse administration in American history, perhaps this wasn't a bad risk to take.

My second reaction to the video, however, was much less favorable. Indeed, I suddenly had an urge of suspicion and fear that I hadn't felt before. Suddenly, Obama felt too cultish, too hucksterish. My thoughts even skipped to the Manchurian Candidate. I think the media are beginning to feel this way, too, and, if the drumbeat grows louder, it could definitely take the shine off. We shall see which perspective flowers over the next few days and weeks, but, for the first time, I'm thinking that my second reaction might just be the dominant one.