This just in . . . a ridiculous article in the newest issue of VANITY FAIR. I nearly gagged when I read it. While there may be some statistical "truth" in what writer Dee Dee Myers says, the concept both angers me and creeps me out. While her article is officially "commentary," it's interesting that she was formerly President Clinton's press secretary. Here's a taste of Ms. Myers' professional "commentary," nurtured and tempered, no doubt, by a lengthy career of more objective journalism:
"Barack Obama is the most famous living person in the history of the world. . . It seems indisputable to me that more people know at least something about the new American president than anyone alive, at this point--or any--in the planet's history."
Considering that she used the phrase "living person" makes the statement viable, I suppose. However, one almost gets the sense that she WANTS to say "the most famous person--living or dead--in the history of the world," when you read the subsequent paragraphs.
". . . Gone is the hunkered-down defensiveness of the past eight years, the lock-the-doors, draw-the-curtains, load-the-guns-to-keep-out-the-bad-guys mentality that turned the world against us. . . It was no accident that President Obama's first television interview from the White House went not to an American network but to an Arab one. . . Obama has made America cool again--and more than that, he's made his own brand arguably the most powerful the world has ever known."
Hmmmmm....and what "brand" is that? I guess I'm just simple-minded enough to believe the most powerful "brand" the world has ever known is the cross of Jesus Christ. Call me old-fashioned. (REALLY old-fashioned, evidently, because I believe Jesus is every bit as "living" as Barack Obama, and infinitely more "famous.")
I've been very uncomfortable over the last few months when I have heard some conservative pundits quipping about the presumed "messianic complex" of Obama. It just seems mean-spirited and a tad "bitchy" when they talk like that--much like whining kids who didn't get their way about something. But when I read things like this article, it makes me MUCH more uncomfortable. This isn't journalism. It's worship. It isn't even editorializing or "commenting." It's adoration.
Creepy stuff.
SURELY nobody's going to start giving him stiff-armed salutes or referring to him as "My Leader."
4 comments:
That is creapy stuff especially considering they are praising him for what they hope he'll do as president. He probably hasn't even gone through 1 roll of T.P. in Washington and he has already made history as the most rockin prez ever.
Hopefully you got some good fashion tips while reading Vanity Fair ;)
I love hearing Obama speak. He just makes me want to jump out of my chair and do his bidding, whatever that might be. Then I step back and realize that he hasn't actually done anything, except submit an economic stimulus plan to Congress that hasn't been approved or proved helpful yet. As much as I HOPE he does a fantastic job in the next few years as our fearless (and, I think it's fair to say even if it's meaningless, cool) leader, I'm waiting to pass judgment of any type, for better or worse, for after he's had a chance to adjust to his new position and do more than just make awesome speeches.
Mandy, you're so funny. I imagine every for every roll of TP he DOES use, the little cardboard center will be gold plated and sent to the Smithsonian.
Seriously, though, I'm not particularly upset with Obama. He's still revving up his engines. It's the wacky adulation and hero-worship that "sends a tingle up my leg" (to quote Chris Matthews.) But MY tingle ain't a good one!
You think I need fashion tips?
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