It really was a bit much.
It began with the grandiose locale, a stadium high in the Rocky Mountains. Then there was the gauche Greco-Roman archway that formed the backdrop of the stage and through which speakers passed on their way to and from the lectern. And, of course, there was the lectern itself: perched atop a round, raised dais surrounded by a semi-circle of the powerful and otherwise privileged it seemed more fitting for a Soprano than for a first among equals.
So when the time finally arrived, after speaker after adulatory speaker had sung the man’s praises for hours, days even, when that moment finally arrived and America’s supposed savior stepped from the shadows to accept the shiny mantel that now sits upon his bony shoulders, when this moment came, I really did half-expect him to have Olive branches wrapped around his head.
But, alas, Barack Obama did not appear -- at least to me -- as the half-celestial, half-human Olympian spawn his Hollywood-trained handlers have packaged him to be. Instead, he reminded me of the stereotypical Black preacher who wears custom-tailored suits and drives Cadillacs because, he says, that’s what the people expect from him, that’s how the people want their leader to look.
Maybe I think this way because some racist residuum has taken hold in my brain and refused to yield to the notion of a Black president. But that seems too easy an answer.
No, more likely, I think, my cynical New York City-trained brain causes me to question anyone who promises to solve all our problems swiftly and easily with the stroke of a presidential pen. Some things really are too good to be true.
In other words, my exposure to shysters and sellers of all color and kind has blessed me with the ability to recognize when someone is trying to sell me some dream or something.
So, make no mistake, Barack Obama is indeed trying to sell a dream to the American people. If he was not, he would not have said “I” as many times as he did. If he was not, he would have said “we” as much as he said “I” and stressed both the severed nature of the challenges ahead, and the absolute need for collective action to overcome them. Rarely has any one man achieved as much as Obama pledged to accomplish Thursday night.
It really was a bit much.
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