Could Obama Be the Next Postmodern Hero?

There's no sure career path, no sure relationship, no sure cure, no sure safe-haven, and basically no sure bet. The postmodern era is about shades of grey on a daily basis.

A postmodern hero knows how to traverse this grey zone with the skill of a master surfer cutting through monster waves -- and even more importantly, coaxes us all into following along while at the same time reducing our anxiety about it. There is a good chance Barack Obama is our next postmodern hero.

Bill Clinton is our last postmodern fallen hero. He had a chance to be one of the greats because he played with ambiguity like it was sport. Not only did he have us questioning what "sexual relations" is, he actually had us questioning what "is" is. By toying with labels, Clinton was able to shape perception in his favor. He consistently glossed over defeat and scandal by claiming victory which sent his opponents into a rage.

At his best, Clinton was flexible in his thinking, stayed on course when it was important and knew how to change course when it was necessary. But then the switch flipped. His political agility started to get a subversive undertone to it -- more about covering up than doing good.

Bill Clinton was smart enough to know it and tried to pass the PM hero torch to Hillary, but at her core, Hillary Clinton is dogma. She was Barry Goldwater right dogma in her youth, and she's progressive left dogma now -- flip side of the same coin. Hillary Clinton is borrowing Karl Rove politics from the right to win on the left now -- flip side of the same coin.

Look into her eyes anytime her truth is questioned. There's an impassable, go-for-the-throat glare. She shut everyone out of health care the first go-around to avoid the inevitable compromise.

In a lot of ways, John McCain is like Hillary Clinton, maintaining a thin facade of flexibility, but underneath it's all black and white. Instead of looking into his eyes, look at his smirk and the anger underneath it the next time his truth is questioned.

For more than a few people, this black and white view of the world has an appeal. There seems to be less emotional wear and tear when right and wrong is definitive, truth is absolute, and you stick with a principle until you drive it into the ground.

John McCain is a modern war hero. He comes from the time when it was us versus them and we knew exactly who the them was. Maybe all the gaffs where McCain mixes up Sunnis, Shiites, and their relation to Al-Qaeda aren't senior moments. Maybe it's his subconscious need to return to a time of dualities -- good versus evil.

The problem is you can't put terrorism into a cold war rubric just like we can't go back to the 1950s. He's forcing a square peg into a round hole -- even if that feels good to you at the moment, there's gonna be a lot of pain afterwards.

McCain comes from a dynasty of warriors -- his father and grandfather both served as admirals in the U.S Navy. If you come from any military, political, or corporate dynasty, it's almost impossible to break tradition. Black and white is in their blue blood. Even though heirs may choose to rebel a little here and there, they go back to what they know is the established truth in the end. Creativity, new ways of looking at things, and a renewed sense of social conscience often pop out of what seems like nowhere, not out of a dynasty.

In the same way, the story of a postmodern hero isn't usually born out of the establishment; it comes from the margins. Barack Obama's youth is as marginal as it gets. From his Kenyan father to his Kansas born mother. From his stay in Indonesia as a child to growing up in the peripheral state of Hawaii.

From his family tree to his psychological makeup, Barack Obama is a one man melting pot who's grey to the core. Still, you have to learn to glide in and out of the establishment to affect change. Obama did that with his Ivy League education and he's doing it now with his politics.

In true postmodern hero form, Obama doesn't usually go for the knockout punch. On Hardball with Chris Matthews, Matthews wondered if Obama could win a battle against somebody where he can't knock them out? But Chris, as he often is (I say this affectionately), is back somewhere in the past. Surviving the grey zone means you don't always go for the knock out punch; you don't always go for the red-button kill.

Success comes from dodging a left hook. Throwing in a crafty right hook. Slowly wearing down your opponent. Outlasting your opponent. And in some cases, knowing when to postpone the fight. In the grey zone, you never let it get down to all-or-nothing when you don't have to.

Obama has the mental and physical toughness to stand in quicksand and come out of it a stronger man. Look at Obama's face the next time his truth is questioned -- instead of the evil eye or a deranged smirk, you get the sense that his whole being is absorbing the question.

Our potential postmodern hero, Barack, also knows how to make a good bet. The grey zone is about playing with probabilities, mastering the odds, and learning the appropriate, calculated risks to take. During the Pennsylvania primary debate with Clinton, Obama emphasized that in deciding to run, he was making a bet on the American people -- that they were tired of old-style politics and that they were ready for the project of changing this country.

Obama feels like he wagered well. He emphasized that "during the course of these last 15 months, my bet's paid off because the American people have responded in record numbers, and not just people who are accustomed to participating, but people who haven't participated in years."

For Obama, beyond the bet, there are hope and faith -- two central themes in the grey zone. The definition of hope implies a sense of promise for the future and a belief in a positive outcome even though events may seem to be going in the opposite direction. The definition of faith is a belief in something for which you don't have definitive proof.

Hope and faith make change and political action possible in the face of uncertainty. Obama knows the, until recently, secret blend of hope, faith, and politics.

Barack Obama embodies the contradictions it takes to be a postmodern hero. There's substance behind the image, ideas behind the rhetoric, and a man behind the politician. So back to the question... could Obama be the next postmodern hero? Maybe, but then again, is it for sure?