I'm Upset with Archie Andrews and It's Why Some on the Left are Upset with President Obama

Archie Andrews is getting married to Veronica Lodge, and I have to admit: It's killing me. I am genuinely upset and angry about it. It's a bizarre feeling to be so irrational about my favorite Riverdalian. After all, why do I care? And if that question wasn't enough to weigh on me, it's compounded by a more basic issue, namely, why did I ever enjoy Archie Comics in the first place?

Ultimately, I think the reason I care about Archie's upcoming nuptials has to do with why I read the comics in the first place, and that, in turn, explains why some on the left are upset with President Obama. Let's start with Archie.

As a child, boxes full of Archie Comics, a rich inheritance from my older siblings, littered my room and mind. I read them constantly. But thinking about my obsession, I have no idea why Archie Comics interested me, and I am left confused on a number of levels:

1. They're not funny. And I don't mean that their jokes don't appeal to my current sensibilities, I mean that they usually don't even attempt jokes. I don't think they try to be funny.


2. Stories Contradict. There's a reason you don't see a lot of Archie fanboys at Archie-cons. Okay, there are many reasons why you don't see Archie fanboys at Archie-cons, but one of them is that the comics have no consistent view of the characters. There is no canon, there is no mythology, there are only a mess of contradictions.


3. Nothing Happens. There is no overarching storyline. Even as Archie Comics have updated from phonographs to computers to text messaging to keeping their own blogs (yes, seriously), the basic premise of Archie getting into hijinks with the exact same people is recycled again and again.

For a long time I assumed that I read them for the same reason that George Costanza expected people to watch his television show -- "because it's on TV." I figured that I read Archie comics because they were there. That theory has a major weakness. Other books, and other comics "were there" for me to read. So what is the pull that Archie had over me?

I think their appeal stems directly from their weakness. Yes, the storylines contradict. Sometimes Archie was brilliant, while at other times he was a dunce. Sometimes Archie was the star athlete and at other points he was the waterboy. Reggie could be Archie's best friend in one strip and his arch nemesis in the next. The comic book never took a firm stand and therefore Archie could be what you wanted him to be. The lack of plot developments aided this. Archie Comics are built in a structure that's just strong enough to stand on its own but sparse enough for the reader to fill in his or her own biases. For a child, for me, it was a paint by numbers book. It supplied the outline but I got to color it in.

Which is why it's crazy for Archie to get engaged to Veronica. One of the many contradictions in the Archie Universe is Archie's love life. Sometimes he is with Veronica Lodge, ensnared by her upscale, high class, dark-haired allure, and other times he is dating Betty, the blond, down to earth, girl next door. This is of course compounded by Betty and Veronica's relationship to each other (best friends/sworn enemies), Archie and Reggie's relationship (best friends/sworn enemies) and Reggie's relationship with Betty and Veronica (love interest/sworn enemies). Confusing as it is, it left the reader with the same paint-by-numbers feel as the rest. There were many potential possibilities. Well, why would the comics take that away? Why commit to Veronica over Betty, leaving all of the Betty fans as sad as she clearly is on the comic cover above. When Archie makes the decision to marry Veronica, he stops being the blank figure on which I can see a beautiful Archie-Betty future.

President Obama has had to deal with similar ramifications for making some of his decisions. During the election Hillary Clinton, among others, made the case that part of President Obama's appeal was that he was a blank slate, someone who you could paint-by-number:

"where he said that he is a blank screen and people of widely different views project what they want to hear... with the blank screen it gives you a chance to just really infuse it with whatever you hope for, whatever you want without knowing."

As president, though, Barack Obama has had to make hard decisions. Last week, when President Obama gave his National Security speech, he took flack not just from the right, but from the left as well:

[L]iberals have expressed dismay at what they view as a Democratic president acting much like his Republican predecessor. They cite Obama's moves to reverse himself and fight the court-ordered release of prisoner-abuse photos, to revive military tribunals for some terror suspects (although he is revamping how they would work), to oppose a truth commission to investigate past detainee treatment and to continue using in some cases Bush's "state secrets" doctrine that claims unchecked presidential power to prevent information disclosure in court.

Some on the left are upset by some of President Obama's policies, but it's not just the policies that bother them. It is something deeper. Like Archie asking for Veronica's hand in marriage, every policy choice that President Obama makes limits our ability to paint disparate futures onto his canvas. Part of Candidate Obama's appeal (not all of it, as some Republicans claimed) was possibility. He was a man who saw both sides of contradictions, who we could see acting as a friend or a rival, who we could see behaving differently in different situations, who, like Archie, had enough story to stand on his own, but was compelling enough to allow the voter to paint on his or her dreams.

For some followers, President Obama has embraced Veronica, leaving all those who were hoping he'd go with Betty hurt, surprised to lose out on the future they saw with the sunshined girl next door. The President, though, has no choice but to make decisions and set policy. It is what we elected him to do. That not every Obama fueled dream or hope would come true was inevitable. What's Archie's excuse?

Comments

[Kraut]

not every engagement leads to marriage.

kraut

[mg moore]

I'm encouraged by the fact that he appears to be p!ssing off people on both sides ofthe aisle.

The sad thing is that he probably only has about 6 more months to be effective before the congress start running for their 2010 seats. My $0.02

[We-Are-The-Ones]

You claim "Part of Candidate Obama's appeal (not all of it, as some Republicans claimed) was possibilit­y." Unfortunately, many on the left thought Obama was malleable and would cave to their demands and temper tantrums. They never saw him as a person with opinions and beliefs of his own. Further, they never saw him as a person who would govern for the whole of the US and not the left. The assumed he would seek retribution because that is what they desired. They ignored Obama the calm, thoughtful, hardworkiing person who attracted many.

[RegularEinstein]

If the Archie writers really wanted Archie comics to be relevant for today, they would have given it a plot twist where Archie actually proposes to Jughead, realizing his best friend had feelings for him. They would have then gone off to California to fight against the disgusting prop hate. Such a plotline would have pulled Archie comics from their often shallow, repetitive storylines.

[FearlessFreep]

Speaking as a leftie, what I object to in Obama is his tendency to half-assed, "split the difference" non-policies. (Same-sex marriage, anyone?)

[historymatters]

fascinating comparison between Archie and Obama, and how people react to each. I agree with those who point out that Obama's record showed pretty well that he's generally been a centrist throughout his career, so I'm not surprised by any of the things he's done. He is a pragmatist and is very logical as well, so I think he knows the constraints within which he's working and knows that sometimes he can get around them, sometimes not.

As for Archie's choice, maybe it's about boosting sales (profit potential always takes precedent over quality story-telling in mass entertainment, it seems). But I agree with a comment I saw on Newsvine. Archie isn't good enough for Betty, who has stood by him through thick and thin. Archie deserves the fickle Veronica, for he is equally fickle. Hopefully now Betty will shed herself of this silly man-child and go on to accomplish great things! Er, in comic book world anyway.

[Etan Bednarsh - Huffpost Blogger]

I agree that Archie isn't good enough for Betty, especially based on that cover. Look at it again. He got engaged to veronica right in front of Betty. Classless.

[Veronica]

Well geez, Etan, what did I ever do to you?

[dannyo152]

My bet would be the publishers set up the marry Veronica story line because they know everyone (save what looks like 1) prefers Betty. Get enough people saying "what the..." and it may turn into sales.

I don't have any insights into the President, but I think he reasons that he doesn't want this stuff and its inexorable consequences (people arguing effectiveness and morality, indictments here or abroad, a snarling former Vice-President on a stand having his faulty recollections contradicted indirectly by a CIA enjoying its vengeance served cold) at this moment.

[Roses]

People who actually read President Obama's reactions to issues online (where he detailed them in excruciating exactness) during the primary and election, read his books, and looked at his past voting record were hardly fooled. They knew that he was essentially a centrist voter with progressive, informed ideas. That's one of the reasons that it drove me crazy when the GOP defined him as 'the most left-leaning Senator in the Senate'. I knew that some would be fooled.
It was not President Obama's fault if some let stars get in their eyes. All you had to do was to be an informed voter.
This is a really good article on what many were thinking. It does not involve Jughead.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/senator-obama-in-the-summ_b_110545.html

[AGarcia]

Not very insightful or relevant..­. could be considered condescending.

[FoonTheElder]

For cryin' out loud, Archie and Veronica have to be over 60 years old by now. Talk about not being able to make a decision.

Obama seems to only make decisions that are designed to make the corporate contributors happy. Perhaps that is why he had such big campaign contributions. The big corporations were the only ones who were told what they were getting ahead of time, another big corporate version of Bush Lite.

[Etan Bednarsh - Huffpost Blogger]

"Archie and Veronica have to be over 60 years old by now."

- They're in great shape. Maybe Archie Comics also predicted botox/ surgery. For a different post, I suppose...

[FoonTheElder]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Rs53-MPsJaI/SCUp8mdbFRI/AAAAAAAAF3k/5E_aEWeStQo/s1600-h/starchieal0.jpg

From the Mad Magazine parody "Starchie"
"I don't get it Starch, how come you carry such a big torch for Salonica and not for Biddy"
"My gosh, Bottleneck, don't you see how utterly completely different Salonica is from Biddy? Look at the drawing in the faces, the lips, so different.­"

The only differences in the drawings were that one was blonde and the other brunette.

[Phxflyer]

Veronica is a hottie. Archie made the right decision.

[StevenWells]

Hear, hear! Thanx, Manx.

[Manx]

Liberals are not upset with Obama merely because he made "hard decisions.­" They're upset because Obama has flip-flopped in many instances and reneged on his campaign promises. And in most cases, he did so because of political expediency. The torture scandal is a good example. Instead of standing tall and showing moral leadership, he wants to sweep it under the rug, ostensibly because it will interfere with his agenda. In Iraq and Afghanistan, he is doing what his generals want him to do. The same can be said of Don't-Ask-­Don't-Tell­. So far, Obama has demonstrated that he is not a leader but a mediator. Maybe Obama would show some leadership when people such as you stop making apologies for him.

[StevenWells]

Meant to put my "Hear, hear!" here.

Thanx, Manx (again).

[nomobull]

Maybe Obama would show some leadership when people such as you stop making apologies for him.

maybe you should realize that everyone thinks their issue should be the priority.b­ut he has to concentrate on the ones that effect the majority. and do as much as he can about the rest as fast as as ONE person can. but those of us who choose to cyt him some slack may or may not agree with every decision but we know he is burden by a mess and the mess of the gop . and we also are aware that it takes time and he does not rule as a monarchy.a­nd we are not under a dictatorship as much as the newts and dick might wish it so.

[Manx]

It's Obama himself who brags that he can walk and chew gum at the same time.

[FearlessFreep]

Actually, I'm "upset" because he's AVOIDING hard decisions!

[We-Are-The-Ones]

He is not avoid hard decisions, he is just results are not what you would demand and that burns you.

[We-Are-The-Ones]

Good leaders ARE mediators.