Oy. Have a Dream?

FISA. Faith based initiatives. Couldn't fist-bump that kid.

Oy.

Disappointment in our elected (or yet to be elected) leaders seems sadly inevitable. Hell, if anything is exposed to the elements for too long deficiencies will unintentionally crop up or be forcibly teased out. For those of us who laud certain persons for espousing ideas of grandeur and eloquence which inspire and delight, the shift from rapture to resignation can be crushing. And after repeated plummets taken by similarly hopeful luminaries, it is met with a kind of fatalism that can dim the light that defines the essence of the American dream: that all here are equal, that all can get a fair shake, that somewhere out there is a president who can lead the country capably.

When I was a kid, I pored over my already brittle American Heritage encyclopedias and sparked to the paternal, grandfatherly FDR. He shepherded the country through the Great Depression, through World War 2. His fireside chats. Even his leg braces signaled a quiet yet indomitable strength which, in spite of my young age, I found stirring.

Same with JFK's New Frontier: the space program hand in hand with The Peace Corps. Camelot's accessible and intoxicating élan. The hippest president ever. Eloquent, witty. Inspirational rhetoric and back-room grit. And his subsequent martyrdom searing his stature onto the face of the Republic. I loved those American Heritage encyclopedias. It was The History Channel without he monthly bill. And my heroes were perfect.

But later on, they all fall. And the inevitable exposure of their flaws -- their humanity -- leads to certain disappointment. Even analyses of Lincoln's physiognomy suggesting psychological instability or acromegaly (or whatever the hell else bored historians can cobble together to get attention) tarnishes his demi-god status to a degree. One can only imagine the layers of disappointment in a nonagenarian having been assured of the perfection of a succession of articulated goals and dreams only to witness the inescapable imperfection of the dreamers.

Then there is Ronald Reagan, who by most gauges was far from heroic or in possession of a Lincolnesque intellect and who -- in a reversal of process -- is remade, his gaping flaws spackled over and reborn into the iconic leader of the Republican creed by those in whose interest his undeserved status serves. The fungibility of perspective and the manipulation of historical facts for political purposes is here amply demonstrated.

When impeachment was declared "off the table" it seemed a frustrating but necessary step toward restoring the lost luster wrought by the abuse of the Bush years. Deals with the devil come in all degrees, from the small and the personal to the ones writ large upon the American psyche. Against emotional momentum, reason has no chance of winning the day and when the Democrats took their long awaited control of congress they also traded justice for political expedience.

Oy. And sigh.

Our expectations for our leaders need to be modulated, but not necessarily lowered to accommodate their actual abilities. George Bush lowered expectations to the gutter. The guy may have made a respectable regional manager of a Quizno's but possessed little in the way of presidential timber (which is not to say that a person supervising the distribution of those rather tasty Toasties must therefore exhibit criminal tendencies).

But as the dream of American democratic society becomes more and more an historical relic, the expectations we have for our leaders should either be lowered to reflect the inevitable entropy or otherwise raised to combat it, and the chosen leader then held firmly accountable. Yet the circumstances our would-be leaders are subjected to in effect force them to reveal their less attractive aspects; indeed their political ambition should necessitate rigorous vetting. Then why shouldn't private citizens be subjected to the same tests of patriotism, mental health, fiscal responsibility and whatever other tests used to determine a person's aptitude? Only when we accept our own imperfections, even the imperfections of our dreams, can we accept the realities of those we have lead us. And then things can get done.

The rapturous reception that greets Obama is warranted insofar as the dream he pitches, while idyllic, is theoretically attainable. But in his quest to be seated in the president's chair, his dream -- and hence the dreamer -- has become adulterated and the exaltation of his ascension is bearing hints of diminution.

Which is disappointing.

Oy.

Comments

[stop7997]

Steven: I have to say I love reading your posts. You have a great way with words that I think is superior to ANY political editorialist out there. Ever think of subbing on Air America?

[Pragman]

Against emotional momentum, reason has no chance of winning the day"

That's one of the best quotes I've read in a long time.

[mclarke15]

Steven, Steven, Steven...
All this time we thought you were shilling for him *despite* the fact that you knew his weaknesses.
He was never different than the other candidates... he just had more charisma.

[bluehorizon]

get your facts straight. The fist bump thing with the kid was a media/republican talking point-- and a lie. the kid wanted him to sign his hand.

[LindaMaine]

Okay, everyone, please repeat after me: Democrat president, GOOD, Republican president, BAAAAAAAD.

[globalcitizenlinda]

Just how many kids has the author of this article personally fist-bumped??

If the votes of some of my fellow liberals are going to be based on how many kids a candidate fist-bumped, then the righties are correct in characterizing us as shallow elitists who are trully out of touch

[mommamia526]

Principles, flexible principles, no principles. Faith based initiatives, no faith based initiatives. What are we sending a President out to do for us? Principles is what we live our personal lives by. Initiatives, faith based or not, are not government issues. Government should do something for us. Unfortunately, both Democrats and Republicans have done nothing on the housing crisis. Although I no longer have a house, it will affect me. People lose their homes, lose their jobs, go on welfare and my taxes may be going up. My rent will certainly be going up with more demand. Gasoline prices affect me, even though I have refused to drive a car for decades now, because utilities go up, grocery prices go up, grocery delivery fees go up. The tanking dollar affects me, in that my euros are worth more, but my dollar buys me less. HR 6331 just failed, and I can not get a new specialist I urgently need; they do not do Medicare patients any longer, or wait four months. If you have diabetes or heart failure you may be dead by then. John McCain could not be bothered to vote either way. Obama and Hillary voted right. If the President takes care of HIS business, which is the business of this nation, economics, value of the dollar, and I take care to vote for the guy, or woman, who can and will do that job right, I can take care of my own principles, faith, and family.

[mommamia526]

Being an U.S. citizen brings with it responsibility. The least one should do is be factual, analytical and vote with open eyes. Those who had a few problems with Obama's rhetoric and who were asking questions, not knowing enough about him, were called names, racists, whatever. Certainly on this website. It is always a very bad idea to get so carried away with one individual. It was nuts with respect to Reagan and his *reaganomics*, it was inane with Hitler, it is always imprudent. That is not to say that I compare any of these or other individuals. Voting is a duty and responsibility. Seeing to it that our wishes are carried out, is a duty and responsibility. In the U.S. people vote for personality, rather than character, resume and qualifications. In the case of Obama, he has personality and star power. I am convinced that he has the ability to carry our wishes out. Now we have to see to it that he does, and remind him. Being disappointed? That is an emotional reaction. He is the likely democratic nominee. Let us articulate to him what we, as democrats, expect of him.

[mommamia526]

Well, is it Obama's fault, or were people just blinded by his star appearance and not paying close attention? Obama, like all politicians, changed his position often, from the very beginning. Call it flip flop, call it adaptation, whateverrrrr! What is more, Obama is very quick and adopted others' ideas as his own, with lighning quickness. Also, from the very first *debates* on he quickly stated that Hillary could not be elected, and he ran with it. Never mind. He is the likely nominee. Not quite there yet, but he has already positioned himself sothat it looks like a fait accompli. He even appeared behind a lectern with his very own seal on it, which, surprise, looked very much like another seal. All that said, he is now the best the Democrats have. And he must first be elected if he were to actually do a few of the things he promised he would do. He is working on his next phase, which is getting elected and preferably with a very large margin. The margin so far is about 5%. What is everyone complaining about? He has Kennedy with him, and Hillary. That is a good promise to get at least something done on healthcare. An important measure just failed in the Senate. If you are a Medicare patient and you need to see a doctor, good luck!! They are telling you that they no longer take Medicare patients. Thanks John McCain, Senator Burr and others!

[KaAp]

Thank you Steven Weber ... as always you articulate precisely what so many people are thinking ... my angst and consternation has given way to anger ... and ultimately to a form of ennui and resignation I think having given so much time effort and money to this campaign believing that Obama came close to representing a different vision of and for America it is more than disheartening to see what was possibly the last glimmer of hope in a nation teetering on the edge (not of an existential abyss since we have long past that) ... snuffed out ...
And, so ... what happens now?
Is it possible to have a second American revolution? No ... we play Orwellian games where change is really just another word for stasis

[ramara]

I started out supporting Edwards, so I never was starstruck. I've been somewhat disappointed by a few of Obama's recent switches, but I started out knowing I was going to vote for whoever the dem nominee was, because it is really important to get a dem in the white house. And the man is brilliant and I am more than a little excited that we will have our first black president (as I would have been with Hillary if she was the nominee). I am proud to be a dem.

And what if he balks on some things? If he gets us out of Iraq, passes a serious healthcare bill, moves on the economy and climate change, keeps us out of Iran, and gets some decent judges on the bench - well, we probably will still complain, but we'll be infinitely better off.

[WebHubbleTelescope]

Yes, great as usual.

[MSGH]

Imperfections? Of course. Out & out blatant hypocrisy? Sorry. was a strong Obama supporter during the primaries, but I've been becoming increasingly disillusioned with him since he's become the nominee--enough so that I hope Clinton's supporters make enough of a ruckus at the convention to throw her back into contention. I'd still vote for him to keep McCain out, but I don't know how much of an improvement he'd be. There's a lot more justice in accusing him of flip-flopping than there was in accusing Kerry of it. Obama's rapidly becoming the definition of "hypocrisy."

[Plowboy]

Spin is here again. We've seen it before.
It is as stupid now as it was back when.
Let's get real for a change and talk about
reducing world conflict, creating more justice, and making the future better,
IF YOU DON'T MIND!

[yvette7112001]

Wouldn't Fist bumped the kid IS A LIE... The KID wanted him to sign his fist and Obama said that he couldn't because the kid's mother wouldn't like it....Obama has never said that he wouldn't be involved with faith based initiatives...why wouldn't he...he is a Christian just like many other Dems...you knew he was Christian when you supposedly supported him...Obama has explained many times that he joined Trinity because of the good works they did in their city...So where has he flip flopped...In his books he talks of execution of certain child rapists...that he agreed with that but that the judicial system needs to be fixed to stop innocent people from being executed. Lets be accurate about his gun views... he has said numerous of times that their needed to be stricter laws to keep them out kids hands..out of criminal's hands, out of neighboorhoods with gang bangers, yet he agreed that individuals had the right to bear arms. I'm disppointed with my fellow Dems you are falling for it and it will lead to MCCain winning...If smart liberals that keep themeselves inform are falling for this...what of others that just watch twenty to thirty minutes of news

[vernonbc]

I completely agree with you yvette. Good post. I'm so terribly disappointed in these supposed Democratic supporters who are buying into the lies and the smears from the Republican machine. And it absolutely riles me to see bloggers on the left writing nonsense that, if they'd do any research at all, they'd realize they're being untruthful.

[ALIMO]

Your constitutional rights are all you have left as an American. Get out of denial, Obama tricked you on the FISA BILL. That is the sad truth.

[Dimikats]

Steven--brilliant and thought-provoking, as always!

I have one grammar gripe, and you all can groan as much as you want! I am, ahem, the Grammar Goddess, after all. LOL

The use of "a" or "an" is determined by the SOUND that follows. period. That means, at least in most of the United States, honor and herb (not the guy's name, though) are preceded by "an" because the sound that follows is a vowel (we don't pronounce the "h") but history, historic, histrionics, and every word that begins with a consonant sound are preceded by "a." The letter "h" is "an h" because the sound is "aitch." But unless you say "istory" and "istoric," please use "a."

Now, since some of you are bound to fuss about the placement of my periods and commas, you'll probably be surprised that the rule--in the United States--is that periods and commas ALWAYS go inside quotation marks. Oh, and since I'm on my soapbox now, it's ONE space after a period or colon. If I could learn to do it 15 years ago, you can learn to do it now.

If you can find a reputable grammar or style manual that disagrees, please share its name with me.

OK, off my soapbox! Did you enjoy your grammar lesson??? LOL