2008 Woodie Awards
It has the momentum, but will "Obamania" survive the real world?
Andrew Zaleski
Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: Opinion
The Obamaniacs are coming! The Obamaniacs are coming!
It is overwhelmingly evident that America has gone crazy with Obama fever.
His recent sweeping of the Potomac primaries resulting in a delegate lead of more than 100 over Hillary Clinton is yet another symptom of the syndrome of hope that has been permeating our national infirmary.
And so, although Obama is a far cry from resembling anything like an 18th century British invader, one can't help but borrow from Paul Revere in saying: "The Obamaniacs are coming!"
In an election year swamped by the sentiments of change and hope, new directions and fresh beginnings and a prominent focus on the America to come rather than the America left behind, no one candidate's message appears to resonate more than that of Barack Obama.
Indeed, Obama-rhetoric has hypnotized voters and engulfed hearts and minds. Tens of thousands of supporters and countless more volunteers rally behind the Obama campaign machine in state after state. Throngs of independent and crossover Republican voters, fittingly dubbed "Obamacans," are eagerly seeking to bolster the support of the Illinois senator and ride the waves of change.
Obamaves?
Whatever one wishes to call them, they are working. Thus far, Sen. Obama has managed to construct and run a successful campaign not based upon petty party mongering but, rather, on a single concept: positivity.
In a two-party political system that presupposes, even invites, attack advertisements, polarizing rhetoric and harsh criticism of opponents, the senator from Illinois stays afloat amidst the lethal rapids of typical American politics.
The question becomes, therefore, how long Obama will be able to sustain the positivity.
Obama's attitude and forward-looking approach make him a refreshing face in today's American politics.
Refusing to be bogged down in the divisiveness so representative of the past -- and especially representative of the last 7 years of American politics -- Obama focuses primarily on the America to come, the America he hopes to inherit come January 2009. He pays no attention to the embittered resentments of previous years and, instead, drives toward the future with a "can-do" attitude, one that encompasses all facets of the political system and all the players involved.
It is overwhelmingly evident that America has gone crazy with Obama fever.
His recent sweeping of the Potomac primaries resulting in a delegate lead of more than 100 over Hillary Clinton is yet another symptom of the syndrome of hope that has been permeating our national infirmary.
And so, although Obama is a far cry from resembling anything like an 18th century British invader, one can't help but borrow from Paul Revere in saying: "The Obamaniacs are coming!"
In an election year swamped by the sentiments of change and hope, new directions and fresh beginnings and a prominent focus on the America to come rather than the America left behind, no one candidate's message appears to resonate more than that of Barack Obama.
Indeed, Obama-rhetoric has hypnotized voters and engulfed hearts and minds. Tens of thousands of supporters and countless more volunteers rally behind the Obama campaign machine in state after state. Throngs of independent and crossover Republican voters, fittingly dubbed "Obamacans," are eagerly seeking to bolster the support of the Illinois senator and ride the waves of change.
Obamaves?
Whatever one wishes to call them, they are working. Thus far, Sen. Obama has managed to construct and run a successful campaign not based upon petty party mongering but, rather, on a single concept: positivity.
In a two-party political system that presupposes, even invites, attack advertisements, polarizing rhetoric and harsh criticism of opponents, the senator from Illinois stays afloat amidst the lethal rapids of typical American politics.
The question becomes, therefore, how long Obama will be able to sustain the positivity.
Obama's attitude and forward-looking approach make him a refreshing face in today's American politics.
Refusing to be bogged down in the divisiveness so representative of the past -- and especially representative of the last 7 years of American politics -- Obama focuses primarily on the America to come, the America he hopes to inherit come January 2009. He pays no attention to the embittered resentments of previous years and, instead, drives toward the future with a "can-do" attitude, one that encompasses all facets of the political system and all the players involved.
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