The Cult of Obama

If you had asked me two months ago whether Barack Obama would be in the lead after all this time, I would have strongly said, No. This is why I am not a prophet. Or I would have said only some combination of the following two things could have resulted in this:

• Democrats actually dislike Hillary Clinton as much as Republicans do;
• Democrats are actually far more foolish than Republicans think they are.

What has Barack Obama said? What has he done? His record is barely longer than my own. Has he sponsored major legislation? For crying out loud—can anyone even point to major, substantive legislation that he will unabashedly say he supports (getting out of Iraq doesn't count here)?? Can anyone take one of his speeches and extract specific legislative or diplomatic actions he will take when president (if, heaven forbid, he becomes president)?

Or is this Obama-mania merely a cult-like phenomenon? Is it just the result of millions of ignorant voters choosing "sounds good" over Hillary's history of "does bad"? In this article by Charles Krauthammer, passed along to me by friends, he examines the slick, salesman-like approach Obama is taking. It is empty. It has no solid ideas, no solid proposals backed by facts and plans—just an ephemeral sales pitch that might just catapult him into the presidency. And if it does, our country will have elected a man who would have difficulty teaching trombonists to march in River City, much less lead the free world.

I do not totally endorse the article; his view of what we call "salvation" seems quite different from mine. But his analysis is pretty good.