Granite Workers to Get Part of Stimulus Plan – Speaker Pelosi has announced that, under the stimulus plan now before Congress, a special commission will be formed to find a suitable mountain near Mt. Rushmore to carve the likeness of Barack Obama. This will be a big boon for the granite workers of America who have been struggling as the need for granite countertops in suburban kitchens has declined dramatically with the foreclosure and credit crisis. “President Obama is such a transformational figure that we believe he should have his own mountain sculpture near Mt. Rushmore”, said the Speaker.
Obama Inks Book deal for White House Memoirs – After a brutal bidding war between America’s top publishers, Simon and Schuster has purchased the rights to President Obama’s memoirs for a cool $1 billion. Simon and Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy said in a statement that, “We believe that in eight years this book will beat the #1 bestseller of all time, the Bible.” She went on to say that, while the company does not have the $1 billion to pay President Obama, they hope to have raised it by 2016 through “a series of bake sales and car washes to be held around the country.”
Screen Actors Guild Petitions to Have ”Hollywood” Sign Replaced – A group of Hollywood heavyweights led by Barbra Streisand, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, David Geffen and Susan Sarandon are petitioning the County of Los Angeles to have the landmark “Hollywood” sign that has been a fixture in the Hollywood Hills since 1923 removed and replaced with a sign that reads “Obamaland”. SAG spokesperson Paris Hilton said that, “He is such a great President and we need to show the world how we feel about his greatness!”
Book of Obama to be Added to the New Testament – Liberal religious leaders are coalescing around the idea of producing a “Book of Obama” to be added to the New Testament. “We need to let future generations who are not yet born know the man and his message. What better way to do that than the Bible”, said Obama supporter and controversial Chicago Catholic priest Father Phleger. The book will be written by rapper Jay-Z and talk show host Oprah Winfrey. When asked to comment on Father Phleger’s ideas, the Vatican said that the Bible is fine just the way it is. Father Phleger has been recalled to Rome for “counseling” by the Jesuits.
While the above is satire, it points out a growing problem with the over the top adulation that has been promulgated by pundits, commentators and media personalities about the Obama Presidency.
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines adulation as “excessive or slavish admiration or flattery”.
We are now witnessing a new form of adulation I call Obamulation, and we have been since he received the Democratic nomination last August. With his election and inauguration, it has only intensified. This is not the fault of our new President, but his people aren’t exactly discouraging it either.
Think I’m just exaggerating or am just an unredeemed grumpy old Republican? Check this out.
The History Company is now offering the POCKET OBAMA. According to their website, “The little blue book includes themes of democracy, politics, war, terrorism, race, community, jurisprudence, faith, personal responsibility, national identity, and above all, his hoped-for vision of a new America. POCKET OBAMA is a portable, everyday primer for readers who want to examine the substance of his thought and reflect on the next great chapter in the American story."
According to its creators, "It is an unofficial requirement for every citizen to own, to read, and to carry this book at all times."
The book is a lovely royal blue, not to be confused with Chairman Mao’s little Red Book of Chinese country folk sayings. I think I will pass for now and wait until I am taken away to a Democratic Party Re-Education Camp to read it.
The mainstream media, mostly television talking heads like MSNBC’s Chris Mathews, are the enablers of this condition. The print media seems to be returning to their traditional role of healthy skeptics rather than fawning apologists. They are beginning to ask the tough questions as has been evidenced in the first few White House press briefings, although there are a few holdouts such as the two Times newspapers…Los Angeles and New York.
Knowingly or unknowingly, they seem to be creating a cult of personality around the President that is not healthy in a democratic republic.
Let’s admit for a second that the election and inauguration is an historic event of great proportions and one I did not think I would see in my lifetime. But he has been President for one week and he has not yet made any of the life or death decisions that all Presidents must make. When he does, he will make some folks happy and others not so happy. When he actually puts more troops in Afghanistan as he has indicated, Code Pink will be all over him.
Ronald Reagan was dubbed the “Teflon President” by the media because nothing seemed to stick to him. They are making Obama the “Star Trek Force Field” President. Nothing can penetrate him or his aura. He is unflappable.
To hear the Obamulators tell it, the success of his Presidency and his future place in history are assured because of the evil of Republicanism he defeated and his ability to transform America and unite all factions. Nice thoughts but not reality.
He is a gifted man. Of that there is no denying. But this is no guarantee for success or any prediction of future success. It is a good place to start, but it is only that — a start.
The sooner we temper expectations and take him off this very high pedestal that has been constructed, the better for our country. I don’t mean to tear him down just for the sake of tearing him down. That would be foolish and counterproductive.
I just want a President, not a superhero or a transcendent spiritual leader. I am not expecting any miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, because after all he is a politician. I just want results.
Here’s a little story that the President’s admirers should remember before they get too carried away.
During the period of the Roman Republic before Julius Caesar and the emperors that followed, when a Roman general was victorious in battle, he would return to Rome and parade in triumph down the Via Appia to the Campus Martius, or military parade ground, where he would turn over command of his legions to the power of the Roman Senate. No Roman general was allowed to bring his legions into the city and they camped on the outskirts of town. This was to maintain civilian authority and prevent military coups.
As he paraded in his chariot to the cheers of the Roman people, he would be preceded by the defeated enemies who were now slaves and carts laden with treasure from the conquered lands. Standing behind him was a slave who held a crown just above his head, never placing it on his head and whispering in his ear over and over, “Sic transit gloria mundi…The glory of the world is fleeting”. Hero today…bum tomorrow, because after all he is just a man.
No one man can do all the things that many think President Obama can do. He will do his best like all Presidents before him. He will be President until January 20, 2013. And if he is re-elected, he will definitely be finished on January 20, 2017. He will have successes and failures and the republic will go on after him.
In the meantime, if I were Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, every morning I would greet the President this way.
Good Morning Mr. President. Sic transit Gloria mundi.