Obama’s Inauguration and Image

Now that Barack Obama is sworn in (twice) as president and is in full swing with his duties, perhaps we can (most of us, that is) descend back to Earth and cautiously support him in his efforts to effectively and compassionately lead our nation.

I enjoyed watching the presidential inauguration events, but only up to a point. I’ve nothing against the crowds of people who went to Washington to personally witness and celebrate this historic event. But it seems to me that the hype surrounding it was way overblown. For one, funded privately or not, the extravagance lavished on it sent a bad message in the midst of our current troubled economy, with so many people losing their jobs recently. For another, it raises unreasonably high expectations for Obama, who for all of his promise and skills as a public servant, is not the country itself. But it could also be counter-argued that making such a big deal about Obama’s inauguration may politically help him during his “honeymoon” period in office get important legislation passed and signed into law (and potential vetoes averted).

It is interesting for me to see how Barack Obama has been portrayed in the media and regarded by the public. I remember watching him in the Senate (on C-Span 2) back in 2005 during his first year there. And he was the same person back then that he is now. But as he has traveled on this momentous journey to the White House, his public image has been repeatedly redefined according to whatever the prevailing political conditions were. Sooner or later, though, comparisons with Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy will abate and Barack Obama will enjoy the accurate image that uniquely belongs to him, one that I believe transcends all of the hoopla going on about him now. He is a decent, intelligent, pragmatic, and compassionate human being who genuinely cares about the welfare of his fellow Americans, loves his country, and is not above hearing and considering opposing viewpoints. And that’s enough for me.