Beyond just the disappointment inherent in life, our enthusiasm about Senator Obama will be tested in predictable ways in the coming months and years as he becomes President Obama.
Below is my take on how and why President Obama will almost certainly disappoint me. Maybe some of this will resonate with you.
If so, add your own elaborations.
If not, add your counter-points.
Something to think about and maybe discuss this Sunday morning / afternoon.
Here are some of my ideas of why President Obama will disappoint me / us.
President Obama cannot govern as perfectly as Senator Obama could campaign. This is not just about politics being the art of the possible. It is about the different canvas on which one draws as a candidate, and as a President.
Senator Obama assembled his team (no one there he didn't want to work with) and outlined his ideas. He was The Boss. He could use his skills in oratory and his experience as an organizer to the maximum extent. He had to work within the parameters of the primary schedule and the socio-economic realities of the American electorate etc. But he was "in charge". He was an entrepreneur who pulled off the greatest political start-up in modern U.S. history. And we loved it, and we love him for it.
Now he becomes the CEO of the largest political corporation in the world. Ask any CEO if he/she is "in charge" of the corporation they lead and they will tell you of the competing power centers, the organizational inertia, etc. that constrain their actions. (I hear that in my work as an executive coach.)
Even if President Obama is the perfect CEO / President, meaning that he gets as much accomplished as any human being possibly could in that position, the parameters of that position ensure that "as much as possible" will be less than this community would desire.
Obama meant what he said at Grant Park about the people who didn't vote for him. Many of us on this site followed Kos' advice to throw an anvil at the "drowning" Republicans in this election. We rejoiced when our Orange to Blue candidates won, and wept when they didn't. I was active in the efforts that turned Indiana blue this election, for only the second time since 1936. I screamed and hollered and raised the glass of champagne when Obama was declared the winner, and wept during his Grant Park address.
However, maybe because I live in a small city in a now "purple" State, the morning after I moved through town talking to acquaintances and friends who were literally in mourning about the election. While I cringed as they shared some of their ideas and analysis, I could not walk away from them because I want (and need) to have an ongoing relationship with them.
Barack Obama is a man of his word, and he told the people who did not vote for him that he will be their President, and work for their support. This was not a snake oil saleman speaking. This is a man who told them, and us, that the ideas, convictions, hopes and fears of those who voted for John McCain will get a respectful hearing in Obama's White House. Some of Obama's actions will reflect those ideas. To the extent that we want to throw anvils to the individual Republicans (not political candidates) who live among us during the next four years, we will be disappointed.
He has become head of State. Okay, maybe not officially, we don't have a King, but Obama is as close as we have. And the nature of the State - this nation that we live in - is not progressive. Yes, we have progressive ideals. But we are also a superpower that exerts power over the affairs of the world. We use military power, economic power, and political power to protect our wealth and privilege. As President, Obama will not fundamentally challenge the institutions that preserve our standing in the world. That will inevitably lead to his support for actions in the world that make us angry and disappointed.
How we respond to this is, of course, another question. But thinking about how, and why, President Obama will disappoint us may help us make more informed decisions about how to support him, and advance our progressive agenda, when the inevitable happens.
Update 1 At this point in the afternoon the diary is pretty far into the bowels of the "recent diary" list. But I'm updating based on my further reflections, and reading the comments. Good comments.
One response is that my thoughts were really focusing on me, and on us. I wasn't clear on this point. My diary was trying to think through, for myself, about some of the inevitable realities of governance. Inherent in the diary, and in my intent, but not obvious enough, was a challenge to myself, to prepare myself not to be too unrealistic in my responses to those inevitable realities.
The only comment that stung a bit was being told I fundamentally misunderstand the movement, when I am part of the movement.
Other than that, I enjoyed, and appreciated, the comments.