Why Does Obie Want to be President?

If Obie gets elected, who is he going to surround himself with? He's been denying that he's of the Left, or ever knowingly associated with anyone who is, since he started campaigning. He's pretty much done the Ides of March number on everyone in his Circle. He's publicly repudiated each of his "friends" in turn, because embracing them would kill his chances to win the election.

So who's he going to pick as his team? If he chooses the same sort he's been reviling, even regular Democrats will notice it. They're all very busy telling us that his denials are perfectly true; that Obie didn't know all his friends were criminals, racists, nut-jobs and extremists. It was all a mistake. Of course, they're not just trying to convince us, they're working very hard to convince themselves. If Obie chooses his coterie from the same swamp he's vilifying, they will be faced with the unvarnished truth that their guy is a liar.

On the other hand, if he maintains the pretense of being "moderate" and all that implies, how will he satisfy his most ardent supporters for Hope and Change? What would be the point of it all?

He might be in something of a tight spot. Regular democrats don't want a socialized/fascist State any more than regular Republicans do. They believe he's a uniter, a moderate guy, above the partisan fray. But those fainting true-believers and the extremists-elites he pals around with want radical activism; serious change. But there's not enough of them to get him elected. Or re-elected.

Which group is his real constituency? Which philosophy does he really believe in? Does it matter? Does he care? Is it possible that the real point of it all is gaining the status and glory of the Presidency for it's own sake? Is it possible that kicking all his friends and associates and mentors and spiritual advisers and counselors and consultants and benefactors (and grandmothers) to the curb may be worth it to someone simply bedazzled by the shiniest brass ring on the planet?

Remember, he has recanted (or denied) almost everything he's ever said, (when he's actually said anything at all.) He's burned all his bridges. He's vague, he's vacillating, he's unknown and unknowable. He's never written anything that might help us know him or determine his character or philosophy; not during his time in Chicago, not during his time in Springfield, not during his time as a teacher, not during his term in the Senate. The only written words he takes credit for are two books that look more and more likely to have been ghost-written by others.

The more I look at him, the more I wonder if there is any "there" there. I wonder if he said all the things he's had to recant because they worked in Chicago...not because he ever believed them. They worked. Experiential success. Maybe he was just applying his winning formula. Until he found out it didn't work at The Show. The Big League requires a different message, and he's been revamping, restating, retreating, reinterpreting, reneging and recanting ever since. He's dancing as fast as he can.

To what end?

TO. BE. PRESIDENT.

Maybe that's all it's about. And maybe that's why he seems so weird and off-center, and makes us so uncomfortable. He seems to have no anchor, no record, no accomplishments, no bedrock principles, no immovable core, no real faith, standards, or virtue. He seems to be all image and no substance, an "empty suit", everything to everyone.

It's occurred to me that Barack Obama is less interested in doing anything as President than he is in being President. He's never done anything of note or consequence in any of his other positions whether political, academic, legal (or community organizing). He's never had a passion or a plan, or any real interest in the job qua job. Barack Obama isn't a doer. Nothing in his career indicates he wants to actually accomplish anything. He did little more than use each position as a springboard to the next, leaving scarce evidence of his passing. Given the passive, almost invisible nature of Obama's professional life, can we really expect much—good or bad—from an Obama Presidency?

I think he wants to be it, not do it. I think Barack Obama is ravening ambition for status wrapped in skin. I don't think he's got a plan. I don't think he's got a clue. And I don't think he cares; that's not what he's in this for. It doesn't make him harmless. But maybe it makes him a little less dangerous than a radical activist with an agenda.

He certainly won't be good for the country. But maybe, if we're lucky, he'll be too busy basking in the glow of being President to burn the house down.

The Gunslinger