A very nicely written attack on Obama from the New York Times op-ed page, succinctly summarizing why we need FDR and not Obama in the presidency right now. I agree with this, but I consider it a sign of obtuseness to have believed Obama was a new FDR in the first place: he was, for his intelligence and philosophical depth, a great improvement on the previous president. But to think he was going to battle on behalf of a dying middle class was delusional from the beginning – he would support it in principle, no doubt, but hardly bring his sword or shield to the Oval Office.
As I wrote before, what has been striking from the beginning about Obama is his Hamlet-like antithetical brain, which absolutely refuses to see things from one perspective only. Anyone looking for Fortinbras was bound to be disappointed; and so to talk about Obama’s “passion” dissipating to me only means that you were never really watching in the first place:
It is strange, but I would say that the dominant tone of the book is melancholy, despite the title. This melancholy can be found from the first few pages, and it does not dissipate:
“Some of it was just a function of my getting older, I suppose, for if you are paying attention, each successive year will make you more intimately acquainted with all of your flaws – the blind spots, the recurring habits of thought that may be genetic or may be environmental, but that will almost certainly worsen with time, as surely as the hitch in your walk turns to pain in your hip. In me, one of those flaws had proven to be a chronic restlessness; an inability to appreciate, no matter how well things were going, those blessings that were right there in front of me. It’s a flaw that is endemic to modern life, I think – endemic, too, in the American character – and one that is nowhere more evident than in the field of politics. Whether politics actually encourages the trait or simply attracts those who possess it is unclear. Someone once said that every man is trying to either live up to his father’s expectations or make up for his father’s mistakes, and I suppose that may explain my particular malady as well as anything else. (2-3)”
This passage is typical of the style of the book. Interspersed with the personal reflection related to broader human phenomena are three unresolved antitheses (genetic or environmental, encourages or attracts, expectations or mistakes), four qualifications (I suppose, almost certainly, I think, I suppose), and a host of words indicating uncertainty (some, may, unclear, someone, anything). The tone of the book is reflective and even aporetic, to a degree that goes beyond the typical breezy politico-book’s caveat at the beginning or end of every paragraph, “These are complex issues which won’t be solved overnight.” This seems to be instead of kind of Hamlet-like philosophical nature. It is easy to argue against this being a good thing in a president, but it certainly would be a change from previous presidents.
He does not show any desire to be hated, a la Roosevelt, or to come to a definite conclusion that “government by organized money” is morally wrong. The review I wrote is full of examples of his almost obsessive tendency to moderation derived from seeing both sides of an issue. This is most assuredly not the way I would govern, but then again, this is why no one would ever put me in charge of the finances of the middle-school Latin Club, much less the treasury of the United States. Obama is somewhat mesmerizing to me because he does not appear to be driven by an internal set of postulates which will not be denied and will retch at all compromise. To me this is the equivalent of being an alien with silicon in his veins.
But perhaps it would be wise for this country to start grooming a Fortinbras to restore the middle class. I presume, given the political landscape, that such a thing can only happen within the Democratic party, but really, I don’t care which side the Delayer comes from, as long as he can beat back the malefactors of great wealth for the time being and give the middle class another generation of hope.
One Comment