Obamamania Posted by Michael Cohen

David Brooks does his best Maureen Dowd imitation in the New York Times today, snarkily predicting that Obamamaniacs will soon fall victim to Obama Comedown Syndrome.

It appears to be the new media narrative about Obama - when will Americans get a glimpse of the "real" Barack Obama and begin to question the hype.

Here's the always even-keeled Paul Krugman:

One thing I worry about a lot if Obama is the Dem nominee — and he's surely the frontrunner now — is that there will be a backlash against Obamamania. Actually, it's already starting — probably too late to have much effect on the nomination fight, but in plenty of time to affect the general election.

Even Kevin Drum, who usually takes a gimlet-eyed view of the conventional wisdom weighs in:

Bubbles always burst, and Obama has been riding a major league bubble for months now. Before too much longer his supporters are going to come down to earth. . . This backlash meme is already widespread, and you can almost feel in the air that it's about to explode into a feeding frenzy.   

No real surprise here I suppose. Reporters and pundits love to tear the bark off the latest flavor of the month. You can almost expect the soon to be published New Republic takedown. (Although clearly not if Christopher Orr and Michael Crowley have anything to say about it).

Now I know I'm a bit in the tank for Obama, but it does seem to me that the real story here is not the Obama "fairy tale" but the extent to which so many millions of Americans seem to honestly believe he is Prince Charming coming in on the white horse to save the day.  This isn't some media driven narrative; whether he wins or loses, those epically long lines in Boise, Minneapolis, Denver, Madison and Washington D.C. represent a genuine political movement in America.

We have a relatively unknown Senator coming out of nowhere and threatening to unseat the former First Lady in a Democratic primary all the while sparking an affirmative, populist movement that could change the very way we think about and discuss politics in this country. (Oh and did I mention he's a black man). I've just spent the past year reading and writing way too much about American presidential campaigns and with the exception of William Jennings Bryan in 1896 and maybe Bobby Kennedy in 1968 or Ross Perot in 1992 there really is no precedent for the political fervor surrounding Obama. These types of things happen in movies, not reality.

American have flirted with populist outsiders before, but we rarely take them home to meet the parents. But now a whole host of Democrats and independent are saving two seats at Thanksgiving dinner.

Whether you think this is good or bad; whether you support Hillary or McCain, it doesn't really matter. Forget Obama for just a second: what does this movement say about the state of American politics today?  What does it say about the current mood of the American electorate?  Are we on the cusp of a genuine political realignment?

Now that would make for a interesting op-ed.

Comments

[Mike M.]

I voted for Hillary but I'll obviously support whoever is nominated. That said, I'm pretty skeptical about Obama because I really don't believe that he represents any new kind of politics or that he's above the fray or that he's anything special at all. He'll make a fine president, but so would Clinton. I find the Obama swoon pretty disturbing. What's so great about him, really?

And how is this not the media's narrative. I haven't seen a guy get this free a pass from the press, well, ever, and that includes McCain.

[Dan Kervick]

I welcome the Obama backlash, because once people get beyond the more ephemeral attractions of charm and charisma, they will more clearly see the practical political skills and intellectual judgment and balance which make Obama the superior candidate.

For one thing, in comparison to Clinton, Obama has a superior record of legislative accomplishments in a relatively short amount of time, in both Illinois and the US Senate. For all her alleged virtues as an experienced hand and skilled Washington infighter, Clinton's record in the Senate is quite thin.

Obama also has a more realistic and nuanced foreign policy perspective in relation to Clinton. His assessments of current global conditions, and his policy suggestions, show more insight and imagination, and a willingness to consider breaks with established inertial patterns. His virtues stack up well against Clinton's dangerously bad judgment, reckless statements and neocon-tilting global strategy.

Obama has also proven in his campaign to be a better, more steady and sure-handed manager. The many missteps and organizational failures of Clinton's campaign do not bode well for her prospects as chief executive.

[John B.]

"This backlash meme is already widespread, and you can almost feel in the air that it's about to explode into a feeding frenzy." What? Is he nuts?

If there's a feeding frenzy, it's confined to the punditocracy, whose members have lined up to take their best shots, all of which have bouced off. It seems to me the more the nattering nabobs diss him, the stronger he gets. Does Kevin Drum thinks average Americans give a shit what a Paul Krugman or a Robert Samuelson says?

[bicyclewarriorwith314]

the real story here is not the Obama "fairy tale" but the extent to which so many millions of Americans seem to honestly believe he is Prince Charming coming in on the white horse to save the day

One thing I find remarkable is the extent to which people commenting on this election presume to know what's in the minds of voters. This is especially true of the "cult"/"backlash" bandwagon, but it's not limited to them. How does anybody really know what Obama voters are thinking?

There has been a huge turnout at all Democratic primaries, and almost as many of those voters went for Clinton. Is it really that people are moved by the star-power of candidates, or is it that they are enthusiastically participating in choosing the president who will take over after Bush?

a relatively unknown Senator coming out of nowhere and threatening to unseat the former First Lady in a Democratic primary

Don't forget that he gave the keynote address (I think?) at the last Democratic Convention, in 2004. He was already described as having rock-star appeal then, and he had already run (unsucessfully) for Congress once before. In 2004, people were already speculating about whether he would run for president in 2008. Obama has a history of public exposure.

I think if we want to start getting into the heads of voters, we should start with his support from the "netroots". It's not so much a matter of a candidate coming along and winning hearts, I think. It's more a matter of a large, highly energized, involved group of people--the netroots--being enthusiastic about their ability to coalesce around a candidate, and overcome other institutional forces to help that candidate succeed in national elections. This is the second such attempt--Howard Dean was the first--and it's been, to say the least, critical to Obama's success--more-so than his being promoted by the Democratic Party in 2004. I think part of the reason the story of the netroots phenomenon gets ignored is that it contradicts strong preconceived notions about the internet and personal charisma--internet users aren't supposed to "get" this kind of thing. The form--i.e. the media--youtube, blogs, etc.--doesn't match the content: a charismatic African-American-Asian politician. The bizarre comparison of Obama supporters to a cult reflects this confusion.

[dadpasadena]

All innovators have been criticized by do-nothing bystanders. So, any cynicism toward Obama is a good sign. Elites are suspect of "movements" because they can be pigeon-holed so easily. But a phenomena is really quite amazing because cynics can't figure out anything they can't touch, taste or feel. Just because it doesn't resemble them doesn't mean it isn't viable. Its a very good thing it doesn't resemble them because the status quo is going nowhere, and we've been going nowhere for far too long. Now is the time for change. You ask, "What kind of change?" What are you afraid of? Let's take some risk, but calculated risk. Our options have proven themselves to be incompetent and over confident. Now Obama comes along and brightens the path. This may seem to ethereal for some, but should we continue on with those who have led us into the darkness? Don't get trapped into what feels comfortable. Just because you know what it is doesn't mean that its good for you. Go Obama!