Obama’s Train Ride a la Lincoln

All through the election we have heard others compare Obama to Lincoln, MLK, JFK, and even Gandhi. That last comparison really makes my stomach turn. It literally hurts to hear people compare this common politician from Chicago to such historical figures who fought for their grand vision all their life. Lincoln was a monumental figure fighting for emancipation of slaves; MLK gave his life for civil rights; Gandhi brought independence to India from the British without as much as a bullet being fired. They fought for the common good through long years of struggle inspiring millions of people for justice and equality along the way and through their accomplishments became monumental figures.

With Obama, the real narrative does not go quite that way in spite of the comparisons. Even as I write this, I am racking my brains to see what he has accomplished to deserve all this adulation. I come up empty handed every time. Everything about this guy has been a marketing ploy. It includes grand imagery, glorified rhetoric, and incessant adulation and allegiance.

An example of the latest marketing gimmick comes from yesterday’s Washington Post which reports that Obamas will make their way to Washington DC for the inauguration in a chartered AMTRAK train, starting from Philadelphia and through Wilmington and Baltimore. He will make his grand speeches for CHANGE along the way. Quoting the article:

Now he plans to arrive in Washington the same way that Lincoln did in 1861, with a train trip that will include stops, speeches and crowds along the way.

[snip]

“He’s replicating the last leg of Lincoln’s inaugural journey to Washington,” said historian Harold Holzer, author of “Lincoln President Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861.” “This guy’s reverence for Lincoln has no bounds.”

Lincoln had left his home in Springfield on Feb. 11, 1861, for a 12-day journey east to Washington, during which he made 101 speeches. Philadelphia and Baltimore were his last stops before the nation’s capital.

There we go with the grand entrance, a la Lincoln. It lacks original thought or vision but tries to conjure up some grand historical event to make him credible. Why is that? Is that because this 47 year-old man has nothing to show for his accomplishments, has surrounded himself with people like Wright, Ayers, Rezko, Blagojevich and others of that same ilk all his life, and that he has to obscure his past and confuse the public about who he really is?

At best, I say he is a common politician from Chicago which is fine if he can now deliver for the country notwithstanding the way he got there. But I have my doubts.

Remember this video from the brilliant Flineo during the primary? This is Obama’s grand accomplishment.

Seems to me that historian Holzer quoted in WaPO overstated the case. Obama’s reverence to Lincoln did not inspire him to carry out his duties to the constituents who voted for him. Instead, he wallowed in the mud with Rezko and others. He gives speeches but is yet to live by his words.

He has a lot to prove. He should set aside his marketing maneuvers for good, roll up his sleeves and get down to the business of governing the country during these difficult times. The campaign is long over. As we approach inauguration, I hope his supporters get serious and start holding him accountable. He was their choice but we all have to live with the consequences.

{Speaking for me only.}