Start treating Obama like a politician

On Tuesday morning, the world came to a grinding halt as billions of people stopped to watch the inarguably historic inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America. The world witnessed as he became the first black leader of the free world.

At this point, I'm sick of hearing about Obama. Yes - I realize that he is now the president and will make news for the next four years.

But it isn't his politics I'm sick of hearing and seeing - it's his image. I'm sick of Barack Obama the celebrity, and with the recent passing of the inauguration, the Hollywood glamour will hopefully dissipate.

I am happy that he is our president, but this is precisely what I expect - President Barack Obama - not Obama-rama Spectacular Blowout Bash Supreme.

Supporting a candidate is a necessary aspect of political life. Creating a "rock star" persona and marketing him as a god that excrements rainbows and unicorns only sets up his presidency for failure. It sets the standards bar impossibly high.

He will not make money grow on trees.

He will not smash poverty and successfully enact universal healthcare.

He will not save all failing industries in America or return homes lost due to faulty advice from greedy bankers.

And he will certainly not make all of his supporters happy.

If Obama manages to successfully end the Iraq conflict, set our economy on a track to recovery and still have a little time to nurture the areas of education, healthcare and international relations, I think his term will be quite successful.

The problem is that many hardcore Obama-rama supporters act no better than concert groupies - sporting fashion buttons, bumper stickers and gaudy t-shirts in lieu of actual awareness. For some reason, the new fad seems to be being politically "active" via star-worship.

Not all Obama supporters have this attitude, but there are definitely those who only have a copy of Shepard Fairey's portrait of Obama because they think it's cool.

The attitude of Obama's supporters, however, was significantly more bearable than hardcore John McCain supporters who thought it cute to show off Curious George plushies with Obama buttons and yell obscenities about Obama during McCain's concession speech.

But once again, the same rule applies. Not all McCain supporters were like this, but I'm sure that the majority of the ones that were only acted like idiots because it was the "popular" way to show support for McCain. This includes Facebookers with "NObama," monkey-themed profile pictures.

The atmosphere surrounding the election proves that the celebrity cloud wasn't limited to just Obama but engulfed McCain as well. His supporters were just as eager and willing to turn their presidential candidate into an entertaining commodity rather than promoting his political platforms. Both are guilty of parading around shows like Saturday Night Live with about as much dignity as a state fair sideshow.

About the only performer in the 2008 political drama that wasn't backstage-pass worthy was Joe Biden. But then again, look who his competition was - Sarah Palin. How do you compete with someone who would probably do just about anything for green-room access?

Despite the better efforts of starry-eyed fans and media outlets obsessed with image over issues, Obama did reasonably well Tuesday, covering his overall goals in the inauguration speech, although the speech itself was somewhat dismal as he meticulously outlined the stormy skies ahead.

"That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet."

In summary: we're screwed.

So in the wake of these crises, the American people need someone to look to. It should be our president, whose duty it is to lead us through our dark times. My fear is that people expect an entertaining celebrity and will be sorely disappointed with the result.

Barack is a pop idol, but President Obama is not a superstar - only a man with a mission to make our lives better.

And that should be enough for the American people.

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© Copyright 2009 The Sidelines - Posted 01/22/09