I wanted to highlight another excerpt from my long VDARE review of David Maraniss's biography of the President:
One of Maraniss’s minor themes is Obama’s fascination with superheroes. For example, one of Obama’s white girlfriends in New York, Genevieve Cook, sensed that comic book characters might provide a key to understanding Obama’s opaque personality:
Genevieve knew that he harbored faintly articulated notions of future greatness, of gaining power to change things. Once, when they were in Prospect Park, they saw a young boy in costume playing out a superhero role. They started to talk about superheroes, the comics he enjoyed as an adolescent in Honolulu, and intimations of “playing out a superhero life.” She considered it “a very strong archetype in his personality,” but as soon as she tried to draw him out, he shut down “and didn’t want to talk about it further.”
This may offer an explanation of the resilience of Obama’s gigantic ego, “his irrepressible belief that he was the smartest person in the room,” his confidence that he would someday lead millions despite the relentless evidence that even his friends wouldn’t follow him around the corner to get a newspaper.
The comic books provide a whole mythos in which nobodies have fabulous secret identities: mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent is actually Superman, while shy student Peter Parker is Spider-Man.
The irony is striking. Obama opponents have frantically tried to piece together the secret identity of this seeming international man of mystery: Is he Muslim? Kenyan? Arab? Gay? Frank Davis’s son?
But, in contrast, Maraniss goes to great lengths to reassure Obama’s supporters: relax—there’s nothing interesting about Obama!
Yet, all the while, Obama himself was convinced that he wasn’t as boring as his friends assumed. Deep inside, he had a secret identity … President Man!
In general, I think Obama is somebody with some literary skills who half figured out, half stumbled into certain quasi-mythic hopes in American culture that were ripe for exploitation by a Presidential candidate of the proper background.. Thus, I think you can get a better handle on figuring out this guy's sudden rise by thinking about superhero movies, Star Wars, Harry Potter books, Morgan Freeman movies, and other modern mythology.
By the way, I don't see Obama as being particularly brilliant at figuring out that nice white people really wanted to elect a black President who was a nice white person on the inside. As far as we can tell, up through about his 40th birthday, Obama was much more focused on rising up out of the black slums to become mayor of Chicago as his hero Harold Washington had done in the Council War years, an ambition that seems remarkably stupid of him today. It wasn't until about 2001 that he realized that black people were never going to like him more than real black politicians, so his natural career path was as the quasi-black politician for white people to vote for.
By the way, I don't see Obama as being particularly brilliant at figuring out that nice white people really wanted to elect a black President who was a nice white person on the inside. As far as we can tell, up through about his 40th birthday, Obama was much more focused on rising up out of the black slums to become mayor of Chicago as his hero Harold Washington had done in the Council War years, an ambition that seems remarkably stupid of him today. It wasn't until about 2001 that he realized that black people were never going to like him more than real black politicians, so his natural career path was as the quasi-black politician for white people to vote for.
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16 comments:
Enough speculating. It's time to send in an expert with a finely tuned gaydar and let the meter show what it shows about BHO.
Obama is the Aquaman of American Presidents.
I like Obama.
"...his confidence that he would someday lead millions despite the relentless evidence that even his friends wouldn’t follow him around the corner to get a newspaper."
True, but Obama knew that once he had the support of the very people WHO OWNED THE NEWS(PAPERS-AND-OTHER-FORMS-OF-MEDIA), tens of millions of Americans would follow him.
Obama knew that he couldn't do it alone. Just like superheroes need some superhero power, Obama knew he had to have this superhero power.. and it could only be gotten by winning the favor of Jews. Jewish financial and media support would give him superhuman powers.
And then, the world would follow him.
Same with movie stars. I don't think kids at Tom Cruise's highschool thought too much of him. Some girls might have thought him cute and cuddly, but most girls were not swooning crazy over him, and most guys didn't think he was such great stuff.
But once Hollywood put his mug on the big screen and made him out to be a big star, millions of boys and girls were all crazy over him.
What is your point dude? What do these lil' tidbits all add up to? I don't get it.
Where I grew up, very few black kids and teens liked superhero comics. That should tell you something about Obama.
Affirmative Action Man!
yes, inside this seemingly ordinary man -- an admitted AA beneficiary -- with an unspectacular college career at Occidental and Columbia graduating without latin honors....he somehow makes it to Harvard Law School and graduates magna cum laude at the hallowed grade blind institution. So, in my mind, that's a pretty super-heroic feat. You can say what you will about him, but you can't say that he isn't impressively smart to pull of that feat....maybe sometimes he is the smartest guy in the room!
Where I grew up, very few black kids and teens liked superhero comics.
Too many words, not enough pictures?
"Where I grew up, very few black kids and teens liked superhero comics.
Too many words, not enough pictures?"
I am guessing that you are not aware that a number of blacks have won the Nobel Prize for Literature and that a number of african-americans have been chosen to be Poet Laureates of America..
You probably have never heard of Pushkin and Dumas either, I bet.
The one thing missing from all these analyses is Michelle's role in the creation of his character. He's always been the arty/intellectual sensitive type, whereas she's a henpecking ballbreaker. Ever notice how they're always taking little swipes at each other? She seems like the power-hungry one while he's in it for self-discovery, so I sometimes wonder what role she's played in his career.
I suspect there will be a lot of comments getting moderated on this thread.
One of our Anons has taken a Black studies class. Elsewhere on the net, some dink just informed me that Muslims have been fighting for American freedom since the Revolution, so opposing Muslim immigration is ignorant and bigoted.
"I am guessing that you are not aware that a number of blacks have won the Nobel Prize for Literature and that a number of african-americans have been chosen to be Poet Laureates of America.."
Of course they have.
Just like Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.
"You probably have never heard of Pushkin and Dumas either, I bet."
Or the "swarthy" Beethoven.
Anonymous said...
I am guessing that you are not aware that a number of blacks have won the Nobel Prize for Literature..."
Yes, for writing books that noone much wants to read.
Obama is a legend. He does well as the president.Check out this amazing new Obama T-shirt here-http://www.obamaproject2012.com/ If Obama loses, they're refunding everybody and letting you keep the shirt. Cool project!
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