Obama

Barack Obama is giving his inaugural address as I write this.

There’s no doubt that change is coming. I just wonder what sort of change it will be.

Obama is a rock star. His approval rating is ridiculously high. At the same time however, he hasn’t done anything. He’s been president for less than an hour. Expectations are huge. Will he deliver? Either way, he’s got a tough row to hoe.

My commute this morning was about 45 minutes long, and listening to CBC Radio 2, it was all Obama, all the time. The talk was about what a big party Washington D.C. would be having today, about the Canadians that would be at the party, and about how his presidency is a milestone because he’s black.

But you know what? There was no mention of how he’ll fit into the job, of what kind of president he’ll be. Yes, that a black man has been elected to the highest office in their country does indeed say much about how the United States has changed, but in addition to being a symbol, Obama is now the leader of the country. Isn’t anyone  interested in how he’ll exercise this role?

In some ways, Obama’s popularity feels like a cult of personality, and it makes me uncomfortable. I hope I’m wrong.