blog - gObama 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
(Berlin, Germany - 11.50 p.m. local time)
The over-exposure with Obama in the mass media comes to a halt after he touched down at his birth place in Honolulu, Hawaii. Media surveys found out that American voters are currently no longer interested to hear more messages from Obama - time to take a break from politics. This picture (taken from an article at Hawaii’s star bulletin)shows how Obama feels free at least from pressure - out of his political suit and global tie. It looks significant to me, how he re-links his birthplace culture with some of his larger political ideas.
The Star Bulletin newspaper (Vol. 13, Issue 221 - Friday, August 8, 2008) reports about his vacation visit:
He praised Hawaii and told how he explains to people how the state has affected his character and politics.
"I try to explain to them something about the aloha spirit. I try to explain to them this basic idea that we all have obligations to each other, that we're not alone, that if we see somebody who's in need we should help," he said.
Obama said "most importantly, that when you come from Hawaii, you start understanding that what's on the surface, what people look like, that doesn't determine who they are.
"And that the power and strength of diversity, the ability of people from everywhere, whether they're black or white, whether they're Japanese-American or Korean-American or Filipino-American or whatever they are, they are just Americans, that all of us can work together and all of us can join together to create a better country.
"It's that spirit, that I'm absolutely convinced, is what America is looking for right now."
Interestingly, the people of Berlin were very much in touch with this Aloha spirit, despite having a different historical and cultural connection to his ideas. I think the effectiveness of his appeal worldwide is due to the fact, that he speaks to a generation who is getting in touch with their spiritual awareness. Is it anti-consumer, anti-capitalist and anti-racist sentiment? Anarchy and resistance had been part of Berlin for a long time. Since the collapse of the Berlin wall there seems to be a bouncing global consciousness that wants to transcend the boundaries of race and class. Gender? Looking at the role Michelle Obama and Tutu, his grandmother, played - one could add gender awareness to his profile as well.
Obama even made concessions to some lobbyist who want to drill for oil offshore and this seems to be a bi-partisan move.
http://grist.org/podcast/weekly/2008/08/07/
In an article at the Washington Post the critics do not sleep. Apparently, the Republicans wait for a joke about his vacation visit. Here is one: Obama's Tactical Gift to McCain (By Michael Gerson Friday, August 8, 2008; Page A17 )about the tactics of the campaigns:
At least temporarily, Obama's tactics have raised a damning political question: Who is this man? And the McCain campaign has begun to cleverly exploit these concerns, not with a frontal attack on his liberalism or his flip-flops but with a humorous attack on his "celebrity" -- really a proxy for shallowness.
The argument is powerful: McCain has roots and convictions. Obama has fans and paparazzi. And Obama's European trip -- more Princess Diana than John Kennedy -- served only to confirm these impressions.
All this sets up a fascinating convention season. Will McCain be able to describe some compelling vision -- some combination of maverick, reformer and patriot -- that unites and justifies his campaign?
Will Obama be able to re-ignite the inspiration of his campaign without overreaching into self-absorbed, second-rate Ted Sorensen? Will he be able to define an idealism that offers something more than himself as the ideal?
Even after his worst few weeks of the general election campaign, Obama remains in the lead. And he remains a far more talented and compelling figure than either John Kerry or Al Gore. McCain still swims upstream, but the current may run weaker than we thought.
As this comment shows the centrist mainstream political commentators do not get who Obama really is - or better they might not admit of getting his Aloha drift. As they have to dumb themselves down, to sell their views to the corporate media profiles, the cynics will have a short lived victory.