Hilarious: President Obama Continues Hectic Victory Tour.
No, it's not The Onion. It's Dana Milbank, writing in the Washington Post:
"Barack Obama has long been his party's presumptive nominee. Now he's becoming its presumptuous nominee.
"Fresh from his presidential-style world tour, during which foreign leaders and American generals lined up to show him affection, Obama settled down to some presidential-style business in Washington yesterday. He ordered up a teleconference with the (current president's) Treasury secretary, granted an audience to the Pakistani prime minister and had his staff arrange for the chairman of the Federal Reserve to give him a briefing. Then, he went up to Capitol Hill to be adored by House Democrats in a presidential-style pep rally.
"Along the way, he traveled in a bubble more insulating than the actual president's. Traffic was shut down for him as he zoomed about town in a long, presidential-style motorcade, while the public and most of the press were kept in the dark about his activities, which included a fundraiser at the Mayflower where donors paid $10,000 or more to have photos taken with him. His schedule for the day, announced Monday night, would have made Dick Cheney envious:
11:00 a.m.: En route TBA.
12:05 p.m.: En route TBA.
1:45 p.m.: En route TBA.
2:55 p.m.: En route TBA.
5:20 p.m.: En route TBA.
"The 5:20 TBA turned out to be his adoration session with lawmakers in the Cannon Caucus Room, where even committee chairmen arrived early, as if for the State of the Union. Capitol Police cleared the halls -- just as they do for the actual president. The Secret Service hustled him in through a side door -- just as they do for the actual president.
"Inside, according to a witness, he told the House members, 'This is the moment . . . that the world is waiting for', adding: 'I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions.'"
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Well. It's not every day that one witnesses the Ascension of a mere mortal into the True World of the Platonic Forms.
I am reminded of Gimli the dwarf's words in I, Claudius:
"We are privileged to be living at the time of the most astonishing event. The emperor has undergone a transformation. A met - a - mor - pho - sis..."
Comments (8)
I'd laugh, but for the fact that it is all so sad. This election offers us the pseudo-choice between a man who regards himself as the exemplification of the (late/post-modern, late/post-liberal) Good, and a man whose conception of honor is of selfless devotion to the Empire. This dog-and-pony show, in which nothing ever changes, is infinitely wearisome. I'd like to leave Circus-Tent-America.
Posted by Maximos | July 30, 2008 4:04 PM
I am reminded of Gimli the dwarf's words in I, Claudius:
"We are privileged to be living at the time of the most astonishing event. The emperor has undergone a transformation. A met - a - mor - pho - sis..."
(Referencing another work of that great lead actor) I see that God wishes to place further sand in my oyster to test my mettle in life with all this Obaman Gospel hoopla.
Posted by aristocles | July 30, 2008 4:13 PM
Elections are a totalitarian curse. Time for an Obama/WWWTW break for at least the next couple of weeks. Cheers!
Posted by Jeff Culbreath | July 30, 2008 5:04 PM
A "symbol of the possibility"? Is that like a hint of a glimmer?
And is that better than signifying nothing?
Posted by Kevin J Jones | July 30, 2008 5:05 PM
I'm confused. Is it Obama the Redeemer or Obama the Reifier?
Posted by Perseus | July 30, 2008 10:26 PM
Over 24 hours and not a correction. Dana ran with a bogus quote guys, maybe you all should expand your reading. Oh, and if you mean "uppity" just use the word.
Posted by Al | July 31, 2008 9:51 PM
Now it's almost a week and still no correction to the bogus quote that Dana wrote. The amazing thing is that people believe this garbage! I see that Dana got "canned" from MSNBC for it.
Posted by Scott | August 4, 2008 10:46 PM
bro, thanks! that's Exactly what I need.
Posted by Mike John | December 17, 2009 5:04 AM