Seduced by the Saint (The AUSTRALIAN)

You know that something is amiss with rational judgment when economics Nobel laureate Amartya Sen describes events surrounding Barack Obama’s arrival as US President as “turning an exceptional human being into almost the kind of godhead that he has become”.

Sober analysts must be standing aside, wondering about the role of emotion in politics and its implications for critical scrutiny of Obama’s presidency. But many other observers have metaphorically cast aside their crutches and accepted that Obama has made them whole again.

To be sure, none of this is new. During Obama’s campaign, Hollywood types swooned at the sight of a good-looking, left-wing, articulate man of colour. And the media was equally seduced.

Back in September, The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland, suffering that sinking feeling of four years ago when the Democrats lost, warned the US that the world would not tolerate a vote against Obama. “If Americans reject Obama, they will be sending the clearest possible message to the rest of us, and, make no mistake, we shall hear it.”

Mind you, it would be mean-spirited to complain about Freedland and the rest of the left-liberal media rejoicing in the inauguration today.

President Obama entered the history books our children will read. His presidency bookends an era that began with segregation between blacks and whites and ended when he became the 44th American president and the first black man in the White House. No one can take that away from him. Nor can anyone doubt his charisma or political skills.

However, the inauguration is just a moment in history.

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