So after the conventions I pretty much made up my mind about who I was supporting and signed up at the Obama web site. At first I was impressed with their organization and how they kept all their supporters informed and managed their volunteers. I even gave the guy $50.After the election the pleas for money kept coming — this time to help bail out the DNC. Hmmm, not really what I signed up to support, but OK, you can have my kind "no thanks" and we'll both move on.
But today's Your Obama Holiday Fleece email asking me for a $50 or more contribution to get that thing to the right in time for the holidays is just a tad bit bizarre. First of all , the money goes to the DNC, so not a chance. But there's something eerily Uzbekistan/North Korea dictator worship-like about wearing around clothing with my President's logo on it. Obama-for-President gear is one thing. Everyone's got that and it's become part of our democratic tradition.
But now that he's elected, it's time to stop. We're a nation of laws, not of men. Now that we've cast our vote, we should support our country, not commit ourselves to one particular leader; we should criticize the guy when we think he's wrong, support him when we think he's right, give him the benefit of the doubt, at least at first; and in four years we should pick someone else if he he doesn't do his job.
Don't get me wrong. I like the guy and so far am happy with his centrist shift and his apparent value of competence over ideology. And yes, Alex P. Keaton had a poster of Reagan in his bedroom — this isn't entirely new territory. But can we just nip this cult of personality crap in the bud, please?
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