The Shield Cracks
When the hermetic, perfect world created in 2008 came into being, the Lightbringer at its center was protected from the moment of his nomination in a kind of numinous cloud of cultural, media and elite opinion protection.
Jokes about Obama, well...they just weren't funny. “It’s hard to make fun of Obama in general because he’s a cool character," said Jimmy Kimmel. Noah Rothman called it "Obama’s prohibitive coolness."
Criticism of his policies and politics were obviously racist in nature...what other explanation could possibly obtain? Mockery of his pomposity, his flagrant sense of personal grandeur, his Administration-as-personality-cult was a product of Republican sour grapes (and, duh, racism).
Even the mild comedic hits on Obama in popular culture were anodyne, bloodless things and mostly along the themes of his coolness, his intellect, his perfection. He was the straight man to the GOP foil. He was the cool kid in the room full of conservative dorks. One famous incident of self-editing to protect the image of President Cool was a spiked SNL skit.
What strikes me about the New Yorker cover is that it not only clearly takes Obama down several pegs, but references the Eastwood moment of the RNC convention, which we were assured by our betters for several weeks was a disaster for the Romney campaign. Think about it: the New Yorker is mocking Barack Obama using an image from a gag from the Republican National Convention.
It's a singularity of irony, they just don't know it.
The cracks in the Acela Corridor's Barack Protection Protocol are showing because Obama's most compelling attribute was the belief that his intellectual prowess is unmatched by any President, perhaps any mortal. A cornerstone of their faith in him was always that Barack Obama's intellectual firepower could be deployed at will, and destroy Mitt Romney at a time and place of the President's choosing.
What they saw Wednesday night wasn't the demigod they've protected like so many cultural Myrmidons, but a stammering, detached, utterly outclassed man hoisted on the petard of his own laziness and incuriousity. The damage to their perception of him isn't enough to draw them to Romney, but in their post-modern, super-ironic world, the moment Obama showed weakness, he became a legitimate target.
The cover of the New Yorker -- one of the tentpoles of respectable liberalism and elite opinion -- is a signifier of the scope of Obama's failure this week.
As the dozens of snarky articles, brutal editorial cartoons, late night comedy shows taking new and unaccustomed shots at Obama (I'm not counting Chris Matthews and his epic rant) build up a certain cultural momentum, the sense that Obama's failings are suddenly funny is a deadly virus in the bloodstream of liberal opinion.
Barack Obama is a man of abundantly evident self-regard. The growing sound of mockery and derision must be painful to him, especially coming from the unexpected quarters of his erstwhile allies. Once the mockery starts, it's hard to stop. Ask Bill Clinton.
The clues of an Obama meltdown in high-, low- and even pop-culture tell me that the next debates for Obama aren't just consequential: they're existential.
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Comments:
Apr '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
"No pressure."
Re: The Shield Cracks
Brilliantly stated, sir. As for Barack Obama, the little demigod has become mortal. Somehow I doubt we'll be seeing many of those halo pictures that used to dot the landscape of magazine racks.
Edited on October 6, 2012 at 3:34amJun '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
Am I alone in hoping that the end of the adulation will rattle Obama to the point where he does even worse in the next debates, as opposed to better?
Re: The Shield Cracks
You're not alone at all. But I wouldn't depend on Obama's rattle alone. Obama will likely be an angry customer next time, and Governor Romney would be well served to be at least as prepared next time as he was last Wednesday.
Jun '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
Dave Carter
You're not alone at all. But I wouldn't depend on Obama's rattle alone. Obama will likely be an angry customer next time, and Governor Romney would be well served to be at least as prepared next time as he was last Wednesday. · 0 minutes ago
Angry people make mistakes. I would hope Mitt is ready to knock Barack's errors out of the park.
Jul '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
I'm hoping he messes up even worse. The comedy comes when the narcissists world falls apart. I'm positive he's blamed his inner circle for his own shortcomings as admitting he's wrong isn't in his makeup.
If he really loses it then his book and speaking deals will take a hit. Sweet justice.
Re: The Shield Cracks
Thank you! The halo pics were always a favorite of mine. Unsubtle, much?
Dave Carter: Brilliantly stated, sir. As for Barack Obama, the little demigod has become mortal. Somehow I doubt we'll be seeing many of those halo pictures that used to dot the landscape of magazine racks. · 31 minutes ago
Edited 29 minutes ago
Re: The Shield Cracks
From your lips to Valerie Jarrett's ear.
Re: The Shield Cracks
Indeed...remember, Obama is a brand, not just a man.
DocJay: I'm hoping he messes up even worse. The comedy comes when the narcissists world falls apart. I'm positive he's blamed his inner circle for his own shortcomings as admitting he's wrong isn't in his makeup.
If he really loses it then his book and speaking deals will take a hit. Sweet justice. · 13 minutes ago
Apr '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
Don't forget that the Newsweek cover story didn't seem to hurt Obama at all. And none of the criticism from the left after the debate questions Obama's ideas, only that he didn't fight back against Romney's "lies".
Not a single democrat or undecided voter I'm aware of was influenced by the Ferguson story.
I don't think there has been a crack in Obama's media shield. His poor performance has rallied them to demand that he improve by merely returning to his true self, and rallying themselves to the new narrative that everything Romney says is a lie.
The place to look for cracks is in the 'downticket' races.
Feb '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
Lolz:
...because Obama's most compelling attribute was the belief that his intellectual prowess is unmatched by any President, perhaps any mortal.
Dec '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
It's a singularity of irony, they just don't know it.
The left has been flummoxed by this entire cycle. And I'm almost certain that - although Obama wants to be better prepared for debate #2 - I don't think they know how to prepare. He's never been in this position before. He might not even be able to accept that he is in this position.
Feb '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
I agree with DocJay in that Obama, being infallible and all, can't POSSIBLY be at fault for the disaster that was his first debate. I also love that in more than a couple places I have seen (not just conservatives) opining that the media softballs over the years only hurt the big O.
Jun '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
Last Outpost on the Right: It's a singularity of irony, they just don't know it.
The left has been flummoxed by this entire cycle. And I'm almost certain that - although Obama wants to be better prepared for debate #2 - I don't think they know how to prepare. He's never been in this position before. He might not even be able to accept that he is in this position. · 0 minutes ago
Now that, sir, is a very astute observation.
I kind of doubt that he can accept that he lost... I think he is deep in denial.
Feb '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
LOOTR, the problem for liberals is that their philosophy is all pie-in-the-sky, cotton-candy, cloud-city fantasy. How do you effectively defend a 'principle' that is built on the shifting sand of public opinion and the quest for power?
Jul '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
Until Univision, I don't think he's had to answer a tough random question in four years. Rick's right, he's a brand and not a man, but there's soon to be a nationwide recall.
Answering something about how hard it is to be awesome at everything is not exactly the honing of the mental skills one needs to hang with the big dogs.
May '10
Re: The Shield Cracks
Rick Wilson:
The clues of an Obama meltdown in high-, low- and even pop-culture tell me that the next debates for Obama aren't just consequential: they're existential.
That is a great sentence.
If Obama interprets the state of affairs that same way (and I bet he does), he'll be a mess emotionally. The man's a beta-male bully who's been thoroughly humiliated by a man he can now scarcely look in the eye -- and he has to face him twice more.
Fetal position. Under the Resolute Desk.
Apr '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
Obama is surrounded by people who don't have a clue. They are so busy projecting, they fail to understand that not everyone sees things their way. So I am not sure Obama can overcome his own narcissism and that of everyone who surrounds him...they all suffer from the same thing.
Kerry cannot prepare him ecause Obama thinks he is smarter. Yet, Kerry is like a mirror to Obama, not a representation of Romney.
Romney is unpretentious in nature. The more he states what he sees as the proper course for the future and the failure of this administration to correct things, the more he iritates Obama. But the more he states it in an affable manner, the greater the One is likely to blow.
Obama cannot imagine being bested by someone whom he cannot find dirt on...it is not his way of playing. Obama never knew a man like him, thought they didn't exist. He will bully him.
Romney is actually in control. I think that in an attempt to assert himself, Obama will become less cool, more agitated. At that point, Romney will win.
Barack might not understand he lost....but no doubt, Michelle did.
May '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
I love that. I've had a few colleagues over the course of my career who are mormon men of Romney's vintage and to a man, they ARE the real deal. I'm no mormon. I'm not even religious. But when you get to know someone like that, who's character is genuinely above reproach -- husband, father, businessman or professional, community servant, tolerant, open minded, incredibly generous, just decent to the core -- you can't help but wonder if the faith they are so attached to might contribute to the demonstrable quality of the life they lead. I obviously don't know Romney, so I wonder about him, but I can't help but project on him the qualities of some of the men I know who are of his generation and share his faith. If I'm right, we could do a lot worse.
Jun '10
Re: The Shield Cracks
DocJay
Until Univision, I don't think he's had to answer a tough random question in four years.
You're forgetting this one: Bret Baier put the wood to him in March of 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv7q_E84LB0