Barack Obama: Cult of Personality?

As exemplified by the "I Got a Crush...On Obama" YouTube viral video sensation, Sen. Barack Obama has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity, especially among young and African American voters, but some worry that the political phenom is propelled more by his star power than his fitness for the office of President of the United States.

As The New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Paul Krugman wrote on Feb. 11, "Most of the venom I see is coming from supporters of Mr. Obama, who want their hero or nobody." Based on personal experience as a journalism student and self-described amateur political scientist, Krugman is right.

It is not uncommon to hear, when personally discussing voting choices in the recent Super Tuesday California primary, Obama voters describing their motivations as something along the lines of "I just like him!"

Sen. Obama's primary campaign Web site, BarackObama.com, on Feb. 16, 2008 prominently featured the rehashed JFK quote, "I'm asking you to believe, not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours."

And, as the most recent Associated Press delegate counts have him leading Sen. Hillary Clinton by a slim margin, 1275-1220 in confirmed and projected delegates, "you" are believing.

Googling "Barack Obama" brings up nearly as man "fan" blogs as official campaign or related sources, or even news stories. History shows that when a leader is marked very highly in public sentiment, he or she is sometimes able to get away with decisions contrary to the public's best interest.

An example? Look at George Bush's soaring approval ratings, which according to the Washington Post soared above 90% in the months immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Bush parlayed public support into a blank check, so to speak, to pull the wool over our eyes. And we, the public, are at fault.

This is, of course, not to make personal or ideological comparisons between President Bush and Sen. Obama, but remember that all high-level politicians are subject to the same lobbyist pressures and smoky room deals as every president in our nation's history has been.