Demystifying the "Messiah"

Folks, the Republican Party made a crucial mistake when Obama appeared on the scene as Democratic candidate for President. I would have warned of this earlier, had I fully realized the import of the mistake. Now it's done, and he's in office, and there is not much we can do beyond letting the Democrats own their own errors in policy and gearing up for a conservative sweep in 2010.

(The irony is that a Democratic president with a Republican congress may be the best balance for our country. He keeps them in line by vetoing compromises because they don't go far enough, and the media finds themselves railing against a nebulous group of a couple hundred people instead of focusing a laser-eye on one man.)

This is the error: The Democrats have done their best to make him seem different somehow, special, unusual and new. The Republicans have only helped.

The first black president! Barack Obama! The unspoken 'Hussein' vibrates through the crowd. Is he Muslim? Is he Kenyan? Is he American? What about his birth certificate? What about his policies? Whatever he is, he's new. He's different. He isn't the same ol'. He just might get us out of this mess.

Even the Republican's attempts to cast doubt on him has only strengthened his position as a mystical figure. McCain's attempts to be 'gentlemanly' and avoid the infamous middle name left it as the proverbial (and ironic) elephant in the room, the silent reminder each time he avoided it that it was indeed waiting there. The grassroots concern about Obama's Muslim heritage draws our minds to the Middle East, to strange beliefs and unusual laws. None of this is what President Obama truly is, but it has only helped to cement his image as not quite the ordinary politician.

Before the election, people kept asking me if I thought Obama was Muslim. I took an honest look at his policies and as much of his home life as we were able to see and said no. I thought (and still think) he is merely a Unitarian Universalist, just like the church he attended for 20 years. The Unitarian Universalist church, though members may vary widely in their beliefs, is not like the Catholic church or the Baptist church. Their belief system is more like a buffet table than a simple dinner or a seven-course meal. They pick and choose as they please from various religious beliefs, including Christianity. In this way, though some members are likely fully Christian, the denomination is only Christian by the same "one drop" logic that makes Obama black instead of "mixed race".

See, a Muslim, even a secret one, in office would not be governing the way Obama is governing. "But he may be a moderate! Just because his wife doesn't wear the garment and he doesn't pray to Mecca... he's in hiding!" I'm sorry, but my evidence isn't anywhere near that obvious. Everyone, whether they hide their religion or not, is influenced by its worldview. Muslims are so careful about debt management that stock/bond packages featuring Muslim-approved companies are actually popular in the U.S. because these packages are among the few who are not rapidly losing value in this crisis caused by irresponsible financing. A Muslim Obama would not have sought to deal with debt by creating tons more. A Muslim Obama would not be supporting abortion under every circumstance at any time. A Muslim Obama may not require his wife to wear a hijab, but he sure as heck wouldn't want her to go walking about with bare arms. (She's drawn criticism for that, so let me be clear: I do not share that criticism. I think it's fine if she wants to go sleeveless. I have zero problem with it. But it's far, far outside of Muslim decency mores even for a moderate.)

Now, I knew that Obama was the senator from Illinois. Still, it never sunk into my mind, because the Democrats kept emphasizing that he was from Hawaii and the Republicans kept emphasizing that he was from Kenya. Hawaii is exotic and Kenya more so. Whether you are excited or alarmed by either setting, it still adds to the mystique. A Chicago Politician doesn't carry nearly the same level of interest, yet that is what he is.

This is important. When you take Barack (Hussein) Obama, born in Hawaii and possibly secretly Muslim, you have a mysterious character. Add his policy decisions, which don't seem to fall into any pattern, and you have a very confusing man. Even his detractors don't seem to know what to do with him. However, when you take Barry Obama, the Chicago politician, everything he's done makes perfect sense. And we know what to do with Chicago politicians.

So unlike some conservative bloggers, I do not encourage you to refer to this man as Barack Hussein Obama in order to reveal the truth and dispel the mystique. Instead, I encourage you, as Dumbledore referred to "The Dark Lord", not even as "Voldemort", but simply as "Tom Riddle", to call our new president "Barry Obama". President Barry Obama, the liberal Chicago politician and Universalist Unitarian. Say this before reading any of his policies or stances, and everything else will fall right into place.