Is it possible that we are overestimating the significance of Barack Obama’s racial background? Yes, it is probably an important thing that we’ve elected a black president. But is it a moon shot?
It’s not a leap for “mankind” — mankind has had lots of black leaders. Obama has not been elected Planetary Potentate, but president of the United States of America.
The post-election rhetoric is seriously out of hand. This morning on The Takeaway, a radio program, a college professor talked about “the greatness of Barack Obama” and said that he had “opened a door to the Promised Land.” So we’re already talking about the “greatness” of a president who has not yet taken office; and it’s not enough that he’s the new Lincoln — he’s the new Moses, too. The moral preening and insipid speechifying of the after-election may end up being even worse than that of the campaign itself. Egad.