Beware of the “Obasm”

Somebody throw water on Barack Obama, because he’s on fire.
The junior senator from Illinois and 2008 democratic presidential candidate has hit a hot streak in the early primary voting season. His popularity has reached such heights that the response among voters is almost, dare I say, “Obasmic,” to coin a term.
Yes, he is refreshing compared with a lot of the same-old-things among the field of contenders. Yes, his charisma, personality and photogenics are attractive. Yes, his life story is inspiring. Yes, even his name is catchy. These “Obasms” are admittedly contagious—even to those of us who are ideologically 180 degrees the other way.
There is no doubt that “Obamania” has taken America by storm this presidential election season. But do not mistake a few moments of idealistic nirvana for reality.
The hard-line traditional conservative that I am, even I dared to believe in all of the hype.
Unfortunately for voters—and even Obama himself—hype is all that an “Obasm” amounts to.
Remember H. Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and even former Minnesota Governor and retired professional wrestler Jesse Ventura? All were fresh, popular and full of energy. Each was considered a maverick bringing a positive message of change different from the mainstream candidates. And yet, none made successful bids for the White House. The “noise” generated by their respective campaigns was all but reduced to a quiet whimper by the time the general elections came around.
But all were hyped to the hilt.
Obama runs the risk of becoming an over-hyped “flavor of the month,” rather than a serious heavyweight contender for the title.
To keep his campaign from losing steam, Obama will need to turn his reputation from fad to fashion. For “Obamania” to last, it needs to become a household name—which is to say, a lasting and dependable product—rather than a nifty, one-shot gimmick. He can ill afford to let the media paint him into a corner as some sort of wunderkind. To win the democratic presidential nomination and perhaps even the White House, flash just won’t get it done. He will need grit, and lots of it.
As with anything else short-lived, the “Obasm” will eventually fade and the young senator will not be able to rely on it. Sure, there are the multi-Obasmic voters who will stick with their candidate as long as he continues to feed into their pleasure centers. But many more voters are fickle, skeptical, cynical and pessimistic. While refreshing now, Obama’s optimism can quickly turn on him as voters often grow weary of somebody who seems to be wrapped up in idealism, instead of grounded in reality.
So, don’t let these “Obasms” fool you: They are nothing more than a few short moments of pleasure. They’ll pass.