On capturing the public imagination.

I wonder if Barack Obama tries too hard to get along. With virtually everybody. Being too nice a guy. Maybe that’s because he was brought up as both white and black. A mixed race upbringing. Even mixed religions. A smattering of Christianity and Islam. And in different parts of the world. Hawaii. Indonesia. Chicago. Education at Harvard. Obama seems to have cultivated the art of getting along with people. All sorts of people. From many walks of life. From many cultures. Maybe all this helped him stay calm, cool, collected. Accepting of so very many different personalities. He’s got a pleasant demeanor. He can come across as one’s drinking buddy. But he also sounds professorial. Intelligent. And very often above the fray. In sharp contrast to most politicians. But we are living in an age when bombast prevails. When shocking rhetoric captures the attention of many, many stupid people. When idiots lure big followings. I’m talking about the likes of such outrageous personalities as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Michele Bachmann, Sara Palin. Shallow people. Not near the depth and calm reserve of Barack Obama. Obama is a gentleman. Maybe even more than a politician. Unfortunately, gentlemen don’t seem to capture the public imagination any more. Maybe they never did. –Jim Broede