A different look at Obama

I promised myself I wouldn’t “go political” on this blog, because that isn’t really its purpose. But what’s happening in our nation’s political climate right now is so intriguing that I feel compelled to share some thoughts.

For the record…I am a Republican, although I feel the Republican party doesn’t do enough to promote social responsiblity and social justice. I also feel I should tell you that this is the first time in my history as a voter that there has not been a candidate in either party that I feel comfortable voting for. It’s extremely frustrating. At the time of this writing, John McCain has pretty much locked up the Republican nomination, which for me is about the same as not having a Republican candidate to vote for. More like voting between a Democrat and a Democrat-disguised-as-a-Republican.

On the Democratic side, it’s been very interesting to see how Obama the Wonder Boy is threatening to wrestle the nomination from Hillary Clinton, who has been presumed to have it in the bag for many months. I can still remember the media buzz surrounding Obama when he spoke at the Democratic Convention a couple of years ago. I cannot deny, he’s truly charismatic and well-spoken, he’s very appealing to the youth, and very appealing to people who are tired of the War in Iraq. There’s a part of me that thinks, “Well, if it’s gotta be a Democrat, it might as well be Obama.” 🙂

I am going to avoid being overly political in that I’m not going to discuss the problems I have with Obama’s political leanings or proposed policies. I actually am looking at something different. I tend to see patterns and trends, and I’m seeing something that I find both interesting and disturbing–and it actually has very little to do with Obama’s political platform.

Obama hasn’t been a senator for very long; in fact, he wasn’t even a senator yet when he spoke at the convention. If you were paying attention, he was the Democratic candidate running against Jack Ryan for the open seat in 2004. Ryan was the guy who was married to actress Jeri Ryan (“Trekkies”, think Star Trek Voyager), and Ryan dropped out of the race when it came out that Jeri alleged some sexual perversion as grounds for divorce. Ultra-conservative Alan Keyes tried to fill the resulting void, but that didn’t go over well, and Obama got the seat with 70% of the vote.

My point? Obama didn’t come into power because of his record or experience. He came into power because there was no clear leader to oppose him. He came into power through a vacuum of recognizable leadership.

And now, with the Presidential race, I see the same thing setting up. Amid either party, there has been no clear-cut leader. And here’s this young, well-spoken, charismatic guy–not an established leader, but someone who speaks the language of change.

If Obama had run in any of the last 10 presidential races–heck, if he’d been old enough to run–I don’t think he would have stood a chance, because there has always been some sort of prominent natural leader among the candidates. That is not the case this time. Obama, in my opinion (and whether I like it or not) has a real chance of becoming President of the United States. And it’s not because of his credentials; it’s because of a leadership vacuum. People just don’t see anyone else strong enough to oppose him, or strong enough to lead. So they are gravitating to nearest charismatic personality they can find–and that’s Obama. (I’m even seeing the word “messianic” associated with his name–how scary is that??)

And folks…for the highest office in our land, that is not sufficient reason to elect someone. That is no way for someone to become President. And that, above anything else, is what disturbs me.

I’m sure this is going inflame some of my more liberal readers, but this is not unlike the political climate in which Hitler came to power in Germany. A void of leadership, an unhappy public, and a charismatic guy who promises change. If you’re a student of world history, you’ll know that this kind of setup has happened numerous times on the world stage; and most times, it has been a recipe for disaster.

Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying Obama is the antichrist or anything, and I’m not equating him with Hitler. I’m just saying we really don’t know who he is or what he’s capable of doing once he gets into power. He’s not even been a U.S. senator for two years yet. We simply don’t have enough history with him to know what he will do, or what hidden agendas there might be. We only know we want CHANGE. But I’m concerned if we just vote for the most charismatic person, we will find a kind of change we didn’t bargain for.

I’m not telling you who to vote for, because I honestly don’t know yet. I just know this setup disturbs me, because in a political climate like we have here, people tend to vote emotionally rather than rationally–and Obama is certainly playing to our emotions. If you are a believer, I am asking you to pray. Because the Bible makes it clear that God does have something to say about who becomes the leader of a nation, or what he/she does once in power. If we are heading for a rough road, God can still intervene on our behalf.