Will Obama decline to run again?

Given that Obama has now referred two or three times to his lack of need for a second term, I think it’s entirely possible that he means it. As his messiahship turns into dust and his legislative program is stopped, there will be no further reason for him to stay in the post beyond his first term. I now think it’s reasonably likely that he will not seek re-election, and he will turn out to be that archetypal American figure, the man who comes out of nowhere, shoots like a meteor across the sky, and just as soon is discredited and falls, because he’s a figure without substance. Like the Great Gatsby, to whom I’ve compared him before. (The difference being that Gatsby is essentially innocent and romantic, while Obama is a malign lying politician.)

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Cindy W. writes:

I agree with your comment about Obama likely choosing not to run again in 2012. He’s made several comments over the past year to that effect. When he came into the Capitol last night, I was looking for signs of stress, wondering if he would flash his toothy grin quite as readily in the past. While I sensed annoyance, I did not sense stress or worry on his part. Thus, I am becoming more convinced that he doesn’t really care all that much whether his Presidency is a success or not. He’s shallow, immature, and unserious. This was also evident to me during his recent interview with Diane Sawyer, in which he appeared to be on the verge of breaking out into hysterical laughter (much as when he did on 60 Minutes, when Steve Croft asked him if he were punch-drunk). Since he’s no longer seen as a golden-tongued Messiah and is coming for criticism from all sides, I see him becoming more and more bored and uninterested in the job. It’s no fun when people aren’t worshipping you. So I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he doesn’t run again. He’ll be able to live like a king for the rest of his life, playing golf, taking vacations in Hawaii, giving speeches, etc. He probably thinks it was a good gig while lasted. He doesn’t want to work this hard.

Carol Iannone writes:

Your Gatsby comparison makes no sense.

LA replies:

Here, from July 2008, is an earlier discussion of the Gatsby Obama comparison. I was comparing them on one particular point, not making a complete comparision.

Sam B. writes:

Gatsby was a tragic figure. Obama is an Ahabesque buffoon. Somehow, he has diminished the Presidency. With every speech, he grows smaller and smaller, a little boy playing with dynamite.

I have this montage—the smaller-than-life figure with the Mussolini raised head, and behind him the storied giants of the past, whatever their party politics—Lincoln the two Roosevelts, Reagan, Eisenhower—forget Washington and Jefferson. They were MEN to match their mountains. He’s a boy who has a problem climbing a hill.

LA replies:

But you’re forgotting what he was in the eyes of his fans before his fall-a magical, romantic figure, like Gatsby. And like Gatsby, he came out of nowhere, from the margins of society, had no background. Further, like Gatsby, his career was based on a dream, something unreal and substanceless, and it fell.

Andrew T. writes:

O is out to fry bigger fish. A US Presidency is no big deal to him and a mere stepping stone to more grandiose things. Carter,and Clinton as Statesmen of the World. Now those are great beings of vision! Those are the trailblazing role models!

LA replies:

Yes. As U.S. President, Obama is constrained by the annoying necessity of representing the United States and having to say such things, disgusting to himself, as “We will always defend this country,” which is unavoidable given that enemies are attacking this country. He would have liked to make America merge with the world, and then being President of the U.S. would have been the greatest job. But events have conspired against that. The American people want their President to defend the country from enemies, and they don’t want him to open their borders, and they don’t want him to kill their industry for the sake of global climate kumbaya. So the job is turning out to be too parochial, too low class, for him, forcing him into being one of those backwoods Pennsylvanians bitterly clinging to their guns and Bibles. As a result, he now sees the presidency as but a stepping stone toward his true destiny of representing all humanity.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 28, 2010 10:09 AM | Send