HABEMUS... SALVATUM?

It is funny, though - and I say this as a supporter of the brilliant but inexperienced man now on his way to Washington - how The New York Times simply cannot wait for this Obama presidency to get underway. In fact, they've paved such a shining path for the incipient leader of the free world that I think they've fairly convinced themselves he's already taken up residence in the White House, issuing executive orders right and left (well, mostly left.) A glance at the front page of their online edition today shows an entire column devoted to "The 44th President." This new section, now in its fourth straight day, promises to be a fixture on the site until the moment, though not far in the offing still too distant for the masthead at 620 Eighth Avenue, when the scourge of the George W. Bush Administration will be no more, and peace and prosperity shall rain down upon the land like manna from a beneficent heaven.

Don't get me wrong: I happily voted for Obama. I'm extremely pleased that Obama won, and proud of the country not just for electing an African American to its highest office but also for holding its leaders to some measure of accountability. The Republicans have done more than their share of damage over the past eight years, and shitcanning them was sweet indeed. It gives me pause, though, to see so many people pin so much of themselves to the slim shoulders of the man now about to occupy the White House, and I fear a mass disillusionment when the changes they pine for are either slow in coming, or fail to come at all. Do I think Obama's presidency will cleave far from the policies of the Bush Administration? Yes, but don't give the Executive Branch too much credit, or assume that this election represents a "mandate." Tell me, did you feel that George W's reelection was similarly a "mandate," as he claimed? Contrary to the beliefs of the doe-eyed true believers, the Republicans aren't holding a nation hostage from policy changes it universally craves. The country's still incredibly divided on a whole host of issues, and no amount of presidential star power is going to change that; there will be no Deus Ex Hyde Park.

The most salient support of my point exists in the fact that when I so much as question whether Obama will be able to bring about an alchemical change in the American body politic, my skepticism has most often been received with paranoid surmise and outright scorn, rather than reasoned consideration. Apparently one must not only support a repudiation of Bush and the Republicans, but also drink of the Kool-Aid, and drink deeply.

Let me just say this: Folks, please don't lay all your hopes and dreams at Obama's feet. Rejoice in the achievement, luxuriate in the victory, but resist the urge to feel that from this point forth (or at least from January 20, 2009 forth) The World Will Be Made Whole. Obama's election indeed represents an enlightenment of American politics. Therefore heed the following koan:

Before Enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water.

After Enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water.

Don't let this get away from you.