reading Obama closely

Roger L. Simon deconstructs Obama, image and text:

Maybe I missed something, but the “Change” poster behind Barack Obama seems to have, well, changed. (There’s

that word again.) The words “We Can Believe In” have been added to the bottom, for the first time acknowledging, pace Orwell, that not all changes are equal. … Nazi Germany, for an example, was a change. So was Stalinism (although less of change from Leninism). …

So far Obama is doing a brilliant job of being vague about what “change” he is referring to. “We Can Believe In” is a masterpiece of obfuscation. He has some good writers.

Simon came out against “change” early:

If there is one thing we learned from tonight’s debates on ABC, it is that the word “change” - formerly so useful - must now be banned from the English language. … [T]he poor parole has been put been in disgrace and rendered meaningless by a collection of nitwit politicians and pundits, so sayonara to “change.” It’s been nice knowing you. We give you your gold watch - bye bye.

Droll. But Obama is a good salesman, and mundus vult decipi. (You could look it up.)

People want to believe in magic, as  P.T. Barnum, for one, knew.

Despite its prominence in Barnum lore, historians agree that he probably never said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” What he said was less cynical and more astute: “The people like to be humbugged.”

The Times piece from which I took the quote above goes on to note:

Barnum humbugged the highbrow as well as the low. In 1850 he brought the opera diva Jenny Lind, “the Swedish Nightingale,” to Manhattan for the start of an American tour. Neither he nor anyone else in America had heard her sing a note.

“Jenny Lind’s story is perhaps Barnum’s single most extraordinary accomplishment,” Ms. Maher said, “because he took something that was absolutely nothing in American society and created a frenzy, a mania, very much equivalent to today’s rock stars.”  [e.a.]

The way Barack Obama is being covered by the media and the blogosphere, he’s not a political candidate anymore—he’s a celebrity. He doesn’t have political followers—he’s got fans. He doesn’t have a political platform—he’s got a one-word slogan—”change” [which works, 'cause "change is good," just like Nissan says, right?]. He makes narcissists feel so good about themselves.

Andrew Sullivan’s Obama Blogorama—all Barack all the time, except when he’s dancing on Hillary’s grave—is exhibit number one. Not enough Obama links for you from Sullivan? Here’s another one, about Obama’s “Sweet Spot.” (Contrast Mickey Kaus’s reaction to this nauseatingly “pompous” [scroll up] post from Ezra Klein about Obama.)
As I understand it, Sullivan used to be a conservative Republican and a devout Catholic. Now he worships “change,” as you can see in this exchange of questions and answers:

[Bainbridge]: What specific changes in law, society, or polity, if any, that Obama supports do you also support?

[Sullivan]: I support a fresh start in foreign policy, a willingness to negotiate where necessary, a new outreach to allies, and prudent, expeditious withdrawal from Iraq. I favor an end to poisonous partisan polarization. I favor strong measures to innovate new energy sources. I favor a restoration of the Geneva Conventions.

Why are those changes “necessary”?

Because the war is draining massive resources, and, despite recent tactical success, is clearly a historic mistake. Because the U.S. is extremely isolated and needs more support in the world, and especially a new appeal to moderate Muslims worldwide. Because the red-blue divide has poisoned our polity to the detriment of practical problem-solving. Because dependence on foreign oil is both environmentally fatal and dangerous for our future security. Because torture gives bad intelligence and is un-American.

What evidence is there, if any, that Obama would be prudent in effecting such changes?

Obama’s legislative record, speeches, and the way he has run his campaign reveal, I think, a very even temperament, a very sound judgment, and an intelligent pragmatism. Prudence is a word that is not inappropriate to him.

No, because Obama is Sullivan’s American Idol: the God of Change.
Look: I like Obama, from the little I know of him. But so far he’s mostly a mirage.