Back in our younger days, there was a dancing craze called disco. It got so crazy that even Frankie Avalon's "Venus" and the "I love Lucy" theme were released in disco versions. To be honest, Desi's Babalu would have been a better choice.
Well, the songs came and went and nobody remembered disco by 1980. In fact, they even had a promotion the summer of '79 at the old Comiskey Park in Chicago burning disco LPs and 45s. I was in Chicago that day, got tickets to see the second game of the Tigers-White Sox doubleheader but was not allowed to go in. The police met us outside and told us to take the take the train back to the hotel. I did see the mess on Chicago TV an hour later.
"Disco Duck" was one of the biggest hits of the disco era. It was #1 on Billboard about this time in 1976. I think that we can safely say that there were millions "disco ducking" the week before Gov Carter beat Pres Ford in 1976. Go figure that one out!
"Disco duck" and the other disco fads faded very quickly. Wonder if there is a soul out there today who would admit that he or she bought a copy of "Disco Duck"? I bought one but don't ask me to find or explain it.
What does this have to do with President Obama? The answer is that Obama was a fad, a craze, a mania that has run its course.
Well, look at the numbers. It looks like the show is finally over and voters are starting to turn on President Obama. The RCP average has President Obama "upside down", or more people disapprove than approve. You can pick a number between 39 and 46% and that's where you will find President Obama these days!
What's happened? Professor Foujad Ajami put it all in perspective this week with "When the Obama magic died":
"The current troubles of the Obama presidency can be read back into its beginnings.I remind you that the same Mr Ajami saw this coming back in 2008 when he wrote "Obama and the politics of crowds":
Rule by personal charisma has met its proper fate.
The spell has been broken, and the magician stands exposed.
We need no pollsters to tell us of the loss of faith in Mr. Obama's policies-and, more significantly, in the man himself.
Charisma is like that. Crowds come together and they project their needs onto an imagined redeemer.
The redeemer leaves the crowd to its imagination: For as long as the charismatic moment lasts-a year, an era-the redeemer is above and beyond judgment.
He glides through crises, he knits together groups of varied, often clashing, interests.
'Always there is that magical moment, and its beauty, as a reference point."
"There is something odd -- and dare I say novel -- in American politics about the crowds that have been greeting Barack Obama on his campaign trail. Hitherto, crowds have not been a prominent feature of American politics.Mr Ajami saw in 2008 what my mother saw the same year.
We associate them with the temper of Third World societies.
We think of places like Argentina and Egypt and Iran, of multitudes brought together by their zeal for a Peron or a Nasser or a Khomeini. In these kinds of societies, the crowd comes forth to affirm its faith in a redeemer: a man who would set the world right."
I recall asking my mom about candidate Obama after he delivered that speech celebrating the Iowa caucus victory. My mom said something rather profound. Let me paraphrase what she said: "The speech, the fanatic crowds, it worries me, he doesn't say anything and the people cheer madly, your father and I saw that movie before and you know what happened"!
Don't get me wrong. President Obama will be around for another 3 years but the thrill is gone, as BB King would say. Don't be surprised to hear that Mr Obama is desperately counting down the numbers of days left on his term. It won't be any fun or productive. The fairy tale is over and it will be nothing but harsh reality from now until he takes that plane back to Chicago in 2017.
It won't be any fun for him or those who voted for President Obama!
P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.
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