And yesterday hot tears spurt from my eyes as I watched Obama say in this hour-long interview with Google that while the problem of the 20th century was the problem of the color line, the problem of the 21st century is the problem of understanding and coming to terms with the Other.
What other mainstream politician even knows this term, "the Other"? But then again, what other politician has met with the late Edward Said? How'd he get this enlightened? Or, more importantly, how did someone this enlightened make it this far in politics? Is his enlightenedness even real? Is "enlightenedness" even a word? Can a politician be too enlightened? We all remember how much good Woodrow Wilson's urbane cultivation did us-- or was his brand of mushy idealism altogether different from Obamian enlightened-ism? Is it a good thing to have a President who's read Julia Kristeva and Judith Butler? Has Obama read Kristeva and Butler? Have I even read Kristeva and Butler?
The more we learn about this enigmatic figure, the more questions arise, both about him and ourselves.
So my question is this: Whose appraisal of Obama is correct, the nationalists or the progressives? Can we expect any real change with an Obama presidency, especially with regard to U.S. policy in the Mideast?