You may remember something peculiar about the Obama campaign in 2008: People kept fainting at his rallies. Especially young women, standing near the stage. There were medical teams on hand to deal with this, so common an occurrence was it. Obama would interrupt the speech he was giving to comment on the recovery of the stricken fans, reassuring the crowd that all was well.
Everyone says that Mitt Romney doesn’t excite “passion.” Okay. I say, the United States isn’t a banana republic. We don’t need a Perón, Juan or Evita. We don’t need a mesmerizer on a balcony. Enough with “rock star” candidates and false messiahs. How about a decent and capable guy who can get us out of this horrible hole and let us get on with the rest of our lives?
The United States is not a drama starring the president of the United States. We’re a nation of 300 million with our own shows, so to speak. If the president is not worshipped — fine with me. Those who worship leaders ought to find something better to worship.
And yet, sure — a little theater in your politics makes life more interesting. I’m not anti-theater. I’ve been known to be a little histrionic myself. But let’s not go crazy.