Is America's Love Affair With Barack Obama Over Already?

Posted on 08. Sep, 2009 by Nicholas Martinez in Uncategorized

Photo: AP

According to David Brooks of the New York Times, the numbers say yes – – he states that President Obama’s job approval rating is down 20 points to about 50 percent.  Also, 59 percent of Americans now think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

And you thought I was cynical.

When Barack Obama spoke of hope and change while on the campaign trail, the American public slopped it up like Grandma’s Sunday gravy.  But, now that the bloom is off the rose, well, America is ready to abandon the man they so wholeheartedly supported just some 9 months ago.

Why such a dramatic turn in such a short period of time?  Perhaps it is due to the difficulty many have deciphering Obama’s health care plan.  (Thanks to Collin Orcutt for finding the CBS News poll.)

Maybe it has to do with the media’s pessimistic outlook on the economy.

Or perhaps these numbers actually show the American public’s inherent inclination towards fickleness?

Here me out before you light the torches and gather the townsfolk to rise against me.

For eight years, America was trapped in the dark and dismal catacombs that was the Bush Administration.  By its end, the economy was in shambles, the country was embroiled in a war many believed wasn’t unnecessary and people were simply fed up with G. W.’s 8-year reign of terror.

Then he appeared on the political landscape, like the rotating beacon atop a lighthouse that cuts through the dense layer of midnight fog- – Barack Obama.  He came on the scene without warning,  like a bolt of lighting just before a major thunderstorm, wowing the public with his charm and charisma.  Obama was the anti-Bush in both policy and presentation – – a man that could handle any quip, curveball or question thrown at him without breaking a sweat.

It was then that the love affair with Barack Obama began.

People made faddish t-shirts saying “Obama Is My Homeboy”, sold 5×7 portraits of the candidate and his family and posted viral YouTube music videos dedicated to Obama’s greatness.

Americans lauded the refreshing tone of his message and his uncanny ability to turn a phrase.  They embraced his ideas of hope, change and the re-affirmation of the American Dream.  And, most importantly, they turned out in droves on Election Day to ensure his victory.

But for many along the way, Barack Obama became more than just a man running for the highest office in the world – – he became almost God-like.

And the public believed that once he was in office, Barack Obama was going to save America from its downward spiral into desolation.  He was going to fix the faltering economy, establish a lasting and reliable health care system and bring all of the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan home, all before the end of his first day in office.

Unfortunately, no one on Earth can live up to that level of expectation.

After his first 100 days, the American public realized the undeniable truth  – – our newly elected president cannot fix America overnight.

People began speaking out against Obama, calling him a socialist and a fascist.  America’s love affair with Barack Obama was over as dramatically as it began.

CNN gave Americans a chance to grade Obama’s first 100 days in office.  The result: C+.   And they gave him the same grade 100 days later.   Now come the sobering numbers found in David Brooks’ op-ed piece.

Do you see the fickleness now?  I think you do.

Shame on you, America, for giving up on Obama much too soon.  Even I’m not that much of a pessimist.