De-Deifying the Deity

If 2008 was the Year of the Deity, than 2009 has certainly started off as the Year of De-Deification.

It should hardly seem surprising that a new President with an emboldened Democratic leadership should experience a few missteps upon donning the mantle of “World’s Most Powerful Man.” Heck, I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t slip up a little in the face of such a daunting title. Add to that our nation’s greatest economic crisis (one could argue that’s a narrow view – this is a global thing), and you have the ingredients for some really nasty “welcome to the neighborhood” soup.

So then, why is it that people are surprised – nay, SHOCKED – that Barack Obama has had some slip ups, some goofs, some real Mulligan Moments since taking that historic oath one nearly month ago? I mean, it’s not like he’s the messiah now, right?

Oh.

Somewhere along the way, and I’m not sure who started this, the idea got perpetrated that Barack Obama, if not the actual messiah, certainly had some messianic qualities about him. That somehow he of the foreign-sounding name could do no wrong, and that many smart people – smarter than me, at least – all bought into the con. That this guy, before setting foot one in the Oval Office, was the Greatest President of All Time.

Needless to say, what many people failed to predict (I’ll pat myself on the back here – I called this) was that the greatest obstacle to a President Obama – at least early on – would be a guy named Barry Obama. In an almost stunning sequence of embarrassments, the President’s veneer of infallibility was fairly ripped from his back, and suddenly the true man was revealed: a 47 year-old former State Senator from Chicago who on his first day in office had EXACTLY the same amount of Presidential experience as 43 people before him - NONE. And boy, did it show.

So, what does this mean for the future of democracy and of American greatness? Not much. In fact, I think in many ways Obama will be more likely to succeed in part BECAUSE of his early gaffes. In the game of setting expectations, I feel like Team Obama needed to get knocked down a couple of notches – if people think you’re the Son of God, you better be able to turn water into wine. Maybe now that people can see that this is just a guy from Chicago, with a wife and two kids, not much different than they are, maybe now he can get on with his business without the fear of failing to meet people’s expectations.

Because everyone makes mistakes. Even deities.