In a civilisation consumed by stardom, being “in” with the big boys equals power for the likes of Barack Obama, writes Lara de Matos.
|||LARA DE MATOS
Tonight Editor
lara.dematos@inl.co.za
@Lara_de_Matos
Eight years ago, The Huffington Post’s editor in chief, Arianna Huffington, was quoted as saying “were it not for the internet, Barack Obama would not have been president. Were it not for the internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee”.
Political pundits will understand the comment was made in reference to his revolutionary campaign strategy – one which, for the first time ever, witnessed a presidential candidate make clever use of what can probably be described as a phenomenon of the modern era: social media. (Well, that, and the gushing support from the No 1 media personality at the time, Queen Oprah, which likely helped, too.)
Obama might not have delivered on all his election promises (which politician does?), but his time in the big white house in Washington DC has been characterised by this same sense of social savvy.
From dropping Jay Z verses, singing Christmas carols with Mariah Carey, regular stints on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Late Night slow-jamming with Jimmy Fallon, to hanging backstage with J-Lo, dining with Tom Hanks and tete-a-tetes with Brangelina and George Clooney on global affairs, the leader of the Free World certainly has ingratiated himself into celebrity circles.
And in a civilisation consumed and controlled by stardom (whether warranted, or not), being “in” with the big boys on the showbiz strip equals power. Little wonder, then, that despite tallying low among American voters on the “good governance” scorecard, Prez B still rates high on the charismatic scales.
He’s the popular high school kid who gels with sports jocks as easily as he does the science lab rats and social outcasts; he’s the nice guy everyone at work gets along with; he’s the cool dad every kid wishes was their own father.
He’s the Commander in Chief who takes to the podium at his final White House Correspondents’ Dinner early this week, poker-faced, as he states: “(Two-year-old) Prince George showed up to our meeting in his bathrobe. That was a slap in the face” and declares: “Kendall Jenner is here and we had chance to meet backstage… I’m not sure what she does, but I’m told my Twitter mentions are about to go through the roof.”
It’s this very ability to straddle the fence between politics and pop culture that has allowed him to razzle dazzle his advocates into overlooking the fact that, in real terms, his administration overall hasn’t exactly been what history will measure a success.
Sure, he took down the person arguably deemed the greatest threat to American national security, namely Osama Bin Laden. But what of the lack of financial and immigration reforms, the spy sagas or his disastrous Obamacare plan, to name but a few items on his list of failures?
Of greater importance to his legion of fans, it seems, is the fact Barack has transformed the way in which Americans – and indeed, the world – relate to their president, much as the equally youthful and enigmatic JFK did some decades before him.
But is being a so-called celebrity president necessarily a good thing? Principally if, as some observers have suggested, trying to maintain that status distracts you from your actual legislative duties?
Not that the Prez is particularly concerned with public opinion at this point. After all, this time next year, he’ll probably be “earning me some serious Tubmans” at Goldman Sachs. And in nine short months, Obama will be Out. #DropMic.
