WhatFinger


Amateurish missteps, poking fun at the mentally challenged, utter disrespect for nascent human life

Obama and the Unexpected Power of Gestures.



President Barack Obama has been very successful at living up to the expectations of his critics, as a man who has failed to learn never to underestimate the enormous significance of social gestures.

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How does one explain otherwise, a man who can so easily forget himself, and bluntly poke fun at the mentally challenged before millions of viewers? Or callously exchange a congenial handshake with a highly unstable autocrat? Or gleefully join in the revelry as a crass comedian wishes organ failure on his opposition? Or engage in a similar kind of passive moral acquiescence as he listens to an ex-guerrilla member's hate filled ranting against his own country? How does one defend his utter disrespect for nascent human life as he clarifies to an audience that he would not wish such a punishment upon his own daughters? Or excuse his prodigious arrogance when he badgers his peers with the puerile injunctive "I won". President Obama must know -- or his advisors should have told him by now -- that every gesture, every smile and every frown, is categorically vested with the immense power that has been temporarily vouchsafed to him by virtue of the office he presently holds. It is his responsibility to act, speak, and behave accordingly. For better or for worse, a jovial nod of approval, a condescending remark, an unctuous bow or a hastily extended handshake will invariably have consequences, far beyond what he may or may not have originally intended. This is a solemn responsibility of those entrusted with great power, which so easily tends to corrupt. It is also a geo-political reality that every leader of global prominence should be briefed on, and one that - by way of contrast - Pope Benedict XVI for example, is keenly aware of. Though speedily shelved by the media, which is how it escaped much of the world's notice, the story of Nancy Pelosi visit to the Pope earlier this year provides a poignant example of this indispensable code of leadership etiquette. The Pope, being fully aware of Pelosi's covert militant animus toward many of the social causes valued by the creed she claims to espouse, rightfully understands Pelosi's profession of faith to be, at best, a public relations tool. He also understands the ultimate significance of certain public gestures, and the potentially demoralizing effect they could have on the faithful. This is why he wisely avoided any photo ops within striking distance of Nancy Pelosi. To date, we do not have any pictures of Pelosi , or any other pro-choice dignitary from the Obama administration , and the Holy See, engaging in even the most transparent of formalities. Any such caption would have conveyed to the world that the Bishop of Rome has given his considered assent to the toxic brand of pseudo-Christianity Pelosi and her cohorts proudly advertise as the genuine article. The Pope would have none of it. It would appear that sometime during the course of Obama's coaching sessions he was spared this rather crucial lesson on the nuances of the global theater's guidelines for social decorum, and the dire consequences of not properly adhering to them To wit, while Obama displays an admirable determination to see that his goals materialize, he has yet to grasp the level of responsibility that may come with keeping some of his rather imprudent pre-election vows. The stakes become even greater when considering his broader based pledge to "re-make America", which portend a radical transformation of a more quixotic appetite. Moreover, Obama seems ruefully unacquainted with the law of unintended consequences. His most recent backpedaling is only a symptom of this shortcoming, and reality has a way of tempering the passions of those who overreach. In short - and this has been brought up before - Obama lacks the necessary experience for the role of POTUS. Hence he will be unable to dispense with the spin experts that constantly shadow him, prepared to render plausible excuses for his many amateurish missteps. But perhaps because of his rather hectic schedule, or because he feels there's still residual momentum to spare in the cresting wave of his popularity, Obama may not sense any pressing urgency to brush up on the most current protocol of irksome political niceties. This apathy is further enabled by an indulgent media pledged to a virtually idolatrous devotion of the man. But the more the media glosses over Obama's transgressions, the more he is likely to forget that his character is also being constantly arraigned before the rest of the world's forum, the members of which are not obligated to extend the same degree of leniency. For a man who reached the pinnacle of his career by availing himself of nothing more than the unabashed exploitation of an image entirely devoid of substance - a man whose total persona rests upon a fragile construct of wildly charitable perceptions rather than the truth - I must say that I find this rather puzzling. But this still does not exempt President Obama from being wary of the inherent power of his every word and gesture, the likes of which have been known to set events into motion that decisively altered the fate of entire nations.


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Miguel A. Guanipa -- Bio and Archives

Miguel Guanipa is a freelance journalist.


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