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In Politicians We Trust
On the rise of political worship in the US and around the world
In 2008, when the news broke of Obama’s presidential win, I was overseas at a bar, in the company of a few Americans. Although I was young, I still vividly remember their visceral reaction to Obama’s win. There was a lot of screaming and crying and incoherent rambling — it could only be described as something akin to a Pentecostal revival, in which devoted disciples lose all control of their senses. They weren’t the only ones celebrating: soon after Obama took office, people all around the world expressed a more favourable view of the United States.
Despite still learning my way politically, I understood how monumental that moment was: Barack Obama would be the first African-American to become the President of the United States — and he would be the president to end George W. Bush’s cycle of terrordom.
Still, a part of me was taken aback by their overzealous reactions, though at the time, I wasn’t able to articulate my feelings on this phenomenon.
Obama: A (Charming) Democratic Disappointment
Then over the course of Obama’s 8-year reign, it became clear that his extreme centrism would not disrupt the status quo. While Obama made some gains in domestic policy…
