When Hell freezes over five times in succession and rhinoceri
write sonnets on Pluto, the Washington Post's Robin Givhan will
stop writing love letters to Michelle Obama. Here the Obamas
broke precedent and put the prestige of the presidency on the
line, as well as ignoring much more pressing problems at home,
all for a spectacularly unsuccessful and remarkably narcissistic
effort to secure the Olympics for the Chicago Way, and all Givhan
can do is
gush about how wonderfully Michelle Obama had performed
anyway. Givhan wrote that the First Lady "was her team's most
valuable player." And, quoting others, ""She was truly elegant,
articulate and persuasive." Givhan again: "In the end, the failed
bid notwithstanding, not even the leader of the free world
managed to outshine the first lady. Officials who met with her
were impressed, particularly with her ability to quickly shift
gears as she chatted with everyone from up-and-coming athletes to
heads of state."And: "The first lady could just as easily have
received a gold star."
Meanwhile, the Post's other news stories spent paragraph after
paragraph after paragraph providing excuses for why the Obamas
fell short and why it wasn't their fault. Reading the coverage is
enough to give you the sick feeling you get when you eat way too
much cotton candy.
Here's the truth: Both Obamas' speeches to the Olympic voters
were ridiculously self-referential and self-reverential.
The Prez: "I ran for President because I believed deeply that at
this defining moment, the United States of America has a
responsibility to help in that effort, to forge new partnerships
with the nations and the peoples of the world.... Nearly one year
ago, on a clear November night, people from every corner of the
world gathered in the city of Chicago or in front of their
televisions to watch the results of the U.S. Presidential
election. Their interest wasn't about me as an individual.
Rather, it was rooted in the belief that America's experiment in
democracy still speaks to a set of universal aspirations and
ideals."
Right, it's all about the message sent to the world by his own
election.
Mrs. Obama: "I never dreamed that the Olympic flame might one day
light up lives in my neighborhood....
I'm also asking as a daughter. See, my dad would have been so
proud to witness these Games in Chicago. And I know they would
have meant something much more to him, too.....If he had lived to
see this day -- if he could have seen the Paralympic Games share
a global stage with the Olympic Games, if he could have witnessed
athletes who compete and excel and prove that nothing is more
powerful than the human spirit, I know it would have restored in
him the same sense of unbridled possibility that he instilled in
me...."
This is solipsism at its greatest heights, or rather depths. The
message wasn't about why Chicago itself is worthy and competent
to hold the games, but about why the reflected glory of the
Obama's should give an added glow to Chicago. Call it the
penumbral theory of Olympic pitches.
Obviously, though, the Obamas' penumbras aren't anywhere near as
bright as they themselves, much less the Post, seem to believe.
