Obama Supporter Frank Rich Gets His Eyes Opened - Momentarily

That Obama overwhelmingly appealed to the younger set throughout the Democratic primary did not surprise me. The haloed candidate who promised to end corruption in Washington and go forth to change the world solely on the basis of his personal qualities, never mind his thin resume, had a knack for turning a political rally within minutes to a foot-stomping revival meeting chanting “yes we can.”

Between rallies, Obama’s youthful computer-savvy supporters swarmed the Internet 24/7 for weeks on end, doing their utmost to force the opposition off every available message board.

I was surprised, however, to witness the members of the DNC, superdelegates, and liberal media gurus, some of whom I had once respected, to flock to the Pied Piper’s support. I figured the aforementioned power brokers were too mature to succumb to Obama intoxication. Surely, they would come to their senses before it was too late and recognize that Hillary Clinton was obviously the better-qualified candidate for the presidency.

New York Times op-ed columnist Frank Rich was just one media rep that I counted on to keep his head during the Democratic primary. No such luck. Rich swooned repeatedly over Obama while regularly trashing both Hillary and Bill Clinton.

It was with mixed feelings this Sunday morning, July 6, that I read Rich’s column that began:

“SO much for a July Fourth week spent in idyllic celebration of our country’s birthday. This year’s festivities were marked instead by a debate — childish, not constitutional — over who is and isn’t patriotic. The fireworks were sparked by a verbally maladroit retired general, fueled by two increasingly fatuous presidential campaigns, and heated to a boil by a 24/7 news culture that inflates any passing tit for tat into a war of the worlds.”

Hmm, “two increasingly fatuous presidential campaigns:” that would be the campaigns of Mr. Rich’s previous idol, Democrat Barack Obama, and Republican John McCain

Evidently, this Fourth of July weekend, our esteemed op-ed writer got so fed up with politics as usual that he joined the children, most of whom were under the age of 12, to watch the animated movie Wall-E.

Rich concluded:

“One of the great things about art, including popular art, is that it can hit audiences at a profound level beyond words. That includes children. The kids at “Wall-E” were never restless, despite the movie’s often melancholy mood and few belly laughs. They seemed to instinctually understand what “Wall-E” was saying; they didn’t pepper their chaperones with questions along the way. At the end they clapped their small hands. What they applauded was not some banal cartoonish triumph of good over evil but a gentle, if unmistakable, summons to remake the world before time runs out.”

What can I say? Rich began this column by apparently awakening from his delusions about the one he and his lemming-like companions on the trail had been waiting for. But then he chose to escape for an afternoon by joining the children in pursuit of the increasingly elusive hope so effectively marketed in the Democratic primary by one Barack Obama, now selling himself as Mr. Average Guy.