Obama's Narrative Is Coming Into Focus (For Now)

This is something I've wanted to write about for weeks now, only I haven't had the time (stupid work!)

I have criticized Obama in the past for never figuring out an instantly understandable narrative for his campaign. I think it has been his one big flaw from the beginning. A really good candidate is able to connect something about his policies and, even better, something about himself, to a simple, clear message. A candidate needs a story that tells you what he or she represents, how it fits into historical context and gives you a sense of what the future will feel like with this person in office: paint me a picture of what you will do so that all I have to do is look at it and, in an instant, I can say, "yes, I get it now". Obama has never been able to do this. His rhetoric and style has always been unifying and uplifting, but he has never been able to express a view of governance and policy the way Bill Clinton did in '92 when he said he was about, "the end of welfare as we know it." In a flash, that statement said what he wanted to do, tied into the mood of the country at the time, and defined Clinton as no ordinary Democrat. Obama, for all his policy detail, was never able to summarize his campaign in this way.

But, as a result of the financial crisis, I think that this has finally changed. Obama's temperament in reacting to the crisis has defined him in the public eye in the same basic, gut-level way that Clinton's statement did sixteen years ago. During the crisis Obama was steady, smart and reflective. He didn't panic. He wasn't impulsive. The narrative has become this: In tough economic times Obama is the responsible, calm manager of our future. He is the guy that you would give your money to in order to safeguard your retirement. He would take your life savings and invest it well by diversifying it and taking a long term view. He doesn't invest in risky things. He goes for the smart, safe, responsible strategy.

And this clear picture of Obama has been helped, in no small part, by McCain. McCain is the investment manager you want to stay away from. He would bet your life's savings on a hunch. He's the guy with the risky stock tip: "Hey, put all your money in the Iraq War! Invest everything you got in conflict with Iran! I promise blockbuster returns! It's a guaranteed lock!"

All this hasn't been made explicit by the campaign, but I think it's what's going on subconsciously throughout the country. He seems to have finally become solidified in the minds of a lot of people. He has, "closed the deal".

However, is this finally the clear picture of Barack Obama? Well, this is a separate question, and I think the answer is no. I think it's only true for the time being. Though I think this goes a long way to solve his identification problems, it actually is still not a complete fix. (Though maybe this is overstating it. At this point it looks like Obama is going to win, so in a way, he doesn't really need anything fixed) First, it needs to be pointed out that this is a narrative that he has fallen into because of the serendipity of events, both by the economic crisis and by being paired with an opponent who highlights his strengths. He didn't create his own message. The world did it for him.

But more importantly, seeing him as a measured, cautious, responsible person goes against his message of change. A responsible money manager is not a change agent; he just returns things to "normal", to the place the world was before the Bushes and McCains of the world wrecked things.

But the problem is: the world will never return to that place. The next four years will be incredibly tough for this country. Obama is going to have to be a change agent, and a tough one at that, if the changes are to do any good. When he has to propose his tax plan, or health care plan, or his vision for energy that he has brewing (more on this in a future post -- hopefully soon!) will the public say "This isn't the plan we signed up for, this is too radical!"? Will they feel that this wasn't the guy they elected? I think it's still an open question how the country will react to his presidency and whether or not we will ever feel that we fully know him, whether or not he will ever solve the problem of his narrative. It seems that for Barack Obama, there might not ever be one narrative, one identity, one clear picture that we have of him where we can say, "Yes! That's who he is." He might always be at a remove from us and never completely pinned down. He is fluid, multifaceted, multi-racial, multi-identity to the core.