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From Demigod to ‘Political Corpse’: The Rise and Fall of Barack Obama

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I cannot imagine what it feels like to be the president of the United States. The pressures must be enormous and the opportunities to fail endless, and no matter what you do, however good it might be, there will always be the critics and scoffers. Truly, it is a remarkable accomplishment even to become the president, let alone be an effective president, and if most of us spent a day in the president’s shoes, we would probably temper our criticism dramatically.

The intent of this column, then, is not to throw stones, nor is it to demonize our outgoing president. Rather, it is to chart Barack Obama’s political journey thus far, from his rapid exaltation to superstar status to his current, dramatic decline, and to ask one question: Why?

It was in July, 2004 that Obama suddenly became a household name when he was chosen to be the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention — the New York Times recently referred to this as “The Speech That Made Obama” — and it seemed as if overnight, everyone was talking about the young, aspiring senator. I didn’t actually hear his speech, but I immediately heard about the speech, or, more specifically, about the speaker.

The media was buzzing with accolades, and I remember thinking to myself (or, more probably, repeating to myself what the talking heads were saying), “It looks like the Democrats have their new star.”

And so, while John Kerry was the king of this convention, it was clear who the prince was: a young, eloquent, African American with a compelling story.

Read more at Stream.org…

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