Check out this Huffington Post article showing Barack Obama in Philadelphia once again stealing John McCain’s thunder.
This reminds me of an idea of Sartre’s that I learned in a class on existentialism. Here’s the existentialist definition of a hero: someone who does heroic things. See, existentialists don’t just allow someone to walk around labeling themselves a hero, and according to this philosophy, the best that could be given to John McCain is a “used to be” status. Really… what has he done in the last month but run from every opportunity to show his heroism? No, doing a speech in the rain does not trump being a P.O.W., but it does show in a very visual way how this former P.O.W., for whatever reason, has lost some of his supposed determination and perseverance. And again, I have to bring up the Rolling Stone article that questions whether he even ever truly was the mythical hero that he’s been promoted as. Yes, it is undeniable that John McCain suffered in ways that most of us don’t even want to imagine, and he made great sacrifices for his country. But it is not 1973. He was a hero, like many other P.O.W.’s who are not running for office, but no matter how many repetitions of the story we hear, talking about the past does not make it present.
And then there’s Sarah Palin, riding on the coattails of the myth. John McCain is her own personal Jesus, and she’ll invoke his suffering every chance she gets to boost her own status.
Make no mistake, I think Barack Obama knew the importance of not calling a speech on account of the rain. If we’ve learned anything about George W. Bush, who is the furthest thing from a hero any of us know, it is the advantage of heroic looking photo ops. Obama will have a lot to live up to when he becomes President. Especially now. But if he does, I’m betting that those rain drenched pictures become media favorites.
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