Obama the Shirley Temple of the 21st Century?

Shirley Temple was the “darling” of the Great Depression.  When families could not buy bread, they looked up to this sweet little girl as a hope for the future and a distraction to the sadness in their lives.  They looked up to her cute little curles and thought, “can life be that bad that I can’t hope for something more?”  She was the biggest attraction in movies during one of the bleakest periods of American history. As she sang and danced her way into the hearts of millions of Americans, Temple became an institution.  There were Shirley Temple dolls, toys, and clothes, and her curly hair was imitated by countless little girls.  Shirley Temple was so beloved because she captured an overwhelming charisma and spirited performances.  She was pure and innocent and unblemished.  Sound familiar?  Just imagine Obama as a 6 year old girl with tights and a blond curly wig.

Obama won this year because of the hope many saw (I’m still awaiting a line of Obama dolls by the way).  No doubt he ran a well-oiled machine of a campaign…he had the most money ever spent by a campaign to date (campaign finance will be a whole other posting), and he became a brand that everyone could look up to as a hope for solving their problems.  His lack of experience was actually appealing to people because they saw him as a Washington outsider.  They saw that he did not come from a wealthy family, but rather a modest upbringing.  I’m willing to bet about 75% of people have no idea what Obama ACTUALLY stands for, yet the idea of hope and change has rocked their worlds.

Looking at pop culture the last 2 days made me feel like I should be floating on clouds with everyone and singing a show-tune every minute of the day.  While watching The Today show the day after the election, every anchor was so giddy they couldn’t stop smiling.  Oprah had a post-election day PARTY.  The View showed 5 women on cloud 9…every single one of them (Hasselbeck included) acted like they could have died that day and been absolutely at peace.  Ellen Degeneres talked about how wonderfully happy she was that change and hope won.  Her guest, Samuel L Jackson, was so overjoyed that it was the only topic of conversation.  And of course, all the crowds cheered on all these shows.

The worst part about the last 2 days…they are all still slamming the McCain campaign, STILL.  They are trying to kick a dead horse by saying how tense the McCain campaign has been the last 2 months, how Palin pissed off a bunch of McCain aides, etc.  Why can’t they just let it go?  It’s like the media decided that a landslide victory by Obama wasn’t enough, let’s try to unravel the party altogether.  

Obama is now President, McCain lost: GET OVER IT.  Enough with the $150,000 wardrobe for Palin.  She is from Alaska, probably doesn’t have more than 5 suits, isn’t incredibly wealthy, and all of the sudden she is thrown into this whirlwin campaign where they went to 1, 2, 7 cities on any given day…and she needed a wardrobe!  Yes, it is questionable why they spent that much from the campaign money on her wardrobe.  However, a good marketing/PR move is to create an appealing image.  I, for instance, would not have advised her to get ugly pantsuits and gain weight to get kankles like Hillary.  It’s not going to happen and it IS all about image.  Unfortunately, the disorganized McCain campaigned ruined their attempt to give her a great image.

I’d like to ask celebrities how much they spend at the Academy Awards for their gowns and jewelry.  No doubt a dress, on average, costs at least $20,000…FOR ONE DRESS.  Then you have half a million dollars in jewelry, etc, etc.  I’d like to ask Barbara Walters how many houses she has (as she asked the McCains on The View a while back as they cornered and butchered them on the show).  The point is…why should they have to answer?  IT IS THEIR MONEY.  Just as McCain’s wife has a fortune from her parents hard work…she shouldn’t have to apologize for it just because they have 7 houses.

With all of this post-election euphoria, I’m curious when the reality will sink in.  Once the buzz has passed and the “change” phrase fades…what are we left with?  A man we know very little about.  The fear many have about Obama is the fact that we don’t know what he will do as President.  The fact is his record was the most LIBERAL in the senate, yet he won the election as a man who represents both sides, as a centrist.  VERY SCARY.  

I think if he dresses up in a dress and little blonde curls then it will distract us from the reality that he truly is a mystery and we have no idea what we will get in the next 4 years.