Glass Half-Full

Like any anxious parent, I wondered about the wisdom of bringing my baby into this world. How could it possibly survive in such a toxic, hostile environment? Well, my blog was born with its eyes open, not to mention the cynical sensibility of a disillusioned 29-year old. So the vitriol currently exploding throughout the internet over the picture above (Sen. Obama in traditional Somali/Kenyan garb, 2006) will do little to dampen my maiden voyage.

It does, however, make for an interesting conversation piece. Anyone with even a tenuous grasp of campaign logic knows full well what the Clinton team was aiming for when they circulated it.

But what do you see? Glass half-full or half-empty? Will this picture convert anybody in either direction? The anti-Obama forces (Nobamas?) will see it, at best, as desperate pandering by a naive one-worlder. The Probamas, on the other hand, will see it as another validation of his tremendous potential to restore the image of the U.S. abroad.

How about those wily undecideds? My guess is that any reaction - positive or negative - will remain in the subconscious realm. If one is the type to lock one's car doors while driving through a black neighborhood, then one might also detect a kernel of uneasiness when seeing Obama in this light. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which Clinton gains from going this route. She's been banished from the kitchen and she's gonna spit in a few milkshakes on her way out.

In the end, the saturation of this story speaks more to the starved-for-content 24-hour news cycle than to anything about Obama or us. If you believe he's authentic, then he was probably feeling that exhilarating mixture of humility and pride in visiting the motherland. I would be lying if I said I wasn't thrilled into quiet reflection in Ireland. If you believe he's disingenuous, then he was posing for a standard photo opportunity. Snore. Anyone who would bother to get upset about something like that should stop paying attention to politics altogether. By that measure, George W. "Missioned Accomplished" Bush on the aircraft carrier should have given you a coronary.