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"I'll do anything you tell me to do". I can think of a lot of things!
Michelle better keep her man close by her side!
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Obamamania verges on obsession
BALTIMORE — Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings has held elected office for more than a quarter-century, so he's seen his fair share of politicians come and go.
But apparently he's never seen one quite like Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
"This is not a campaign for president of the United States, this is a movement to change the world," he said as he introduced Obama last week in Baltimore.
"You do not get 13,000 people in this auditorium with a campaign."
As over the top as it may have sounded, Cummings' sentiments weren't all that unusual.
Because when it comes to Obama, hyperbole seems to be the rule, not the exception.
His charms seem tough to resist, even for some of Hollywood’s biggest names.
"He walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere," George Clooney told talk show host Charlie Rose.
"I'll do whatever he says to do," actress Halle Berry said to the Philadelphia Daily News. "I'll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear."
Welcome to the cult of Barack Obama.
Many talented politicians attract devoted throngs — but with Obama, the fervency of his following borders on the messianic, and that phenomenon has only increased in recent weeks as Obama has scored 10 consecutive primary and caucus victories over New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, surged into the lead in the delegate count, and claimed the mantle of front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
But is there a downside to being viewed as a political deity?
Critics, including Clinton, Arizona Sen. John McCain and members of the Republican chattering class clearly think so.
A competing narrative has formed in recent weeks in which opponents try to turn Obama’s popularity into a negative by hinting that there’s something uninformed and empty — or just plain creepy — about his impassioned support.
For weeks, Clinton and her campaign have increasingly centered their critique of Obama on the notion that while he can wax poetic on the stump, she offers more experience and on-the-job training.
Last week, Clinton adviser Sid Blumenthal e-mailed an article from The American Conservative implying that Obama's support was, at least in part, due to white liberal guilt.
"It's time to get real about how we actually win this election," Clinton said Wednesday at Hunter College in New York.
“It's time that we move from good words to good works, from sound bites to sound solutions.”
Her conclusion: “Let’s get real.”
McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, also has clearly signaled how he would attack Obama should the Illinois senator be his Democratic opponent in the fall.
After McCain’s victory in Wisconsin Tuesday night, he too cast Obama as long on rhetoric but light on substance.
"I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure that Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change," McCain said.
Unfortunately for McCain and Clinton, their talking points don’t seem to matter much to the growing ranks of Obama-maniacs.
Thousands of screaming, cheering, and sometimes even crying supporters regularly come out to hear him talk.
His most fervent backers fall in love with his idealistic message of change — irrelevant of the dry details — his youth, and his powerful presence on the stump. For some, the affair can border on obsession.
And activist Democrats aren't the only ones swept up in Obamamania. His campaign events are filled with first-time voters, self-described political slackers, and even a few Republicans who now zealously back the first-term senator from Illinois.
Ross Avila, a senior at The University of Pennsylvania, drove more than 2,200 miles to volunteer in Iowa, New Jersey and South Carolina for the campaign.
"Iowa in January was so miserable," he says, remembering the single-digit temperatures.
"I can't imagine doing such grueling work for someone that I didn't believe in so much. I think he's very unique that way."
Michelle better keep her man close by her side!
------------------------------------------------------------------
Obamamania verges on obsession
BALTIMORE — Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings has held elected office for more than a quarter-century, so he's seen his fair share of politicians come and go.
But apparently he's never seen one quite like Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
"This is not a campaign for president of the United States, this is a movement to change the world," he said as he introduced Obama last week in Baltimore.
"You do not get 13,000 people in this auditorium with a campaign."
As over the top as it may have sounded, Cummings' sentiments weren't all that unusual.
Because when it comes to Obama, hyperbole seems to be the rule, not the exception.
His charms seem tough to resist, even for some of Hollywood’s biggest names.
"He walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere," George Clooney told talk show host Charlie Rose.
"I'll do whatever he says to do," actress Halle Berry said to the Philadelphia Daily News. "I'll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear."
Welcome to the cult of Barack Obama.
Many talented politicians attract devoted throngs — but with Obama, the fervency of his following borders on the messianic, and that phenomenon has only increased in recent weeks as Obama has scored 10 consecutive primary and caucus victories over New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, surged into the lead in the delegate count, and claimed the mantle of front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
But is there a downside to being viewed as a political deity?
Critics, including Clinton, Arizona Sen. John McCain and members of the Republican chattering class clearly think so.
A competing narrative has formed in recent weeks in which opponents try to turn Obama’s popularity into a negative by hinting that there’s something uninformed and empty — or just plain creepy — about his impassioned support.
For weeks, Clinton and her campaign have increasingly centered their critique of Obama on the notion that while he can wax poetic on the stump, she offers more experience and on-the-job training.
Last week, Clinton adviser Sid Blumenthal e-mailed an article from The American Conservative implying that Obama's support was, at least in part, due to white liberal guilt.
"It's time to get real about how we actually win this election," Clinton said Wednesday at Hunter College in New York.
“It's time that we move from good words to good works, from sound bites to sound solutions.”
Her conclusion: “Let’s get real.”
McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, also has clearly signaled how he would attack Obama should the Illinois senator be his Democratic opponent in the fall.
After McCain’s victory in Wisconsin Tuesday night, he too cast Obama as long on rhetoric but light on substance.
"I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure that Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change," McCain said.
Unfortunately for McCain and Clinton, their talking points don’t seem to matter much to the growing ranks of Obama-maniacs.
Thousands of screaming, cheering, and sometimes even crying supporters regularly come out to hear him talk.
His most fervent backers fall in love with his idealistic message of change — irrelevant of the dry details — his youth, and his powerful presence on the stump. For some, the affair can border on obsession.
And activist Democrats aren't the only ones swept up in Obamamania. His campaign events are filled with first-time voters, self-described political slackers, and even a few Republicans who now zealously back the first-term senator from Illinois.
Ross Avila, a senior at The University of Pennsylvania, drove more than 2,200 miles to volunteer in Iowa, New Jersey and South Carolina for the campaign.
"Iowa in January was so miserable," he says, remembering the single-digit temperatures.
"I can't imagine doing such grueling work for someone that I didn't believe in so much. I think he's very unique that way."
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