This will be a very short diary, because the article on which it is based should be read in its entirely. I can't possibly do it justice. To whet your appetite, here are a couple of excerpts:
when faced with the greatest economic crisis, the greatest levels of economic inequality, and the greatest levels of corporate influence on politics since the Depression, Barack Obama stared into the eyes of history and chose to avert his gaze. Instead of indicting the people whose recklessness wrecked the economy, he put them in charge of it. He never explained that decision to the public — a failure in storytelling as extraordinary as the failure in judgment behind it.The article focuses on Obama's tremendous skill as a speaker, and on what the author considers to be the President's failure to use his gift.
When he wants to be, the president is a brilliant and moving speaker, but his stories virtually always lack one element: the villain who caused the problem, who is always left out, described in impersonal terms, or described in passive voice, as if the cause of others’ misery has no agency and hence no culpability.That is all I have to say; read the full text for yourself and see what you think.
Addition 1: Btw, the article is entitled "What happened to Obama" and it is by Drew Westen, a professor of psychology at Emory University and the author of “The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation.” Thanks to those below who reminded me to include this information.
Addition 2: Wow -- my first trip to the recommended list!
