Although I agree materially with the point in John F. Harris’s post at Politico—that Democratic politicians have nothing to lose by kvetching about Joe Biden and everything to gain, it does contain the funniest line I’ve read so far to day:
Two ingredients are missing. One is an outsize leadership personality of the sort that the genial Biden doesn’t possess. The second, more important, is an instinct for cultlike compliance that isn’t part of the Democratic Party character or tradition.
Let’s ignore that Mike Madigan has been Speaker of the Illinois House for forty years despite most voters believing that he has been crooked nearly all of that time. The actual evidence of that has been growing recently. If that isn’t “cultlike compliance”, what is it? The adulation Barack Obama received on his election in 2008 dwarfed anything of recent memory. “Lightbringer” (an enlightened being), “messiah”, anyone? It was practically literally a cult. During Bill Clinton’s term of office we were treated to multiple cinematic and television representations of presidents that were clearly highly idealized and fictionalized versions of Bill Clinton.
Mr. Harris was an infant when John Kennedy was assassinated so he’s too young to remember but the devotion to John Kennedy during his brief term was not only idealized and fictionalized but astonishing. But it was nothing like the adulation that Franklin Roosevelt received during his presidency.
If those examples don’t illustrate an “instinct for cultlike compliance”, they’re certainly a remarkable coincidence.
Bill Clinton famously said that when selecting a president Democrats want to fall in love but Republicans fall in line. One of the things that I have found amazing about the last 40 years of American political history is how unrecognizable the Republican Party has become. They’re behaving more like Democrats. I don’t believe that is a coincidence—many of the central figures in today’s Republican Party were Democrats or would have been Democrats prior to 1980. And there are only a few holdouts of the Northeastern Republicans of years gone by. Most are now independents.
Perhaps what he is lamenting is that Democrats haven’t fallen in love with Joe Biden.
“The adulation Barack Obama received on his election in 2008 dwarfed anything of recent memory. “Lightbringer†(an enlightened being), “messiahâ€, anyone?”
Yup, while he was running for office and shortly after. And if you want to call any politician who stays in office for over 30 years being there as a result of a cult, the term becomes meaningless. (That is not a cult but rather special interests making sure they keep the gravy train rolling, for the most part. Sometimes it is just tribal support.)
No, a cult is when you believe stuff is true when there is no evidence or evidence it is not true just because the cult leader tells you so. Or when you believe God is talking directly to you to support the cult leader. When you say you are willing to die for the cult leader over non life threatening issues. We have lots of good examples of cults. What you describe is not even remotely close. Heck, I grew up in what was nearly a cult and what you are talking about is nothing like reality in a cult.
Steve
Right. It’s more of a longing for Royalty, for a return to Camelot.
Trump or Biden can’t fill the bill.
Trump is neither handsome or charismatic. He does know what buttons to push to move his supporters and enrage his enemies.
No, no Camelot this time.
Camelot……Kamala…..er. No.