Renegade
Is comparing President Obama to Spock from Star Trek really logical?
We should have guessed at the 2008 Democratic convention in Los Angeles, when Barack Obama spotted Leonard Nimoy and gave the double-finger Vulcan sign to the man who played Spock in the original Star Trek. Yes, Obama is a Trekkie. This endears him to Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, King Abdullah of Jordan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who were all delighted to find a fellow fan. And it gives him some common ground with Al Gore, whose Harvard roommates said he spent more time watching the show than studying. (Colin Powell is another avid fan.)
Just as the world divides into Beatles and Stones fans, Trekkies are split into fans of cerebral Spock and those who prefer Captain Kirk (whose character was dreamed up in the 1960s as an echo of JFK). Even without considering his prominent ears, no prizes for guessing which way Obama leans—and what is more, the president is often compared to Spock.
Obama’s mixed heritage finds a parallel in Spock, who is half-human and half-Vulcan. And they both make calm, controlled, logical decisions. Roberto Orci, scriptwriter of the latest Star Trek film, says he researches new aspects of Spock’s character by watching Obama. Leonard Nimoy has said he thinks the comparison is “a compliment to him and to the character.”
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James Crabtree
Read James Crabtree’s Obama anniversary blog, arguing why—despite the setbacks—the president is doing just fine
One year on from his election victory, how should we judge President Barack Obama? He has passed a $787bn (£500bn) stimulus package and a $3.4 trillion budget, bailed out America’s floundering car makers, and launched landmark legislation to reform healthcare, tighten regulation on a crippled financial sector, and cut greenhouse gases. Against a backdrop of economic chaos and partisan division, and especially if some form of health reform passes by the end of the year, Obama’s early record will look impressive. It’s been a good start.
That said, a president who promised unity has also brought discord. The saner wings of the American right (and some Democrats) worry that his moderate tone hides policies that dangerously expand the grip of the state, and the depth of its debt. The less sane gather in the streets and howl about the road to socialism. Critics on the left, meanwhile, already see a once-in-a-generation missed opportunity. Obama has a thumping electoral mandate, and control of congress. Yet he stimulated the economy too little, and fluffed a perfect moment to bring in radical measures to take on America’s banks and health insurers. Behind these worries, doubts lurk about what the president stands for, and whether the “Obama-ism” implicit in his campaign can translate into governance. Put more simply: has Obama begun to change Washington, or has Washington begun to change him?
I travelled to the US in August to get a closer look at his progress. In the stifling heat of late summer, and against a backdrop of raucous conservative street protests, I found the administration’s early self-confidence quickly giving way to nervousness in the Democratic establishment and an acute awareness of the high wire on which Obama walks. The stimulus hadn’t stopped unemployment nudging past 10 per cent. Healthcare and climate change reforms lay stalled amid congressional bickering. Attempts at bipartisanship had been rebuffed. Democratic operatives, sensing blood, whispered ominously about which of Obama’s senior staff would be culled if healthcare failed. A few months later and the mood is better, buoyed by a fresh push on healthcare legislation that now looks likely to pass. Nonetheless, Obama’s reputation remains precariously poised between success and failure, and a number of well-placed figures worry that he could still lose in the only way that truly counts—and serve only one term.
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Renegade
When the White House first heard about the “death panels” last month, they tried to fight back via their blog. “There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform” ran the post. “These rumours often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”
The right-wing blogosphere raised the alarm. RedState announced “the White House wants you to report anybody publicly opposing” healthcare reform. The talk shows picked up on it, with Rush Limbaugh calling it a snitch-for-Obama campaign. Then House minority whip Eric Cantor of Virginia claimed that the White House “wants Americans to report on each other. And Texas senator John Cornyn sent Obama a public letter, pointing out that “by requesting citizens send ‘fishy’ emails to the White House, it is inevitable that the names, email, addresses, IP addresses and private speech of US citizens will be reported to the White House.”
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