As I watch events unfold like the latest protest by Occupy folks against Obama with signs like, “Obama is a corporate puppet” or “I sold out” I am really hard-pressed to come up with a world leader, at least in my lifetime, who has lived up to the expectations placed upon him/her. I remember when Obama was elected and the lead up to his inauguration. You would have thought we (the U.S.) had just gained our independence. The fervor was out of this world and Obama was saddled with the audacious goal of righting the ship … in 4 years.
Well, fast forward to December 1, 2011 and regardless of how you feel towards Obama and his leadership to now, it should be clearly evident he is no messiah, but then again, who is/has been? Are we putting way to much faith in elected officials? Do we really think that they can operate without any self-interest whatsoever and avoid all of the typical human trappings that we as a society have always struggled with for hundreds of years? Why do we fall into this redundant group-think every 4-8 years thinking that all of sudden we have stumbled upon someone that will tell corporate interests and lobbyists to shove it, “no thanks, I am here to govern, sir!”
But more than anything, who/what is the model of effective governance that we are trying to achieve? Hard to blame any leader if we cannot even point to a “best practice” example.
