Failed Newsweek editor Jon Meacham takes a break from packing up his office and hunting down his red Swingline to remind us how ungrateful we are not to appreciate Barack Obama, SortaGod. Here’s a sliver of Meacham’s latest gem — titled, incredibly, “Don’t Wait for a Thank You, Mr. President”:
Feeling underappreciated is among the most common of human emotions. From time to time we all indulge in at least a bit of self-pity. The sense that the world does not understand our greatness or our gifts can manifest itself in different ways. Some people may be maudlin, others angry, but one thing is universal to the condition: frustration…
The Obama White House is now feeling the effects of an inescapable historical fact: presidents rarely enjoy prolonged popularity in real time. They just do not. In memory we recast reality and choose to think—wrongly—that the leaders we consider great were thought of in such terms in their own eras.
He goes on to list great presidents and the reasons they were hated at the time, but doesn’t give examples of presidents who were almost as crappy as Obama and are remembered as such. And why are all us swine so unimpressed by Obama’s glittering pearls of wisdom?
Because the public lives in a world where jobs are scarce, and if you cannot find work, it does not matter to you that there could be even fewer jobs if this policy had not been followed or that bill passed.
True… for most people, liberal science fiction does nothing to put food on the table. Meacham’s been very lucky. Well, up until a few weeks ago.
In times of sorrow and failure, I suppose “history will vindicate me” can be a comfort. Should I even bother trying to find a similar pep talk from Meacham to George W. Bush?