by Julie R Butler

Created on: December 06, 2008   Last Updated: January 12, 2009

Barack Hussein Obama's popularity has been described as "cult-like," as if his followers believe he is "the second coming," or a new "spiritual leader." Many people suspect and fear him because he came out of near oblivion to sweep aside the heir apparent of the Democratic party, to the great distress of her supporters. He held rock-star-quality rallies of tens of thousands of people, which only seemed to engender more suspicion and unease about what this man is really all about. He wooed huge crowds overseas, making him an internationalist. At home, his rhetoric moved the young and apathetic, the cynical, the disenfranchised, to come to the polls on November 4th and vote for the first time in their lives, driven by a slogan that came right out of the populist movement play book: "Yes, we can!" And while his supporters believe that he is the right man for the job of re-inventing the United States, with its tarnished international reputation, damaged democratic principles, and weakened economic situation, he has yet to win over those who are still suspicious of his historic rise to the presidency. So, what does all this mean for his presidency?

For his supporters, the expectations for him to succeed are higher than for any president before him. So many have hung their hopes for a better future on him in these challenging times. In fact, it is the hopes of these masses, their faith and belief in Barack Obama, that are the actual source of the trivialization of the true significance of this historic election, not the capabilities of the man himself. Who among us can deny that he has demonstrated intelligence, integrity, confidence, ability to truly move individuals, and grace under pressure? How is it that his credentials as a top student at Harvard Law School, a constitutional law scholar, a community organizer, and a lawmaker whose record is readily available for all to see through the magic of the internet, somehow make him "mysterious," "inexperienced," or even an "elite?" And since when did a democratic majority constitute a cult?
Barack Obama now finds himself walking the fine line between indulging the wishes of the political left, who were his earliest and strongest supporters, while at the same time, trying to assuage the fear of change that the rest of the nation exhibits in their characterization of his leadership abilities as a mass deception. He began immediately upon being elected to prove himself worthy by moving more swiftly than any president before

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