Championing Obama

The American Spectator reports:

Here is where Tom Wolfe comes in. In his most recent novel, I am Charlotte Simmons, and elsewhere, Wolfe has propounded his theory of "Championism," to wit: people suffering the "real emotions" of "exultation" or "depression" over the fate of those they deem their champions. At its most absurd, Championism takes hold of sports fans who identify passionately with athletes they hardly know and -- truth be told -- would probably not want to know. Wolfe mentions in particular professional athletes, say New York Yankees, who might not even live in New York. The fans attribute all manner of diableries to their team's opponents and stupendous virtues to their own stars.

Wolfe believes that it is perfectly normal for people to take sides on an issue even when they know very little about the issue and have absolutely no involvement in it. On the matter of politics, both Democrats and Republicans usually have years invested in hollering for their party. Some have sent in financial contributions. Some have sported their party's buttons and bumper stickers. Thus the political supporters' emotions run even higher than those of sports fans. Nonetheless, their emotions might be equally absurd. Time and again political messiahs have been exposed to be frauds and a danger to the commonweal.

In the case of the Prophet Obama, it is apparent that he has almost no experience governing anything. Are Democrats going to vote for such a novice in time of war and financial crisis? If they do and he spends the next few years learning on the job, the Democratic Party could end up in the wilderness for a long time.

Read the whole thing.