I have heard much talk about superheroes this past week. I tried to get a copy of the Obama Spider-Man comic book last week, mostly because my wife asked me to find a copy. I was relegated to pre-ordering the second printing that should arrive this week.
But Obama is not Spidey – there were thousands of people who were true-believers in his message of hope, yet would not believe that the dream had become real until the last words of the oath were taken (slightly late, and therefore, Biden was technically president for 6 minutes).
Like Batman, Obama has no superpowers- he uses brains, brawn, and a Blackberry. When Spidey meets up with Obama in issue 583 after thwarting inauguration disaster, they join as partners not just in an ideological struggle between good and evil, but in the focusing of our shades into facets of light, rather than separating through the polarizing filter of our differences.
The President gave the American people today the lowdown that we have to dust ourselves off, and start again. He means that we should be asking not what he can do for us, but what we can do for each other.
Don’t give up – please, don’t give up.