Why I Am Afraid of Barack Obama

Those of you who know me know that I have, on the whole, been very positive about Sen. Barack Obama. I think he's positive, I think he's dynamic, I think he could possibly be the person to turn around this whole nasty tit-for-tat political scene we find ourselves in. But I'm afraid of him.

Not because he's a secret Muslim (he's not). Not because he failed to adequately condemn his pastor--I don't see why he should. Nor yet because his speech was "too little, too late."

No, I'm afraid of him because of Woodrow Wilson.

Let me explain. I just finished a paper on a book entitled The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism by Erez Manela. In it, Manela examines how Woodrow Wilson's rhetoric of self-determination--his argument that all people should be free to govern themselves--was seized by nationalists in India, in Egypt, in Korea, and in China. Wilson was seen as a kind of savior, an apostle of the modern world in which every people had a right to govern themselves.

World War I ended, and the treaty of Versailles was ratified--containing none of the radical ideas Wilson was credited with. Wilson's influence with his own people had died, and his influence in world affairs soon followed. He was not able--or willing--to accomplish everything the nationalists hoped he would.

As I read this book, I thought about Barack Obama. He, too, has ideas that are inspiring. He wants liberals and conservatives to work together, rather than constantly warring back and forth. He wants conversation and compromise rather than combat. But he's one man, and we should be careful before we put all our hopes on one man.

When the election comes, if Obama is on the ticket--as I'm sure he will be--I'll probably be voting for him. He seems to be the best choice. But, like Brian, he's "not the messiah." Neither is he the antichrist. He's just a man. Whichever way the election goes, we can be sure that in four more years we'll get another chance. As Steve Brown says,

If you’re a Democrat and a Republican is elected president, you’ll probably survive and the nation will too. And if Obama is elected, I’ll survive and the nation will too. Do you know why? Because the ability of the head of state to change the state of the world is vastly overstated.

That's wisdom most conservative 'bloggers could use.