Is Obama leading a cult of personality?

[ButterflyBlood]

Poll question: Is Obama leading a cult of personality?

Well?

[IndianaJones]

1. the Living Colour song? nt.

[Teaser]

13. Great Song. I'd vote for anyone who uses it

as their campaign song.

[Egnever]

2. Yup but theres also a lot of depth there for the people willing to look.

Ill take the cultists though if it gets him in the WH.

[Colobo]

3. No. He's not God. Larry Merchant is.

[IndianaJones]

12. I hate Larry Merchant. nt.

[Colobo]

36. Larry is bad-ass.

[FrenchieCat]

4. It's a fucking movement not a cult. It is about increasing our Democracy!

Why do you hate increasing Democracy?--and deride it by framing Obama generating excitement and motivating people to come to the polls as a negative thing?

:wtf:

[ButterflyBlood]

8. I don't. See avatar. But many here are.

Who are making this ad hominem attack on him and his campaign.

[Xipe Totec]

5. And that would be wrong because...

:shrug:

[Beausoir]

6. No. For heaven sakes. People get caught up in movements.

This is one movement I do not understand. But it is a movement none the less.

[bagimin]

7. Yeah the cult of kicking republican ass

what kind of freakin poll is this?:banghead:

[ButterflyBlood]

9. Hey don't blame me. It's others making this claim

Which I see as a ridiculous ad hominem because they can't argue anything else.

[Nailzberg]

10. Living Colour should play the inaugural ball.

That would kick ass.

[Kucinich4America]

20. Works for me.

That's an endorsement of Living Colour, of course. Not Obama. Not yet, anyway.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ5SVDYBNrY

[Bishop Rook]

22. God, so 80's... (nt)

[Nailzberg]

26. Those have to be hair extensions.

How short was Glover's hair in "Platoon"?

Don't know what's up with the Body Glove. :shrug: 80's.

[Nailzberg]

25. Vernon Reid is SICK on the guitar

:headbang:

Thanks for the video!

[SmellsLikeDeanSpirit]

28. I don't think Barack wants to have one hit wonders playing his inaugural

It might be a bad omen.

[Bishop Rook]

11. Cult of personality is a tool

Yes, Obama is a public figure with a cult of personality. So were/are FDR, the two Kennedys, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X, the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, etc. Having an inspiring charisma isn't everything, but it doesn't automatically mean there's nothing else there, either.

[parasim]

14. However, politically speaking, charisma and a personality cult...

are not the same thing. A personality cult, politically, is typically used to describe a totalitarian regime.

A personality cult is exactly what Bush became. His followers just did not question him. And believe it or, not there are quite a few who still worship him.

Now, that's a cult of personality.

[Bishop Rook]

17. Typically used

But not exclusively. And that's because it's typically totalitarian regimes that use the tool, moreso than democratic ones. But I see little difference between "cult of personality" and "movementism" like Obama practices, except maybe a difference in connotation; while I see a large difference between cult of personality and plain old charisma, which John Edwards has in spades. It's still a different kind of campaign. As others have said, Obama is leading a movement, which is different from what Edwards is doing.

If you look at the Republican side, you see almost the exact same behavior from Ron Paul's campaign. It's being run very non-traditionally, as a "movement" rather than simply a guy running for office. And Paul and Obama have both managed to tap into many previously disaffected populations.

The difference, of course, being that Obama has tapped into youth and college students, while Paul has tapped into nativists and white nationalists...

[Skip Intro]

15. I'm happily surprised by the results of your poll.

[Bluebear]

18. Somehow I don't think it's what they wanted to hear lol

[Bishop Rook]

19. There seem to be several Obama supporters who voted 'yes'

Including myself, I count three. Don't assume that everyone who voted 'yes' meant it in a bad way.

I wish the poll had a fourth option ("Yes, not that there's anything wrong with that...").

[Bluebear]

21. 'Including myself, I count three' - how on earth can you tell who voted what?

[Bishop Rook]

24. From the comments

Egnever and Xipe Totec's comments seem to be along the same line. I suppose I shouldn't assume they are Obama supporters in specific, but they don't seem to be hostile on this issue.

[guruant]

16. As an Obama supporter, I detest the accusation...

granted, he has a lot of fervent supporters, a lot of who look at him as the next messiah, and a lot who, I think, also are too aggressive in trying to bring down other candidates or masturbate over poll numbers. But his campaign is about a lot more than him. I believe him when he says that, and I believe that's what attracts people to him. On that note, I realize he is not perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. He fucked up on McClurkin. If in a small chance, I ever get to ask him one question, it would be asking him to apologize for that.

[Mz Pip]

23. No more

that Hillary or Edwards or Kucinich are leading cults of personality.

If people are enthusiatic about their candidate I think it's a good thing. Anything that gets the republicans out of the White House is fine by me.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Hippo_Tron]

27. No, for Cult of Personality see Ron Paul

When Obama's supporters launch the Hindenbama get back to me.

[robbedvoter]

33. heh, heh - love it!

:rofl:

[eridani]

29. No, he's just lucked out on having the right fluff marketing images n/t

[ellisonz]

30. I take personal offense to the charge.

[robbedvoter]

31. Just another day on EU....you have to be a zombie to not see the shining light of the Edwards

Go into the light!

[Perry Logan]

32. What else could it be?

[Rene]

34. Yes and 4 years of an Obama admin will be chaotic because he is a preacher NOT a leader.

He has NO substantive record of accomplishment in his congressional role. He's lead NO legislation that passed. All platitudes and pat retread phrases. I'm sick of the sheeple in the audiences....such simple minds....almost like cheering at football games while ignoring that almost 4000 Americans have died in Iraq/Afghanistan. They have no outrage at that.

[CTLawGuy]

37. Patently false

"He's lead NO legislation that passed."

just off the top of my head I know that he passed a bill to require the federal government to catalog all spending and all federal contracts on a searchable website, www.usaspending.gov.

[mtnsnake]

38. "preacher NOT a leader"

hmmm, that's damn good.

You might want to send that little slogan along to the Hillary campaign. I think she'd like to borrow that one from you. Good one! :thumbsup:

[here_is_to_hope]

35. I voted yes...

...because it would help to explain how a few of his supporters here so frequently step over the line when defending him.
I would say the same about Hillary though but again, its the supporters I am reading.

[mtnsnake]

39. I'll bet the Obama people on DU would love to find a way to get this one gone & outta here. lol

Interesting results.

[Cameron27]

40. Whoa,

I didn't expect the poll to tilt that way.