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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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 OPINION 
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Right's Ridicule of Obama 'Cult' Appeal Masks Jealousy

Conservatives 'freaked out' by rabid following

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(Newser) – Conservative griping about Barack Obama’s supposed cult of personality is both misplaced and hypocritical, Jonathan Chait writes in the New Republic. Pundits’ case against the Democrat relies on willful misinterpretation of his slogans. “Did you know that McCain’s slogan, ‘Country first,’ could be translated via the Charles Krauthammer method into ‘Country last’? Why does John McCain hate America?” jokes Chait.

It’s understandable why the excitement disturbs Republicans—it’s usually the Democratic candidate who is “respected, but not loved” by his party. This year, that’s John McCain. Likewise, it’s historically the Republicans who deify leaders. “Claiming you’ve been chosen by God to lead the world in a titanic clash of good versus evil,” as Chait recalls President Bush doing, “is pretty much the definition of messianic.”

"Conservatives appear genuinely freaked out about the intense loyalty Obama inspires," Chait writes. "They're used to their side deeply believing in a presidential candidate."   (AP Photo)
Barack Obama is
Barack Obama is "not the messiah," Jonathan Chait writes in the New Republic. "But why wait for the messiah to feel optimistic?"   (AP Photo)
"Claiming you've been chosen by God to lead the world in a titanic clash of good versus evil," as President Bush reportedly did, Chait writes, "is pretty much the definition of messianic."   (AP Photo)
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Conservatives appear genuinely freaked out about the intense loyalty Obama inspires. They're used to their side deeply believing in a presidential candidate. Seeing it happen to the other party is a novel and disconcerting experience. - Jonathan Chait

. . . there's nothing inherently cultlike about calling him 'the one.' Unless, of course, you consider campaign slogans like 'Nixon's the One' evidence of a personality cult. - Jonathan Chait

The Heritage Foundation has a dedicated wwrd [what would Reagan do?] website. If, say, Brookings had inserted Obama's name into a phrase usually reserved for Jesus, you can only imagine what conservatives would make of it.

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