After the Love Has Gone

I have this recurring vision of President Obama, deep in thought, walking solo along a shore, khakis cuffed, white shirt tucked, sleeves billowing in the breeze while Earth, Wind & Fire plays in the background; After the Love Has Gone:

"Something happened along the way, what used to be happy was sad. Something happened along the way, and yesterday was all we had... and OH! After the love has gone, how could you lead me on?!!"

You know the honeymoon's over for sure when Maxine Waters is pissed.

In the heady first weeks of the Obama Administration, it was all I could do not to get whiplash from trying to keep up with the dizzying dragon-slaying going on. His first few months stood in stark contrast to the first few months of W's first term, when those of us stunned by the shocking Supreme Court turn of events, recuperated while camped out on the banks of denial. After W won, you pretty much didn't see or hear from him till that fateful day in a second grade classroom in Florida, nearly nine months post-inaugural.

Every time I turned around after the latest inaugural, President Obama was convening all the key players for some highstakes game at The White House: Banking Industry execs one week, Health Care Industry stakeholders the next...car company fat cats bringing up the rear. I marveled, "WOW. This dude is the consummate Project Manager. What must his work breakdown structure look like?" He was averaging one major kickoff meeting for some new huge initiative per week. I kept waiting for him to ditch the suit already and don a cape and tights!

He knew he had to hit the ground running. Not only because of the incredible, labyrinthine mess the economy was/is in, but also, because...you know. The thing that made a lot of Black people reluctant to support him in the first place: Black men with great- but lesser potential-- impact than he in this country have, historically, been taken out. Obama's modus operandi was to get as much done as quickly as possible before the love was gone; or worse.

My Project Manager analogy didn't hold water for long; he seemed to take a hands-off "do it and report back to me" approach which, imo, doesn't typically bode well for change and certainly not CHANGE, as we'd come to expect from him. Change Agents exist for a reason. Change has to not only be spearheaded, it has to be shepherded.

Antagonizers on the right cloak their increasing distaste for a Black Head of State behind irrelevant, nonsensical and refuted notions about the President's birthrights or penchant for death panels. Supporters on the left contort from their discomfort at the President's detachment from the health care reform morass, as well as from the unsettling and increasing numbers of nutcases who show up packing heat at Presidential events.

It brings this song to mind:

Pray him up, folks. His welfare is our concern.