Genuine Excitement

I've never been excited about a candidate before; I've always been interested in political ideas but never in politics-as-practiced.  I'm genuinely excited about Senator Obama and his presidential campaign, though, and I'm obviously not the only one.

At the height of that excitement, after a string of victories, a backlash has popped up.  CNN ran a story this weekend about "Obama Mania," quoting columnists who called it "creepy" and "cult-like," and asking whether this is all too much.  Really?  Have we gone so far down the cynical, deconstructionist, postmodern hole that we can't be simply, genuinely excited?

Like most public figures, I'm sure Senator Obama has some obsessive fans (probably more than most, in fact).  But that's not what CNN's story was about.  It was about long lines, filling arenas, cheering loudly, and being, well, excited.  I remember in most years reading columnists decrying political apathy and negative campaigns; and now we have political excitement and a positive campaign (positive in the deep sense - a coherent, optimistic, forward-looking vision - rather than simply "not negative").  Can we not be simply, genuinely excited?

Dahlia Lithwick does an excellent job cynically deconstructing the cynical deconstructionists - http://www.slate.com/id/2184536/ - but I wonder if we can develop a post-postmodern response.  Senator Clinton's joined in the cynical chorus, albeit with more political savvy (attempting to characterize Senator Obama as all excitement and no substance), so I gather we'll get to see whether Senator Obama is up to the task.