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All right, in the past two months the buzz from the election has worn off, and the beginning of the brutal post-Bush hangover has begun. Instead of the angry opposition, Democrats will now be the governing party. As such, we get the all the baggage that goes along with leadership, including opposition from a party that frankly, is good at little else but criticizing their opponents.
However, to lead is to be criticized not only from one's enemies, but from one's own as well. In the coming four years we can expect many other voices added to the current chorus currently manned by Michael Moore, Anne Hathaway, and Dennis Kucinich. Some of these will be respected political figures with considerable experience. Some, will be amateurs and dilletantes, who have a place in the public eye, an opinion and a the courage to voice it. Judging from President Obama's performance on the campaign trail and during his transition, he is not bothered by such criticisms, indeed he seems to welcome them.
I find the current criticism of Anne Hathaway on DU particularly interesting. Had she voiced these opinions about President Bush and been attacked by the right for them, I have no doubt that there would be no lack of support and defense lavished on her by DUers. But now, as this critique (and a truly mild critique it is indeed) has been leveled against one of our own, there is no end to ad hominem attacks, snarky judgments and accusations of her being a closeted freeper.
Are we really that paranoid? Do we really think that President Obama is so weak, vulnerable and incompetent that any and all criticism of him must be silenced and ridiculed in order to protect him from the very people he has been elected to govern? Folks, please. To begin with, most criticisms leveled by celebrities are hardly taken seriously anyway, (even if they are leveled by lovely young women with sparkling eyes and glowing smiles... ahem, but I digress.) furthermore, if Michael Moore did not criticize President Obama for falling short of Mr. Moore's expectations, then he would be every bit the hypocrite that the right accuses him of being. The same could be said for Congressman Kucinich, for whom no amount of cajoling or shushing will make him be silent on the issues dear to him. Indeed, if it did I would not respect him as much as I do, even if I disagree with him at times.
President Obama knew what he was getting into when he started running for the job. He realized that, as a centrist, he would be exposing himself to criticism from both the right and left. He can deal with it, so can we.
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