"When the Magic Fades"

When the magic fades, indeed. David Brooks hit the nail on the head in his NYT column today, entitled "When the Magic Fades." I don't agree with all of this cheeky column, namely the "Sitting Shiva for America Tour," but I certainly understand the comparison.

As the syndrome progresses, they begin to ask questions about The Presence himself:

Barack Obama vowed to abide by the public finance campaign-spending rules in the general election if his opponent did. But now he’s waffling on his promise. Why does he need to check with his campaign staff members when deciding whether to keep his word?

Obama says he is practicing a new kind of politics, but why has his PAC sloshed $698,000 to the campaigns of the superdelegates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics? Is giving Robert Byrd’s campaign $10,000 the kind of change we can believe in?

If he values independent thinking, why is his the most predictable liberal vote in the Senate? A People for the American Way computer program would cast the same votes for cheaper.

I've said it before, and I'll take this opportunity to say it again: I think all of this back and forth is good for the democratic party, though it is becoming detrimental to friendships.

I have to say that personally, as the race for the democratic nomination goes on and on and on, I'm finding it harder to actually like the man who once brought me to tears of joy at the '04 Democratic National Convention. If he wins, and he likely will, I'm going to vote for him - but will I be able to campaign for him like I do for Hillary? I can only HOPE... which is an ironic choice of words.