The Federal Office of Trend Management announced today that “Obamania” has officially replaced “Europhoria” as the favorite new high of the far left. Europhoria is the absolute adoration of anything European over anything American. Until recently progressives in the United States preferred coveting things European when they needed a lift. For example, if you were considering buying a new car and said something about a Ford Explorer or F-150 pickup they would tell you all about their Saab or BMW. Then they would segue into how in Europe they have very expensive gasoline because the governments understand that high gas taxes are good for the environment and keep the hoi polloi off the highways.
A lot of their sentences would start, “You know, in Europe…” For example when talking with a progressive friend about the current debate about health care they might bring up the European model of social welfare and yap on about it greatness. Your progressive friend might say, “You know in Europe everyone has free health care, thirty weeks vacation a year and is eligible for retirement at 47.” You try to mention how you have to wait in line for five months to get a prostate exam but they are already recounting how great it was to ride the public transportation three blocks to the Opera House in Vienna. New Your Times Columnist Paul Krugman even managed to a plug for Euro socialism in a recent column when he said it was like an ongoing government stimulus package so great for the economy!
Wealthy Progressives usually vacation in Europe, especially if they are New York Times columnists like Krugman or Maureen Dowd. They prefer Spain or the south of France to anything as pedantic or pedestrian as Florida or Mt. Rushmore.
In a column about a year ago Maureen Dowd indulged in both Europhoria and Obamania when she related to her readers how the Parisians have already elected Obama in their hearts. Her implication is that the people of Paris can predict the outcome of elections and since they are Europeans they must be more avant-garde that stupid Americans. With this sentence she also indulging herself in the first and most basic of all Progressive myths; you are stupid. This is some strange logic since the French elected their right winger, Nicolas Sarkozy, when the popular press in American had assured all of us that Socialist Segolene Royal was a shoe in.
New polling shows that the majority of progressives have recently switched to mentioning Obama when they wanted to put down something typically American like private property, baseball, free enterprise, capitalism, personal responsibility or regular bathing. Many of the sentences you hear in conversations with Progressives today now begin with, “Now that Obama is President…”
They praise the President for bringing change from the evil triumvirate of Bush, Chaney and Halliburton. Even though Halliburton is still the major contractor of the U. S. Government and will be well into the future. They laud how he got lobbyist out of government, except for the ones he wanted. They cheer how he closed Guantanamo but I believe there are still prisoners there. While we’re at it did those girls ever get a dog?
Obamania is all around us so be on the lookout for it. It is most often seen on CBS or MSNBC. Chris Matthews is one of its greatest devotees. Post up your favorite example of Obamania or Europhoria and let us bathe in his greatness and the wonders of all things European.
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