As C&L readers know, I'm a huge Buffy fan. So when I saw this article written by Bernie Quigley in The Hill, I was pretty interested.
What Obama can learn from Buffy
If Obama is to survive and prosper in the coming three years, he has to make the rising generations his own. The oldest story, Sir James G. Frazer and the anthropologists tell us, is that the new leader/hero must cut down the sacred tree of the old people, not fulfill their wishes. Darla must die for Buffy to become The Slayer. Victoria, the red queen, must get her head torn off before Bella can become the white queen. George Washington must cut down the tree of his ancestors before the revolution can occur. Obama’s first hagiographers, publicists and hacks, comparing him to Kennedy, Roosevelt and Lincoln, had it exactly backward.
Every generation’s hero must make the world his or her own; it will not be given; it must be taken. Obama’s world is no exception.
Neither Clinton nor Reagan made much traction in his first year, but they caught on. From what I could see from the dozens of young people who visited my house over the Christmas vacation, the rising generation still looks up to Obama and wishes him well. He still has time, but time is running out.
If you're going to use Buffy as a model to help Obama, then you really should know what you're talking about. First of all, Buffy didn't kill Darla, Angel did, as he helped thwart Darla's plan to win Angel's heart again and bring him back to "The Master."
"The Master," was an ancient Vampire with incredible powers, but was stuck in a mystical force field after he failed in his attempt to open up the Hell Mouth many years ago. He was the Big Bad in the first season. Buffy was already the Slayer before she went to Sunnydale when the series started.
I know Joss Wheedon might differ with my take, but it wasn't until she confronted The Master in the final episode to fulfill a prophesy that she was able to conquer her crippling fear of him. And it was that fear that was holding her back from truly blossoming into the most powerful Slayer of all. At one point she was so terrified of the Master that she wanted to quit being a Slayer altogether, but she finally accepted her fate and decided to face the Master in the end.
If Obama were truly a liberal transformative hero, but fear was holding him back from becoming the ultimate progressive warrior, then I could sort of buy the comparison. I don't see that, do you?
