Reality Television Meets Reality

by Gordon Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, December 5, 2008

The best example of an oxymoron is the genre of entertainment referred to as “Reality Television”. It seems, however, that many loyal viewers really buy into the idea that the cameras and the producers and the grip people running around do not alter reality. Perhaps they also believe that the reactions and emotions depicted on that tiny silver screen would be the same if the people involved were not being observed by the masses. I’m sorry to disappoint any of you who fall into the above category, but the truth is that most of what you view as “Reality” on TV is not reality. Sorry.

While I am in the mode of bursting bubbles, let me also inform you that much of what you heard during the 18 months of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign was not reality either. This is becoming more evident each day as the man who stands behind the bogus, concocted seal of “The Office of the President-Elect” disappoints his loyal supporters with his cabinet choices and broken promises. Just as the viewers of Big Brother, Survivor, Greatest Race and similar shows must sooner or later acknowledge that amateur actors are still actors after all, followers of Mr. Obama will soon realize that politicians are still politicians after all.

The recent appointments to Obama’s cabinet show little change – or at least very little change. What it does show is the harsh realities of leadership as opposed to the fantasies of campaigning. Promises to end the war in the first sixteen months of his administration have now been put on the shelf. As Obama met with President Bush, (who, by the way, stands behind the official Seal of the President for at least the next several weeks) I believe he was introduced to the very real need to finish the liberation of Iraq and to do it with the least amount of disruption as possible.

After shouting about the “failed policies” of Bush during the campaign, Obama now is quietly affirming the fact that perhaps the policy was not so flawed after all. The gains made by Bush and the coalition of like-minded nations by taking the fight against terrorism to those who sanctioned and supported terror was not a failure. It is to Obama’s credit that he has recognized the need to stay the course for now.

Obama’s former disciples from the extreme left have now become his harshest critics. The strident anti-war crowd may be feeling betrayed and dismayed by the appointment of Robert Gates to head the Defense Department and they may even be confused by Obama inviting former rival, Hilary Clinton to lead the State Department. However, they must, sooner or later, realize that harsh pragmatism must take precedence over hasty promises.

One of the most memorable commercials during the heated primary election was the one that pointed out Obama’s inexperience in foreign affairs. The suggestion that some future day, in the wee hours of the morning, the red phone will ring in the White House signaling some dire event on the world stage. It was suggested that a steady hand and an experienced mind must be able to take that call and make the hard decisions for the safety of the little girls and boys sleeping soundly in their beds. Obama will now have the option of having those calls forwarded directly to Hilary’s number.

As we look forward to the administration of the least experienced man to have ever been elected President of the United States, it is at least somewhat comforting to me that he has chosen men and women from former administrations to advise him.

I am encouraged that Obama has already reneged on some of his unrealistic campaign promises. However, I fear that he may soon feel compelled to throw some red meat to those growling critics on the left in the form of a renewed effort to enact the Freedom of Choice bill, which would establish abortion as the law of the land. He could also try to placate the labor unions that campaigned tirelessly for his election by initiating regulations and tax policies that would ultimately force more corporations to relocate overseas.

For now, I am willing to wait and see how Obama reacts to the many crises he will face when the podium he stands behind bears the true seal of the President of the United States of America. The recent attacks in Mumbai, India, and the renewed militaristic stature of Russia prove once again that the Real World is no place for amateurs. It is not enough just to act presidential. After his hand is raised and he takes that famous oath, he must be prepared to lead. And if Obama can’t make those hard decisions himself, he must listen to those who can. That is reality.