Hold the Applause

I am grateful that Obama was elected, and really, really grateful than McCain-Palin were not, but let's not get into canonization yet. One of the things every achiever has to learn is not to read his own press clippings too worshipfully. Just because somebody named a mountain after him doesn't mean that he has achieved anything as President - he isn't President yet. Public adulation can be more corrosive than public scorn.

Bush was undone by stupidity, hubris and vanity, and Clinton was undone by hubris and vanity despite high intelligence. So far, Obama looks resistant to those vices, but he needs to be careful. He should make sure there is someone on his staff to whisper memento homo . . . in his ear.

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