So... the Expectations about a certain incoming US President make the Great ones of Charles Dickens fame seem positively minor. They are, of course, impossible to attain and even before the honeymoon period has begun there's a somewhat unnerving reminder of Tony Blair's trumphant, landscape-changing arrival in Downing Street in 1997 to the tune of 'Things Can Only Get Better...' and bluebirds swooping from tree to tree with garlands of flowers (only, of course, the US version has a better-looking leading man, a cooler soundtrack and a higher budget). And we all know how long that sense of euphoria lasted.
Obama is not the messiah, but just a very chasimatic presence following a very naughty boy. (...and inheriting more cock-ups, ball-dropping, empty pockets and fubars than probably any incoming leader in living memory).
But let's not put a damper on it. Tues 20th January 2009 IS an important day in history (and surely must be an improvement on the eight years of prehistoric rhetoric and lack of accountability) - hopefully for all the right reasons. And, yes, if I was over there, I'd be waving a tiny flag and taking part in the Obamaramathonapalooza as much as the next guy and I'd mean it.
Whether it's a touch of much-needed colour to the White House or an audacity of hype, at this point it's still God Bless America, or God help us all.
