Two Firsts, Two Disappointments
For of all sad words of tongue and pen,
The saddest are these, “It might have been.”
– John Greenleaf Whittier
Remember how proud Catholics were when JFK became the first Catholic president in 1960 — and how disgusted many were later when he turned out to be a left-leaning, womanizing, incompetent egotist?
Remember how proud black — and white — Americans felt when Obama became the first black president? He really could have been a postracial unifier, a symbol of all that’s great about this land of opportunity. But no, just like Kennedy, he was absorbed only with himself, and the country be damned.
What an opportunity squandered!
The symbolic value of Barack Obama’s election is hard to overstate, and the jubilation of black Americans well warranted. But, being the first this or that can be a millstone as well as a milestone, and jubilation turn to disgust and disgrace.
