No, “I, Barack” is not a quote from taking the oath of office, or from anything else. To see what it, you’ll have to read this, my take on the Nobel news.
In Rose Garden remarks accepting the Prize on Friday Obama said he was “deeply humbled.” But, he continued:
Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.
In other words, “it’s not about me.” But wait. Haven’t we heard this before? A quick Google confirms not only that we’ve heard it before, but we’ve heard it almost incessantly. As the Washington Times reported on January 19, the day before Obama’s coronation inauguration:
Mr. Obama spent more than 21 months with that message, insisting in a booming voice from Seattle to St. Petersburg that the election was not about him: “It’s not about me; it’s about you.”
Actually, the Washington Times understated the case. A mere sprinkling of examples:
- February 2008: “This isn’t about me and it’s not about Senator Clinton.”
- After his European appearances before adoring crowds, July 2008: “It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It’s about America. I have just become a symbol….
- In his appearance with Pastor Rich Warren at Saddleback, August 2008: “And you know, I think the process for me of growing up was to recognize that it’s not about me. It’s about…
REV. WARREN: I like that. (Laughter and applause.) I like that.
- Interview with Time, August 2008, when asked about Dems who don’t think he’s tough enough: “I don’t think tha’s just about me. I think they are….”
- January 2009: “This election is not about me. It’s about….”
- Meeting with doctors, nurses, health care workers, July 21, 2009: “‘This isn’t about me,’ Obama said. ‘This isn’t about politics. This is about….’”
- To Glenn Beck, July 23, 2009: “I have the best health care in the world, which is why I say this is not about me.”
- Speech to United Nations, September 2009: “I am well aware of the expectations that accompany my presidency around the world. These expectations are not about me. Rather, they are….”
- George Will on the Obamas’ speeches to the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen: “She, Mrs. Obama, used the first-person singular pronoun in some form or another, “I” or “me” 34 times in sixteen paragraphs. He used it 23 times in thirteen paragraphs. It was all about them.”
Back to the Rose Garden, where the Prize Winner in Chief (but it’s not about him) also said, humbly:
To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize — men and women who’ve inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.
But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women, and all Americans, want to build — a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents. And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action — a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.
When a politician says in virtually every speech, “it’s not about me,” pretty soon people get the idea that he believes it is about him. But that’s not completely fair regarding our Prize Winner, for when He says it’s not about him personally he really does believe it. But what he means is that he’s not a mere person. He’s the “symbol,” the embodiment of “the promise of our founding documents,” of the values and visions not just of Americans (perish the thought!) but the “aspirations held by people in all nations.”
I’ve written about our Narcissist In Chief before (“He increasingly reminds me of the author who, after talking throughout lunch about his own work, turns to his companion over coffee and says, ‘I’ve been talking long enough about myself. Tell me, what do you think of my latest book?’”). But now, even though I like to think of myself as devoted to politeness and civility, I’m so sick of hearing “it’s not about me” ad nauseam that I find myself hoping that at its inexorable next repetition some courageous, truth-telling Joe Wilson will stand up and shout, “Liar!”
