Obama and Clinton & Apollo and Jupiter (with thanks to Bob Dylan)

Changing of the Guards is a Bob Dylan song from the late 1970s. It’s not widely known or performed much anymore, but it seems appropriate for our current time. The opening line is “Sixteen years”. The rest of the song is a stream of consciousness in richly drawn images. But the messages resonate now--powerfully--as we plod along in the process of choosing a president.

(here are the full lyrics)

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+dylan/changing+of+the+guard_20166482.html

When I heard the song recently that opening line made me think about the back-to-back, two-term, presidencies of the first Clinton and the second Bush. It has been 16 years of polarized politics and mean-spirited mayhem, at our expense. While the Bush failures and destructive policies are unprecedented, Bill Clinton—and now Hilary—focus on the negative, with too much delight. Barack Obama’s early success grew from his ability to inspire something better in people. John McCain, in his own way, at least offers the hope of more civility in government. Yet there is an abiding feeling, reflected in the success of attack politics, that a positive focus and failing to “go negative” equal weakness. The flawed reasoning goes something like this: “If (s)he is not tough enough to deal with negative ads, how can he stand up to tyrants?”

In the middle of Changing of the Guards there is the line, “She was torn between Jupiter and Apollo”. Jupiter represents the most powerful chief of the Roman gods. Apollo is the artistic, musical, poetic deity, with the ability to function as a healer. As a nation we must not be afraid to encourage the “Apollos” of the world to step up and lead. But when we are afraid, Jupiter becomes the dominant model of leadership; power, the story goes, is needed to confront power. Remembering President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s warning, that fear itself is what we must fear most, Apollo should be our leadership model at this critical moment in history. Right now, Barack Obama best represents these ideals.

Obama must not be afraid, as he is forced to defend himself against charges of elitism. Instead he ought to fearlessly face the fact that his greatest test will be building a government that will inspire trust and respect, both of which have been damaged during the last 16 years. Obama’s strategic vision and actual plans for how this government will operate should be revealed right away, with as much detail as possible. Rather than simply a list of policy initiatives, Obama ought to tell us, today, the way things will really work if he is elected. With little executive experience, this is particularly critical for the senator from Illinois. Share an honest plan that will include a sense of each cabinet member’s role, rich with examples and metaphors that will help us understand how a President Obama would govern. And don’t be afraid to share ideas about specific personnel. If this is done well, it will serve as a compelling piece of the puzzle that voters will have to solve as they choose between Jupiter and Apollo in the months between now and November.

Hilary Clinton has been a remarkable campaigner, winning important primaries and prolonging the race. Much has been already written about the cost of the enmity created and the negativism used to keep her campaign alive. And the comparisons of the charismatic male in whose shadow she worked as first lady, to the charismatic candidate she now opposes, are meaningful but overstated. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama should never be confused with each other. Hilary and Bill share many qualities and seem more alike than different, at least in style if not speaking ability; Hilary and Barack would bring complementary qualities to a ticket or government. When Barack creates his blueprint, maybe Hilary should be penciled in as attorney general or the first to fill a Supreme Court vacancy. Again, don’t be afraid; use the best and brightest our county has to offer, a category in which Sen. Clinton clearly belongs.

We are reminded, as we write, that our focus and interests are more communication and culture, rather than politics and government. The media, new and old, would be well-served by finding new metaphors for the campaign and the future of the country. Our demographically driven, map focused realities are critical to understanding, but offer only one dimension. To place our future in new contexts—some of them even ancient, like mythology—will serve all of us by bringing needed insight and clarity to the task of choosing the next president. Unless we see in new, creative ways, we will be stuck in the divisive and destructive politics of the last 16 years.