Back from a local training meeting for Obama volunteers. The room was overflowing with people, all fired up to go out and mobilize voters. This was my first time attending a political meeting, and the first time for many of the people there as well.
I was thinking about the article I wrote regarding the Psychological Challenges and Opportunities of Global Warming, and the difficulty of getting people from being ‘concerned and unmoved‘ to being ‘concerned and moved‘. What is different this time with Obama, that moved me into action? Maybe there is something to be learned here, that can be applied to behavioral environmental srategies.
What made me drive to the local Obama headquarters this morning was my enthusiasm for the man himself. I feel a personal connection with him, his values, and his journey. I respond to his charisma, and his qualities as an extraordinary leader, and uniter of all people. This morning I felt the power of the crowd, of no longer being just one person, but part of something greater, a chance to participate in history.
And I have to agree with Michael Oppenheimer again, that ‘strong leaders can at least create the conditions where attention is paid to a key issue like global warming‘. What I may not be able to accomplish on my own, I may do as a follower of a charismatic leader such as Obama, and as a member of the (environmental) community that he is creating.
This, by the way, does not mean, that I am to wait for Obama to get elected to do my personal share of the fight against global warming.
La Marguerite 
It’s funny, I don’t find Obama charismatic at all. That you do has made me wonder something about “charisma” – perhaps charisma comes not from the charismatic individual, but from the people who desperately want someone to inspire them?
A desperately lonely person may be more likely to fall in love with someone and decide they’re perfect and wonderful; but the person’s of course not perfect and wonderful, and the passion felt for them is more a reflection of the other’s desperation and loneliness than of any qualities the person has.
Could it be that people in desperate situations, oppressed groups, those yearning for change, simply latch onto a vaguely plausible person, and the “charisma” this person has is really just a reflection of their desperation?
Is Obama really a great leader, or do you just really want him to be? Has he in fact united people in any way apart from voting for him? Has he ever moved a group of people towards some common purpose and achieved something concrete? Any pop star can bring a crowd together for a while – but what does the crowd actually do, apart from clap?
You touch on the fascinating subject of what makes people decide for a candidate. While there may be some truth in what you write, I can only speak for what I am experiencing here in my part of America, and the kind of response that this one man is bringing up in me, and many other people. Are we hungry for a leader, someone who can help guide us all as a nation out of the mess we are in? Are we ready to resonate with the savior/hero archetype? Absolutely.
In my view, there is something about Obama that is great and that is not merely in the eye of the beholder. And, it is, in many cases, rooted in his views and policies. It’s not just, or even mainly, in his voice or appearance or whatever. Clearly, Marguerite is not the only person who feels it. Many (millions) of people seem to be feeling it too. I feel it.
Sometimes, certain people can (genuinely) express what millions of others are feeling. In the 60s (but even today), this was said about Bob Dylan. Earlier examples: Abraham Lincoln. Martin Luther King Jr. Thomas Paine. And so forth. Certainly, only history will tell what actually happens. But, Obama is saying things (as far as I can tell, genuinely) that resonate with what many people are feeling these days.
Also, Obama seems to “get” the vital importance of global warming (which is vitally important), which brings us back to the topic at hand.
I do think that leadership is a very vital part of our response to climate change. People are, of course, very social beings. And, I think it shows great leadership (and courage) to start a blog like this and to try to improve things through participation in politics. Go for it, Marguerite!
I think it’s important to be able to distinguish between the two, though. After all, you don’t want to spend all that effort electing or promoting someone if all he offers is warm fuzzies. You can get them from anyone. You want constructive action.
Has he in his life shown an ability to bring people together for constructive action with tangible results?
If you read his autobiography, you will see that he has indeed an amazing ability to mobilize people for social change.
clearly all elected official have warmed and fuzzed enough people’s thinking, and look at how fussed we all are.
so, what is novel about Obama is the fact that he can assemble so many in a new direction.
he may have much to learn, but he is willing to do so. which is not the case in most candidates…no comparison needed here.
i would totally discount charisma, in fact doubt it a priori. it is the strength of idealism which inspires me to stand and dare to hope one more time.
Also judgement. And vision. And a dream shared by many.
We’ll see about Obama’s new direction. I’m just cynical because we had our own “charismatic, uniting” leader we elected, and it turned out his only idea was to get himself elected, after that he’s been a bit lost.
Personally, I agree with this Onion article, you should re-elect Jimmy Carter. He was aiming for mid-East peace and asking Americans to stop using all that oil in 1975. You’d have a different country now if you’d given him another term 😉