Right's Ridicule of Obama 'Cult' Appeal Masks Jealousy

Conservative griping about Barack Obama’s supposed cult of personality is both misplaced and hypocritical, Jonathan Chait writes in the New Republic. Pundits’ case against the Democrat relies on willful misinterpretation of his slogans. “Did you know that McCain’s slogan, ‘Country first,’ could be translated via the Charles Krauthammer method into ‘Country last’? Why does John McCain hate America?” jokes Chait.

It’s understandable why the excitement disturbs Republicans—it’s usually the Democratic candidate who is “respected, but not loved” by his party. This year, that’s John McCain. Likewise, it’s historically the Republicans who deify leaders. “Claiming you’ve been chosen by God to lead the world in a titanic clash of good versus evil,” as Chait recalls President Bush doing, “is pretty much the definition of messianic.” (More Jonathan Chait stories.)