"Andy Warhol said we all get our 15 minutes of fame," [quipped Barack Obama in February 2005]. "I've already had an hour and a half. I mean, I'm so overexposed, I'm making Paris Hilton look like a recluse."
In a related story, John Rosenthal wonders who paid for the rock-star speech in Berlin of Obama the "private citizen", pointing out that at best, "Germany involved itself in an American election campaign, thus violating a core principal of international law. At worst, by providing Obama the campaign "platform" and perhaps direct or indirect subsidies as well, Germany violated not only international law, but American law too.": If such a payment was indeed required, then, it would clearly have been paid not by Obama the "private person," but rather by the Obama campaign. If, on the other hand, no payment was required or the Berlin city government required payment less than that it would normally demand,Update: More news from Obama's past…then matters are even more serious: since this would amount to an illegal campaign contribution from a foreign source. Who paid, moreover, for setting up the stage? Who paid for the rock and reggae bands that "opened the show" before the "headliner" arrived? We know, at any rate, who paid for security: namely, the city of Berlin and hence, ultimately, German taxpayers. A special police deployment, reported to number some 700 officers, was assigned to the task. This treatment as well -- the sort that is ordinarily reserved for foreign heads of state or government -- constitutes a serious violation of the customary diplomatic protocols governing the relations among states.
Returning to the three-year-old-plus Washington Post story, incidentally, also interesting are Mark Leibovich's following paragraphs:
One of the keys to being well liked in Washington is to appear humble, which is why Washington is so full of people who are so unhumble when it comes to touting how humble they are. All of this comes naturally to Obama.Read also the sentence about "the senator who is 99th in seniority", "No trips to New Hampshire or Iowa, either, for what it's worth", as well as Tom Daschle's recommendations, such as:
His signature quality is the ease with which he inhabits his charisma. Nothing about him conveys "trying too hard," as one might sense with a John Kerry, who often appears to be burning 500 calories for every hand he shakes. When he works a room, there is no clench to Obama's perma-smile or detectable strain to his small talk. He projects effortlessly, whether being earnest, wonkish or sheepish, and as with so many "likable pols," he applies self-deprecation as a favorite balm against any prima donna conceit.
…It's hard enough being a new senator: so many rules to learn, rooms to find, staffers to hire. But Obama's arrival packs the added bother of ridiculous expectations -- in addition to the absurdity of signing autographs for the security guard wanding him at the airport, or being asked during a press conference about his "place in history." (This question came the day before Obama was sworn in.) "I don't think I have a place in history yet," Obama replied. "I got elected to the U.S. Senate. I haven't done anything yet."
"You want to make everyone aware that you're a workhorse." As opposed to a "show horse," the likes of whom are inevitably pegged and resented within the chamber.
