So I am listening to some music last night - the London soundtrack of Evita, and it hits me. I've been all wrong! I've been comparing the Obamaphenom to the Nuremberg Rallies and while there is still a lot of truth to the stagecraft over substance and robotic reaction from the masses, the deification of the central character was missing. I mean the crowds loved Hitler and all, and they were certain the trains would run on time AND they would get to go kick some Frenchy ass and all that...but they didn't think he could cure the sick. BUT, Evita...the "Santa Peronista!" Hell, she could solve all the country's ills and cure the children. Just like Barry O! Compare and contrast these two images:
No that's NOT Hillary in the second one, stop it! That's Eva Duarte Peron. And she could really wow a crowd with some stem-winder speeches. She promised her "descamisados," or "shirtless ones" the world. And they bought that pap. It worked well for her and her fascist husband, Juan Domingo Peron.
Come to think of it, maybe Obama IS Evita ("Little Eva") reincarnated in a sexually and racially negative fashion. (I mean negative like old fashioned film where the black was white and the...oh, come on, you get it.) That would make Michelle Obama...Peron? Could be. Certainly in the Peron's case, Juan was the idealist who really believed that with a little military control things could run better. Eva just wanted the adulation and the money. Look at the parallels between these two:
1. Childhood: Eva came from a pretty mixed up family with a biological father that abandoned them because the mother was not "of class." Barry came from a pretty mixed up family with a biological father that abandoned them because the mother was not of...
2. Early years: Eva grew up in the provincial town of Junin. At the age of 16, she moved to Buenos Aires, the capital, because that was where the action was. Early reports of her childhood point to a promiscuity with sex and alcohol. Barry grew up in the provincial state of Hawaii. Eventually moved to Chicago, because that was where the action was (for community organizers at least). Early reports of his childhood point to a pormiscuity with drugs and alcohol.
3. Early rise: After getting her "class creds" by marrying Juan Peron, Eva became head of the broadcasters union, a job she was totally unqualified for. She started a daily program titled "Toward a Better Future" where she used ordinary language to communicate to the working class women of Argentina. The themes of "hope" and "promise for the future" were common in these shows. After getting his "race creds" by joining Reverend Wright's congregation, Barry became a state senator and then a US Senator, jobs he was totally unqualified for. He gave a speech at the Democratic Convention in 2004 as a candidate for US Senate, titled "The Audacity of Hope."
4. European Tour: In 1947, Evita embarked on a tour of Europe meeting with several heads of state and wowing the crowds along the way. Ironically, it was called the "Rainbow Tour." In 2008, Obama embarked on a tour of Europe (throw in the Middle East and Afghanistan, thanks to faster airliners) meeting with several heads of state and wowing the crowds along the way.
Well, you get the picture...now look at these two pictures:
Dangit, I get confused, which is which? Oh, the top one is the "now famous" speech in Berlin. The second one is Eva outside the Casa Rosada (Argentina's version of the White House) greeting adoring crowds. One thing is for sure though, the Perons could REALLY raise a crowd. It's been reported (a lot!) that there were 200,000 for the Berlin show...try 2,000,000 for a rally in Buenos Aires:
Well, I don't put much credence in head count. As the poet Robert Penn Warren brilliantly observed "truth don't lie in the number of voices." When Reagan gave his famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate, there were 10,000 riot control police there because the Germans hated him. He was, after all a "nuclear cowboy" bent on the destruction of the world! But his speech had real impact. Barry O's performance is little more than Chinese food...tastes good, but doesn't stay with you.
I am particularly wary of personality cults. Michelle, take note...this from Wikipedia on Eva's promotion of her husband:
Evita also sought to create a personality cult around her husband, whom she elevated to nearly divine status, often comparing him to Christ and saying that all Peronists must be ready to die for Perón. Fraser and Navarro say that this apotheosis was what ultimately corrupted Perón and debased the Peronist movement. In light of Evita's often verbose praise for her husband, the slightest criticism of Juan Perón was easily interpreted as unpatriotic. Evita even stated explicitly that only the Peronists were truly Argentine, and anyone who was anti-Peronist was not truly Argentine.
"Perón is the heart, the soul, the nerve, and the reality of the Argentine people. We all know that there is only one man in our movement with his own source of light. We all feed off of that light. And that man is Perón!" — 1951 speech by Eva Perón
M.O. - you have got some catching up to do!
So, in the end, what happened to the Perons? Eva set up a private "foundation" to "take care of the poor children." No records were kept, but millions of pesos ended up in Peronista Swiss Bank accounts. She fought a gritty battle with cancer and lost. Juan ended up being hounded from office as the country decended into anarchy before the military took over. Pretty much what happens throughout history when you get cult followings of a person who's primary purpose in life is self-aggrandizement.
We don't know how this train ride is going to turn out, but one has to study the Obama entourage carefully...who will be the Che? Remember, Che was an Argentine! His association with the Perons was passing...he wanted the Evita Foundation to buy him a jeep for his "research." They apparently turned his request down. But myths are made from cults and as the musical "Evita" implies, Che and Eva were close and his disgust with how the reality differed from the ideal resulted in his moving on to friendlier venues like Cuba. Could it be the newly bearded Bill Richardson??
Well, they have to win first.
Rumble on!