The annals of history are the judge

As a young college student, this recent campaign has been abnormally pertinent for me. Not in the sense that there have issues debated which directly affect my way of life, or anything like that. Rather, I have been the target of a specific form of advertising from the Obama campaign. Never before have I seen or heard young people so universally entranced by one candidate. Now, it may be that I just wasn't paying attention in past campaigns, although I do not think that John Kerry or Al Gore provoked any sort of youth rally. The Obama campaign has actually been able to commercialize a politician. It is fashionable to wear an Obama t-shirt or button. I've seen Obama apparel sold in stores at the mall, right alongside Batman posters and Led Zeppelin shirts. I feel like I have not been asked to vote for Obama. Instead, I have been marketed to. That is one thing that bothers me about Obama. I am certain that the man himself would be misrepresented were I to vote based upon the commercialzation. But I cannot help but feel that a vote for Obama would be a vote for a brand. That's essentially what his campaign has turned him into, a brand. When I think of the Obama campaign, the first thing I think of is my peers, all of whom have, in some cases literally, bought into his message. It is more or less assumed that any person my age and in my position would support Mr. Obama, which I find increasingly curious. The Obama campaign really is a fad. That is not to say that all of his supporters are insincere, for I am sure that many of them are. But, I think that many students my age have bought what Obama is selling, so to speak. Reasons I have heard for supporting him are merely parroted from Obama's slogans: He stands for change, he'll clean up the messes that Bush has left. But what does that mean? It's easy to look politically informed without actually knowing what a politician stands for. Indeed, it is easy for a politician to campaign successfully without really disclosing what he truly stands for. I think that many students will become disenchanted with Mr. Obama when the going gets tough. Obama will no doubt have a soaring thrust of popularity for the first few months of his presidency, maybe the first few years. Many will no doubt frantically hold on to the promises of change that were made, regardless of what Mr. Obama actually does. But in the end, I think that many of Obama's young supporters will regret their decision to support him. Let us remind ourselves that many of our greatest leaders have been extremely unpopular, and many still are today. Doing the right thing is not always popular. At this moment in time, defending human life is not the most popular thing to do. But people still do it. No matter what people say about President Bush, he has stuck to his guns. I admire that. He has faced incredible and unwarranted opposition from the rest of the world and from his own countrymen, but he has kept going. I could care less what today's political commentators say about George W. Bush and Barack Obama. I place a much higher value upon what people will say about them twenty years from now. That is the telling factor. See you in 2028.