Does This Remind You Of Something?

When I was in High School (shortly after when dinosaurs walked the earth) there were groups of cliques.

All the boys fit into one or the other. There were the “jocks” who were the guys on the various sports teams. There were “greasers” who were the guys who were stuck in the aura of the tough guy juvenile delinquent of the 50’s. There were the “nerds” who were all about being good students. And there were the hippies who represented the free thinking counter culture. And each group had its stars. The jock who was the quarterback of the football team. The greaser who was the good looking gang leader. The nerd had the kid who knew all the answers and who everyone knew was going places and the hippies had the guy who played lead guitar in the most popular band.

With the girls – it was simpler. They were judged on their appearance. At the bottom you had the “dogs.” Then came the “not bads”. Then the “pretty goods” and there was always those one or two who were so smoking hot they were “untouchable.” They were usually the “mean girls” who knew all the guys wanted them but wouldn’t dare approach them. They were only interested in college guys. And all the other girls wished they were as pretty.

It was all very Darwin-esque. Everyone wanted to be as high as they could get on that totem pole of popularity, though kids from one group could jump a notch up now and then. The tough guy wannabe could be a faithful minion to the gangleader. The guy with long hair who liked music might be able to hang out with the leader of the popular band. A “dog” might have a few friends who were ”not bads” – a “not bad” could have some ”pretty good looking” friends and a “pretty good looking” girl might be accepted by one of the hot mean girls. But no one – ever – elevated more than a single prong. And if someone managed to get promoted to a higher group, it wasn’t surprising to dump their lower tier friends. The distinctions were clear. It’s how we established our status at a time when one’s development was still in the formative stages.

When that’s all you have – that’s what you go with.

But we’re all grown up now. Well, most of us are.

Yesterday, I saw the most blatant example of a reunion of one of the cool kids and it was quickly apparent that everyone wanted to be in his presence. And the residing “gang leader” was suddenly, glaringly, obviously not in the same league. I’m talking about Obama’s return to the White House.

For better or worse, Obama has charisma. I personally felt that he was welcome change after the inarticulate George Bush, but by the end of his reign it was clear that he could depend solely on his charm and personality to win over the public. Once you’re an alpha – once you’re king of the hill – once you’re established as a “cool kid” that very status is enough to keep you there.

This was most evident yesterday with Kamala Harris. She was a “not bad” who got elevated to the “pretty good” group when she was appointed the Vice Presidency. But when Obama walked into the room, she had a chance to hang out with one of the really cool kids. And Obama played it to a tee.

In a way, Obama really is like a “mean girl.” And yesterday, he was eating it up, basking in the adulation. The king of the prom has returned to bestow his presence among his flock of toadies. And he wanted nothing to do with Biden, who is so obviously beneath him. Obama is popular and he knows it. And he’s popular for no other reason other than he’s popular. And he knows it.

And Biden is a loser. Nobody wants to hang out with him. And he knows it.

And now, so does everyone else. Even the people who support him. All the foreign leaders who look toward the United States to see how his leadership is viewed could see it in glaringly conspicuous terms. There’s no hiding it. There’s no pretending. Nobody takes Biden seriously. And all it took was one of the really cool kids to show him up.

Because in politics today, that’s what matters most. And among a party who’s policies have proven themselves to be abject failures along with broken promises, rampant corruption, overt hypocrisy, empty rhetoric and a disconnect with reality over its misguided ideology… it’s no surprise that they’d fuss over the coolest kid in the room.

When that’s all you have – that’s what you go with.