Probably the latter.
America is desperate for a messiah. Christie Fever would seem a little
more remarkable, for instance, if conservatives hadn’t already
contracted Bachmania, Donalditis, and Restless Perry Syndrome, then cast
aside each of their would-be saviors as soon as he or she showed the
slightest earthly imperfection. Meanwhile, on the left, and in the
center, the very voters who fueled President Obama’s landslide 2008
victory are now awarding him the lowest job-approval ratings of his
career. Christie summed up popular sentiment in his speech. “If you’re
looking for leadership in America,” he said, “you’re not going to find
it in the Oval Office.” Never mind that the administration just
assassinated yet another Al Qaeda kingpin, Anwar al-Awlaki, out-Bushing
Bush and further discrediting the old canard that Democrats can’t
protect America. The belief that there’s someone better out
there—someone who can lead us not into recession, but deliver us from
unemployment—now extends to both sides of the aisle.
Do we suffer from a crisis of leadership, or unrealistic expectations from the electorate?