OUR GUY:

Enjoy the History, Ignore the Politics: Why conservatives should be looking forward to the Obama inauguration (Rachael Larimore, Jan. 19, 2009, Slate)

As a conservative, I think I may actually enjoy Barack Obama's inauguration more than my many Obama-supporting friends. I'm not planning a special trip to Washington, D.C., or stocking up on commemorative coins or coffee cups. Throughout the campaign, I considered Obama to be an impressive orator, a compelling candidate, and, as we got closer to November, the likely victor. But, at the end of the day, he was still—in my eyes—just a politician, and, perhaps more distressing to his legions of fans, a human being. My hopes and expectations for Obama, therefore, are much more reasonable, and I will be able to take in the history and the pomp without the accompanying anxiety that Inauguration Day will bring to my more liberal friends.

For years, conservatives liked to mock those who became unhinged in their hatred of President Bush by saying they had Bush Derangement Syndrome. I could see a similar malady developing over the next four years: Obama Disillusionment Syndrome. And I fear that many of the same folks now just recovering from BDS are most at risk for ODS. Is it possible for anyone—even the great Obama—to live up to such heightened expectations?

We've already seen hints of this anxiety.