Obama's Problem

I've just figured out why Barack Obama has a tough time maintaining an emotional rapport with ordinary Americans.

And, no, it's not because Obama is black. After all, Oprah Winfrey is black; and I challenge you to name anyone who has had more success at connecting with, inspiring, and motivating the American masses.

Nor is it because of Obama's elite educational background. After all, both John and Robert Kennedy had Harvard degrees; yet both were able to bask in the passionate adoration of tens of millions of admirers.

No, my friends, Barack Obama's problem is that he is an introvert in a nation that prefers extroverts. Which means that, among other things:

• He's a thoughtful man in a country that favors men of action.

• He's a private man in a nation that admires people who let it all hang out in Facebook or Twitter – or who act out shamelessly on reality TV shows.

• He's a compromiser in a nation that admires tough guys who won't back down from a fight – no matter how destructive the fight turns out to be.

So, Mr. President, don't expect the love of the American people just because your policies helped keep an inherited economic catastrophe from becoming unspeakably worse ... or because you ended a bloody and costly war that your predecessor launched by attacking a nation which hadn't attacked us ... or because you overcame overwhelming odds to take out the mastermind – plus most of top leadership – of an organization that actually had attacked us, and continued to threaten us ... or because you successfully led the country to take its first step, however tentative, toward the universal health care that virtually every other developed country enjoys.

Because, frankly, Mr. President, the country will never love you for calm, quiet, thoughtful, productive leadership. Mr. President, if you really want to enjoy the adulation of the American people, cast aside your introversion, have a few beers, slap a few backs, do something impetuous, blurt out something stupid, and learn to be a regular guy!