The Man. The Myth. The Mass Delusion.

From Rebecca Solnit, who should know better:

"Who he is is so much better than we had any right to expect in a country left to the jackals for so long, even if he's just a pretty gifted liberal Democrat with an uncanny ability to see beyond the binaries and describe what might lie there."

Though weary, wary and cynical, I would share Solnit's Hallmark sentiments about Obama had the man's actions as a Congressman, Senator or presidential candidate approximated his rhetoric.

It doesn't.

He speaks eloquently of the need for international diplomacy. Then, for a hardy round of AIPAC applause, rattled the nukes in his pocket. All options are on the table.

He speaks eloquently of accountability and responsibility, but practiced neither when he flatly rejected holding The Bush Administration accountable for its actions, none of which, he asserted, rose (or sunk) to the level of criminality.

He speaks eloquently of fairness and supported a monstrous transfer of wealth in the form of "bailouts" - with no conditions - for his Wall Street backers.

He speaks eloquently of freedom and advocated The Bush Administration's policy of unrestrained, systematic government surveillance on American citizens.

But nevermind all that.

Like the call & response absorbed by the sweltering cotton fields of yesterday's Mississippi Delta, Obama's rhythmic oratory is answered with weepy hallelujas and bold proclamations of change even as the whip falls, again and again.

Obama's uncanny ability isn't the nuance and vision Solnit describes. It's something much simpler: a highly refined talent for performance. Above all else, this is what Americans across the political spectrum have desperately missed for the last eight years: a convincing, well-spoken liar whose mind is as sharp as his teeth.

If that isn't a jackal, I don't know what is.