i think ever since i phonebanked and canvassed for obama in 2008, i’ve had a strong affinity for (and recognition of) the president as an Icon™. when he was running, obama’s campaign was wholly built up around two words: hope and change. with them, he inspired folks across america to aspire to something greater.

today, obama still stands as a towering figure for the entire left-liberal-progressive world. he embodies a kitchen sink’s worth of noble abstractions: civility, thoughtfulness (how he so often paused to think before answering questions), dignity, measure, honor, …

obama’s policies as president were far from perfect. he neglected to vigorously address climate change — currently the foremost “ideological concern” among voters. his administration failed to respond to what is probably america’s greatest foreign threat in the its most vulnerable arena: russia in the sphere of cyberterrorism. he struck innocent people overseas to death by drone.

but his iconicity — obama, the man of dignity! — persists. for so many people who are at all inclined to swing left, regardless of the particulars of his successes or failures, obama was a noble leader who took the high road.

to this day, what obama represented still charges his whole party. even now, i think the mantra of “going high” stays the party’s hand in its response to a GOP that has thrown civility out the window — a party whose behavior has become a natural foil to obama’s character.

(do i sometimes wish that harry reid had become an icon of unyielding tactical ruthlessness for the left, instead of the inspiration for the blatant and shameless republican obstructionism of today? hmmm…)

i think this influence, of obama-the-icon, obama-the-dignified, is stronger than any policy he set in place. the human ideals he represented are much greater than the bills he signed.

trump is, of course, an icon, too. despite his administration being incontrovertibly the most incompetent and ineffective in history — and even putting aside that burning stuff to the ground is much easier than building it up — he has had a massive influence on the american right. it hardly needs saying. trump has legitimized innumerable forms of racism, sexism, xenophobia… it’s a feast of bigotry. the radical, alt-right ideas (and behaviors) that trump validates will persist way beyond his wanton and garbage evisceration of immigration and environmental policies.