Barack Obama is a politician.

Which I say not merely to express the “bleedin’ obvious”, but to express ‘He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!’

Also, I do not say it as a criticism – what else would we expect a candidate for elected office to be? Yet clearly the language being used by some about this election is a language that has its home in the religious realm and, like it or not, messianic hopes are being invested in Obama. One question: has he colluded in this?

In his autobiography Obama writes “It was usually an effective tactic, another one of those tricks I had learned: People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. They were more than satisfied; they were relieved – such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn’t seem angry all the time.”

What this describes is someone who is very aware of the impact that he has; of the psychological dynamics in play; in particular, of the way in which projection can function. This has been a hallmark of his campaign – the preservation of an ambiguous but non-angry persona onto which all manner of quasi-religious longings can be placed.

I do not blame Obama for this. As I say, he is a politician, and he has done what he needed to do in order to be elected. However, having raised these hopes and allowed them to be invested in himself he will carry the burden of either realising them (which would be miraculous) or accepting the consequences of failure.

The election having happened, the results conclusively in, I’m hoping that a temperate conversation might be possible on US politics. I’m going to break up my thoughts into six or seven shorter posts as I don’t have the time to gather all the threads together right this second!

Let’s begin with the joy: two major reasons for being high on emotion at this time.

The first is that the Bush administration is now entering into history. Reportage from the United States rather reminds me of the feeling in the UK on the morning in 1997 when Blair was elected – strangers smiling at each other in the streets, that sort of thing. It was clearly past time to turn the page. So that is good.

The second thing is the shattering of a glass ceiling. Purely by the presence of a black family in the White House some measure of healing will come to the United States, and to the US vis-a-vis other nations in the world. That is a wonderful thing – but as I accept MLK’s teaching on the subject I shall not again make reference to race in these posts.

There is also one other positive thing to emphasise: at this moment it is still possible to hope. Hope may be a virtue but it can be strengthened or inhibited by wider factors, and when those wider factors are favourable the upsurge in hope can itself be something that strengthens a community and gives it the capacity to function more effectively.

One last sad thought: there are clearly some raving idiots out there, who might wish to do the new President physical harm. All Christians should pray for the safety of Obama and his family, fervently.