For Obama, four different transitions; "We" now means the United States of America

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN: November 8, 2008
For Obama, four different transitions
From CNN Contributor Bob Greene

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN)– For President-elect Barack Obama, there are four transitions going on at once. If you listened closely, you could hear each of them touched upon at his press conference here as the week ended. The first transition is the traditional one – the changeover from an old administration to a new one....But it is the other three transitions – the ones specific to Obama – that carry the most potential fascination.

There is the transition from Obama, the candidate whom the world had gotten to know during the campaign, to Obama, the man who will be president of the United States. The same human being fills both roles. But there is – there has to be – at least the slightest tonal difference....

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“This morning we woke up to more sobering news about the state of our economy.” It was the “we” that made the difference. The “we” – had he spoken the same sentence a week earlier – might have been construed as referring to his campaign, or his supporters. A week ago, he spoke only for them. But at his first news conference as president-elect, the “we” implicitly referred to the United States of America. Even before Inauguration Day, Obama is speaking for the nation. For every day of his presidency, the word “we” will be all-inclusive.

The next transition is the one Americans themselves will undergo, as they gradually make the adjustment to who Obama now is....(T)he very sight and feel of Friday's internationally televised formal press conference was a reminder of just how much has been altered, and how quickly.

Then there is the transition that Obama, and Chicago, will be going through. The city is taking great pride in the fact that, for the first time in its history, one of its citizens has been elected president. But the inevitable separation has already begun. Obama has lived in a number of places during his life, and Chicago is only one of them. He will soon enough be from here, but not of here. He's leaving – for how long, no one can be certain....

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/08/greene-for-obama-four-different-transitions/#more-29859