Yes We Did... What?

I started writing this entry on the 2:55 p.m. outbound train from Chicago to Joliet. I was two stops away from New Lenox when a mother and a daughter sat down on the seat paralleling mine. Train chugs along, Band of Horses is playing through my headphones, and everything is fine and dandy. I glance over at the happy little pair and notice the daughter, probably no more than five or six, is flipping through today's Chicago Sun Times. Good, I think to myself, this country needs more intellectuals! 

Train moves along a little more and I'm switching from Band of Horses to some good old As Tall As Lions. Music's paused when I hear, in song, "Baraaaaack Obamaaaaaa and Sashaaaaa and Maliaaaaa all livin' in the Whiiiiite Housseee!" And that is definitely not coming from my iPod. I look over, and little girl's eyes are locked on a picture of the newly elected & co. Momma pats her darling daughter on the head. 

"You lettem' hear it, child!" she exclaims rather loudly. 

"Baraaaaack and Michelleee, great peopleeee!" little girl sings louder. "Barack and Michelleyyyy!"

I roll my eyes, both annoyed and intrigued because I know I will end up blogging about this incident later. I try to sneak a picture on my phone-- no luck. Momma shoots me a look that says, "I wouldn't do that if I were you," and I cower, placing my phone back in my purse. I think about telling them I am a prospective journalist from Columbia College Chicago (not necessarily a lie) but decide against it.

Ten minutes later I exit the train. I am still thinking about little girl and Momma as I trek across the pavement to parking spot 902. It reminds me of earlier this morning when I was on my way to Dunkin Donuts for my mid-morning hot-chocolate. I found myself at the intersection of State Street and Congress Parkway staring completely aghast at a new business that was boldly named Obama's Hair Design.

I didn't know whether to laugh or take a picture. I opted for laughing because I was, after all, in the middle of an intersection with cars headed at me from two different directions. Although I didn't get the picture, I did find one online (apparently I am not the only one in Chicago who finds a salon named Obama's Hair Design completely ridiculous). 

Okay, so I'll stop the storytelling and get to the point. As a journalism student, I've probably seen more papers, magazines, broadcast programs, and brochures with Obama's face plastered on the front than most people. In November, understandable. December, fine. January, alright, I'll deal with it and just hope it goes away soon. But at the end of February? Fucking ridiculous. It's a marketing scheme. Obama sells papers, I get it. But honestly, how much news is there about him? How many times can someone pull the race story? What has the man done so far in order to get a hair salon named after himself?

Before he was elected, I saw the shirts: "Yes We Can!" and I'll be openminded. Support your candidate-- I get that. After the election, I saw the "Yes We Did!" shirts. Well, YWD shirt-wearers, let me ask you this: yes we did... what? Get elected? That happens to someone every four years, people. It's not shirt-worthy. Again, I ask, why do we have places in Chicago named Obama's Hair Design? Why are little girls on trains singing about him? What has he done so far aside from push a 787 billion dollar stimulus bill and scream "hope" at the top of his lungs (only to later rather solemnly describe the current economy)?

I'm not bashing the prez. I'm not saying I don't support the man and hope everything turns out for the best for him and for the U.S. I'm just stating a simple fact that everyone's been seemingly overlooking since inauguration. It's hype. It's pop-culture. And until I see some improvements, I'm not wearing any t-shirts.