I was reminded by Mark Steyn of Leni Riefenstahl‘s propagandistic masterpiece of 1934, Triumph of the Will. Fräulein Riefenstahl made a media star of Adolf Hitler, and in so doing showed the way for the image-makers who have since given us the likes of John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Shallow men all, with images that glowed until the mask was ripped off.
Triumph of the Will reminds me especially of Obama. See it for yourself, here. A segment that begins around 32:00 praises Hitler’s “shovel ready” projects. A segment that begins around 42:00 looks like a preview of the mob hysteria that surrounded Obama’s first inaugural in 2009.
Can a Third Reich happen here? In many respects, it has happened here, though in slow motion, over a span of more than 100 years. Teddy Roosevelt was the first imperial president, but not the most imperious. FDR trumped TR, but FDR had nothing on BHO.
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Related posts:
FDR and Fascism
An FDR Reader
Fascism with a “Friendly” Face
Penalizing “Thought Crimes”
Tocqueville’s Prescience
Invoking Hitler
Don’t Use the “S” Word When the “F” Word Will Do
The Barbarians Within and the State of the Union
Presidential Treason
“A Date Which Will Live in Infamy”
The Criminality and Psychopathy of Statism
Walking the Tightrope Reluctantly
Politics and Prosperity 
Good post! Hitler was the original “rock star,” which says a lot not only about politics but “entertainment” in general. In recent decades both politicians and celebrities have learned to ape the Nazi spectacle. New technology aside, I don’t think anyone has really surpassed the sinister artistry of Riefenstahl or Speer in creating a quasi-religious “messianic” cult experience for a celebrity.
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