I suspect that the royalist overtones of the Obama campaign are quite intentional. Given recent history, what is an ambitious young politician to think when American politics for the past twenty years has been dominated by two rival houses who see politics as the family business, namely the House of Bush and the House of Clinton? For that matter, look at the power of the House of Daley in Chicago. Or the House of Taft in Ohio, or the House of Brown in California, the House of Sununu in New Hampshire, or the House of Gore in Tennessee…

As much as I dislike how the Obama campaign has become a cult of personality, the royalism of his campaign complete with a wreath of light around his head is probably perceived to be necessary by the Obama campaign given America’s attachment to the culture of celebrity. In contrast, John McCain can come across as downright Cromwellian with his genuine desire to be seen as he is, “warts and all”.