From Hubris to Nemesis

Last night I watched the President deliver a speech from the Oval Office (twice through, I might add) and I felt that strange feeling that makes you ask, "Are we in the Twilight Zone, or what?" Am I the only one on the planet that thinks that this man takes himself a little too seriously? Aren't addresses from the Oval Office supposed to be moments of somber remembrance and dire news? I think that when past Presidents used this it was about a national tragedy(9/11) or the announcement of sending out troops to deal with some serious situation(The Gulf War, Iraq). And while this is a serious situation in our own Gulf Coast, really the only person who is being most greatly effected by this situation is apparently Barack Obama. Is he really not able to see whether this was a proper time to use the Oval Office as a vehicle for this speech or not? For those of you keeping track, this would be the 468th time my Cynical Meter just plain went haywire and gave up the ghost! The only thing missing in last night's speech was an apology. The one time the man can actually do some good with an apology, and he cynically uses his Office and a real national crisis as an opportunity to push new legislation. The Greeks had a word for this:
Hubris |ˈ(h)yoōbris|
nounexcessive pride or self-confidence.• (in Greek tragedy) excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.


Hubris was the ultimate sin in ancient Greece. It was considered the worst thing you could possibly be guilty of, an arrogance that led to a public outcry for justice to be done upon the man. 


Obama used a national tragedy to boost his own agenda, and then what did he do? He invoked the name of God in cynical agnostic fashion, mocking those with a need for God's real mercy and strength in this time of difficulty for them. Obama uses even God in his manipulative missive to sway those weakened by weariness in this prolonged test of their faith and will. For me, that was the moment he finally stepped over the line. To have kept people of faith at arm's length and ignored their days of prayer for his welfare, and then to invoke their Deity when it suits him for political points in a speech was the very moment when Obama moved from Hubris to Nemesis, and all by his own choosing.
nemesis |ˈneməsis|noun ( pl. -ses |-ˌsēz|) (usu. one's nemesis)the inescapable or implacable agent of someone's or something'sdownfall : the balance beam was the team's nemesis, as two gymnasts fell fromthe apparatus.• a downfall caused by such an agent : one risks nemesis by uttering such words.
Nemesis |ˈneməsis| |ˈnɛmɪsɪs| |ˈnɛməsɪs| Greek Mythologya goddess usually portrayed as the agent of divine punishment for wrongdoing or presumption (hubris).