The Johnny Denovo Mysteries

President Barack Obama is an eloquent leader, capable of wielding a compelling metaphor to make a point. His journey to his Inauguration, taking a train from Pennsylvania to Washington, DC, was a metaphorical linkage to Abraham Lincoln.

The “journey” is a powerful conceptual metaphor, as in “life is a journey” and “love is a journey.” The word itself is used by President Obama quite often in his speeches.

But he introduces the concept subtly, but distinctly, in other ways. In a debate, the word Obama used most often was “going,” a nice way to suggest a journey without laying on the metaphor too thick.

Is President Obama himself a metaphor? He was compared to a baby seal and Santa Claus during the election campaign. Is he a metaphor for change? For hope? To some, he certainly is one or both.

Time will tell whether Obama becomes a metaphor, as President Reagan has become to some extent for the Republican party. But be careful — while a metaphor can seem powerful, it is also fixed. President Obama has the chance to reinvent himself and adapt as long as he resists becoming a metaphor for anything.