No Offense, But I Don't Like Despots, or Wives Who Drive Them

I'm not enthusiastic about politicians who tell me what to do, or who set the standards by which I live my life. Perhaps that has made me a little sensitive to the language of despotism.

It does seem, though, that Mrs. Obama has made too much news recently using language that inspires concern. Nearly everyone with an opinion has commented on her statement denying pride in her country. Not as many have noticed this

Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.

Require? Demand? Never allow?

Uninvolved, uninformed?

Have we ever faced a presidential campaign where anyone close to the candidate used similar language to describe his expectations of the American people?

Those are the words of a despot and on their face seem to describe the thinking of a tyrant. They also paint a picture of arrogance on a scale with which I am uncomfortable.

Which candidates in a democracy have ever made similar comments? I can think of none, at least none where democracy lasted