Eclipse

Went down to the beach first thing this morning. There was a solar eclipse in progress. The local TV station had their cameras whirring. People were taking pictures on their cell phones. Others were meditating; some went for an auspicious swim. At home, my wife and her mother were watching it on TV.

Down here in Chennai, of course, it was only a partial eclipse. It didn't even get dark. The real thing happened up north in Varanasi where the Buddha once sat under the Peepal Tree.

They say the alignment of stars and planets is particularly bad this time around. The last time it happened like this was just before the Second World War started. In addition, some of the newspapers are predicting the end of the world this coming Thursday.

If we survive, the next eclipse - similar to this one - is scheduled to occur in approximately a hundred years. Who knows what our politicians will have cooked up by then?

Maybe Obama too is starting to get bad vibes. A Republican senator proclaims publicly that if we should succeed in stopping Healthcare Reform (Health Insurance Reform, in Obamaspeak) now, it’ll serve as Obama’s Waterloo. Obama, not used to criticism, reacts angrily, singling out the agitator and playing the part of the victim (without tears). He is also well aware that his poll numbers are sinking (which makes it ever so hard to walk on water).

How he will ultimately react if things should not go his way is anybody’s guess. One thing is for sure, unlike Bush, he’ll take it personal. An out-and-out defeat could eclipse the image Obama has of himself. Already, several self-imposed deadlines have come and gone without too much fuss. Healthcare, however, is the big one. It’ll be interesting to see what he’ll do when he feels himself cornered. Will he resort to unorthodox measures to force a resolution in his favor? Or will he remain magnanimous? We should know very soon.