Obama wrote in his book "Promised Land", talking about campaign appearances: > Once my speech was over and I walked off the stage to shake hands along the rope

Obama wrote in his book "Promised Land", talking about campaign appearances: > Once my speech was over and I walked off the stage to shake hands along the rope line, I often found people screaming, pushing, and grabbing. Some would cry or touch my face, and despite my best efforts to discourage it, young parents would pass howling babies across rows of strangers for me to hold. The excitement was fun and at times deeply touching, but it was also a little unnerving. At some basic level people were no longer seeing me, I realized, with all my quirks and shortcomings. Instead, they had taken possession of my likeness and made it a vessel for a million different dreams. I knew a time would come when I would disappoint them, falling short of the image that my campaign and I had helped to construct. > I realized, too, that if supporters could mold bits and pieces of me into an outsized symbol of hope, then the vague fears of detractors could just as readily congeal into hate. I guess as a politician, if you can con them good enough, they won't even be disappointed, they'll just start blaming other things when their idol doesn't live up to their expectations. Things like the "Deep State".