Iggy Awaits His "Obama Moment"

Welcome aboard!

Here we are many knots removed from Toronto's G20-Fest with most of the various political leaders safely ensconced in their scrutiny-proof summer hideaways and your Captain can't help but scan the horizon for signs of the good ship Iggy, whose sails ought rightly to be yearning to ride the winds of tumult whipped up by its arch nemisis, the Commodore Steve. Alas, all I can claim for the effort is an empty spyglass.

What self-respecting politico-on-the-hunt would be MIA (and ducked-down in China constitutes being MIA in today's day and age) when his quarry has turned its hull full sideways into his gunsights with its commander in quarters, abed? It's enough to make your Captain think every pirate movie ever made must have gotten it all wrong - not a good thing when you're talking about my sea skills' most trusted source. Unless, that is, I've been confused about what Cap'n Iggy is actually chasing: not the Commodore, but an "Obama Moment". Really, it's not that implausible when you think about it all for just a moment.

Humour your Captain for just a moment, if you will. I promise to be considerately brief.

What if we're not talking about a group of ships in conflict but a fleet of vessels on a common course? And what if an adamantly impatient Admiralty wanted that fleet to pull out every stop in order to arrive at its destination with all dispatch. Would they not want the most hard-driving and singleminded individual in command, if only to see just how far he can get them and how fast?

However, fearing mutiny in the event that their pick is seen to go madly too far, the Admiralty needs a back-up commander who is viewed to be a voice of reason and, thus, a remedy for the sea-sickness induced by his hard-charging predecessor. The net result would be to have it both ways: to speed the fleet as far ahead as possible before the crews get paralyzed with anxiety; and then bring them safely to precisely the same harbour, relieved and unquestioning, now serving under a cooler head. Obama replacing Bush, for want of a better metaphor.

Bear in mind that such need only be a back-up arrangement in case the first commander begins to falter; there's no guarantee it will be activated. But it would require that all concerned understand and play their parts.

Besides, himself an inveterate and unabashed elitist, Cap'n Iggy might be just as anxious as anyone to arrive at a port run by a pod of fellow travelers, be he at the helm or just at the ready. Indeed, the last thing he'd need would be to go firing real broadsides off into some of the fleet along the way. Far better to wait and see if Commodore Steve sails it into a Bush so that Cap'n Iggy can Obama it on to history.

So, perhaps he awaits his moment, even as he learns all he might ever need to know about erecting wall-like divisions and asserting centralized control over the masses from his accommodating hosts in a far off land.

Then, again, perhaps it's a yarn I'm spinning with absolutely no grounding in reality - in which case, I had better be careful or soon I might be spying Nessie chasing after the Great White Whale. A whole other cruise, entirely.

Ahoy 'til next time.