Hype is a dangerous thing. Get swept up in it and you’re letting yourself in for a crushing fall. Because no matter how wonderful the finished article is, the hype storm will have whipped up such an air of frenzied anticipation that nothing short of a miracle will leave you sated.

I admit I’ve been sucked into a hype vortex — a swirl of media hoopla and speculation that grows exponentially as the reality draws ever closer — on more than one occasion. It’s in our very nature to listen to the hype, to want to believe in hype — even if you’re an eternal pessimist like myself. It might sound silly now, but there was a time not too long ago when every year I’d count down to the month of October, when the latest iteration of my favourite football video game, Pro Evolution Soccer, would be released. I’d spend week after week checking for titbits  on the internet (and, before that, in magazines) relating to the forthcoming iteration of my beloved football series. Every year, when the release date finally came around, I’d be thoroughly underwhelmed by what was really just a slightly tweaked version of last year’s game. But the point is I still bought the game every year. 

With the US Presidential Election only 2 days away, the hype machine is in overdrive. There are still people out there who are trying to convince the citizens of America that McCain would make a great Commander-in-Chief, but they’ll probably only have the subjunctive tense to use come November 4th. The real hype surrounds Obama and his campaign. For the record, I do not think of Obama as simply a man of great eloquence and charisma; intelligent, empathetic and pragmatic, I think he has all the ingredients to make a great President. However, there’s little doubt that the world is not going to be all rosy if/when Obama steps into the Oval Office. If elected, Obama will be saddled with huge government debts and the seemingly impossible task of extricating the country from one war and stepping up military presence in another. I’m sure Obama will relish the challenge, but I’m sure he’s be the first to admit that it’s not going to be easy.

Hope is a powerful thing — just ask Obama, whose success has been built on his unwavering promise of change and hope. However, so is hype; the challenge is to differentiate between hype that is grounded in the truth and hype that is just that.