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Election 2008 – A Closer Look at Obama
Guest Column | By Walter Anderson | July 2, 2008
The
meteoric rise of Sen. Barack Obama has many thinking that he is
destined for the office of President. Yet less than a year ago he was
considered flash in the pan in comparison to Sen. Hillary Clinton, who
was thought to have the Democrat nomination sewed up. Well, one by one
the other Democrat candidates pulled out as their support and/or their
cash dried up, thus leaving Obama and Clinton to fight it out until the
first week of June when Clinton "suspended" her campaign. Obama now is
the presumed Democrat nominee and the direction of his campaign has
turned to defeating Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican
nominee, in November. Let's take a look at some of his recent
statements and activity.
Change à la Obama
Obama has
been able to raise bundles of cash. His current cash balance is
reported to be millions in excess of the McCain campaign. Up until last
week, it was thought that Obama was going to accept the $80 plus
million of federal campaign money (he had last indicated thus less than
two months ago) and use that for the Presidential run. Suddenly, Obama
announced that he was not going to take federal funds as he had
promised and would raise funds on his own - giving him the ability to
amass plenty of moolah without limitations. Is this "flip-flopping?"
His staff doesn't seem to think it is.
One of the major messages
of the Obama campaign is that he alone has the ability to change
Washington and the way things are done there. Just when he has a chance
to prove that change, he goes the way of the Washington politicians!
Coincidence? You make the call.
Muslim "Surprise"
The
Obama campaign staff made a major blunder a couple of weeks ago when it
barred two Muslim women wearing traditional attire from sitting in the
area immediately behind the podium at a Detroit rally where Obama was
to speak. When word got out, Obama himself contacted the women,
apologized, and said the issue would be remedied. It's obvious as to
why this came up, considering the "is he or isn't he a Muslim" flap.
How would it look on a newscast or YouTube?
Yet should we
really be surprised? The fact that Obama's advance people and his
handlers "stack" the audience is nothing new in the world of politics.
If he wants to burnish his image with white people, the front rows
behind him are filled with mainly whites. If black voters are his
target that day, the audience we see on television is made up of mostly
blacks. And so it goes with any number of ethnic groups. A number of
years ago, I read a book by Patrick Halley entitled On the Road with Hillary. Halley was an advance man for Hillary Clinton as far back as when Bill
Clinton first entered national politics. It's a fascinating look into
the inner workings of how campaign appearances are set up and even for
appearances not directly connected to the campaign. "Stacking" and
other methods used in making sure the candidate/speaker comes off in
the best possible light to those in the audience and those who may see
the video are well explained.
Veep Madness
My last article touched on this, but it seems strange to me that Obama has a team of
people to vet possible individuals to be his veep choice. Shouldn't it
be Obama, who has the "judgment to lead," who knows best what he wants
in a running mate? With the limited experience Obama possesses in
foreign relations and national security, as well as the military, he
may well pursue someone with high credibility in those areas. It is
also possible that he may want to place a female (other than Hillary
Clinton) in place to assuage the tender feelings that were damaged in
the primary against Hillary - at the same time appeal to even more
woman voters. In reality, other than having knowledge to cover a
weakness in the candidate the only real important reason in selecting a
Vice President is to be sure that person would go forward with the
ideals and policies of the President and the Party if the President was
removed from the picture. It will be interesting to see if Obama sticks
to this basic principle.
First Ladies Poll
Questions
about Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain should have little relevance in
the campaign, with the possible exception of how they may influence
their husband if elected. The Rasmussen Reports Group recently ran a poll asking a number of questions and even comparing the
two presumptive first ladies to the current First Lady, Laura Bush, who
currently holds a 75% favorability rating among voters and has held
that position fairly consistently throughout her husband's Presidency.
Needless to say, she's a tough act to follow! According to Rasmussen,
both potential First Ladies are seen to have quite a bit of influence
with their hubbies. And while both Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama have
similar approval ratings (49% and 48% respectively), the disapproval
ratings tell a different story: 29% have an unfavorable view of Cindy,
while 43% have an unfavorable view of Michelle. If the First Lady's job
is to complement the president, it looks like Michelle has a lot of
ground to make up - or not, depending on your view.
Promises, Promises
Like
any seasoned politician, Obama has made promises for numerous things.
Yes, in our hearts we know that campaign promises are not expected to
be kept 100%, some of Obama's are so far from reality one has to wonder
what he is thinking. Here are just a couple of the things he wants to
do that have one thing in common...can you guess what that is?
- He says that everyone should go to college!
- He says that everyone should have government-sponsored health coverage!
If
you guessed that higher taxes - taken out of YOUR paycheck - are the
common bond between these two programs, you'd be right. Which brings us
to...
Healthcare, Obama Style
Obama's healthcare
plan is supposed cover every American and no one will be turned away.
How will it function? Basically it is a form of socialized medicine.
His idea is to force physicians to accept less than normal rates for
their services to patients and he wants to add an additional tax on
doctors' earnings of at least 4.0%. His "health commission" would also
determine what type of services/procedures and drugs the government
would pay for. It sounds a lot like what HMOs currently do, but on a
much larger scale, with all the grace and finesse of those other
government agencies like the DMV and Post Office - and no chance to go
to a different health provider if you don't like your current one. (One
need only look at these two cases, on in the U.S. and one in Canada, to see what I mean.)
Are Those Skeletons Rattling in the Closet?
Although
numerous questions have been asked about Obama about his background,
few of which have been answered, none are so interesting and possibly
devastating to his presidential campaign as those centering on the Tony Rezko and Nadhmi Auchi connection.
Follow that with his alleged brief (we know differently) association
with convicted terrorist William Ayers. Or how about Rashid Khalidi, a
Palestinian who is vocally anti-Israel and who has been closely connected with Obama in the past as a supporter and fund raiser. Then of course there is the
racist, hatred spewing, anti-white, anti-American preaching Rev.
Jeremiah Wright, Obama's Pastor and "mentor" for 20 plus years. Wright
has traveled to Libya to meet with General Khadaffi and has bestowed
honors on Louis Farrakhan.
Who is the real Barack Obama? For many, that question continue to go unanswered.
Moving
forward, here seems to be a slight movement of Obama's thinking toward
the center Left from the far liberal Left. His opinions on the FISA
rewrite and public campaign financing indicate a "change" in tack for
his campaign. I'm sure we can look forward to a lot more "change" in
the days and weeks to come.
Until next time...
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Walter Anderson is a grassroots political activist, researcher, and commentator who focuses on family issues and politics.
Guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views of Accuracy in Media or its staff.
13 Comments | Post a Comment
What I don’t like is that nothing is real anymore.Everything is staged for the benefit of this or that group of voters and if you look at them side by side you see that these candidates stand for nothing and everything.
To any intelligent person this is sickening and I have just about had enough.Unfortunately both candidates fall in to the same category and I wish they would just go away and that we could start all over again.
Either way, this country is going to be in big trouble and some very hard times are on the horizon.
I’ll be voting for Obama in November because I do not find a Republican administration in the wake of Bush — especially not one by the “flip-flopping”-on-his-real-positions-at-a-mere-71 McCain — acceptable over the next four years.
I will not, in the midst of a devastating economy and an unpopular war, vote for the incumbent political party to have the White House in Election 2008.
And I predict that American voters will follow suit — as they did in 1932, 1952, 1968, 1980, and 1992. In each of those five elections, spanning roughly 75 years, U.S. voters were not willing to allow the same party to “lead” this country in no thanks to the Great Depression (1932), Korean War (1952), Vietnam War (1968), Inflation (1980), and Recession (1992).
In 2008, we are dealing with an economy Washington just isn’t ready to call a recession (but it does entail job losses, home foreclosures, and out-of-control gasoline prices), and we do have the Iraq War, which is a part of Bush’s very low approval ratings brewing over several months.
I will gladly help the Democrats prevail over the Republican in Election 2008 — and I have no problem, unlike with Senator John McCain and his Republican Party — voting for Senator Barack Obama and the Democrats.
While I will not vote at all, I have to disagree with “D”.Do you realize how little influence the White House has on all the items you have mentioned in your comments?
We have no recession because we have not fulfilled the definition for it.
Job losses are tied to oil prices,at least right now.We still have full employment as it was used for the past decades and we have still half of what they have in Europe.
Home foreclosures are the fault of the same politicians that now say it needs to be fixed and that had nothing to do with party politics.
Presidents have warned against the high prices of oil we have for a long time, going as far back a Carter and before but it was Congress that did not listen.It is still congress that is not willing to help resolve the problem and right now the Democrats have the majority in both Houses and could do so without any problem.Was is not Pres. Clinton that vetoed drilling in ANWAR the last time around?
Hindsight is always 20/20 and with very few exceptions,Democrats included,we voted for the war in Iraq.The Democrats have it in their hands to stop today if they had the guts to cut off the funding. They talk big but when it come to do what they preach, they chicken out.
I would rather have another republican administration then a socialist government that will happen if Obama is elected. I don’t particularly care for either presidential nominee, but I know (after much research) what Obama is all about and what he wants to do to America and there is no way in h@#$ he would ever get my vote.
In response to D - do your homework - your candidate of choice is NOT who you think he is!!! It is Americans like you that scare the heck out of me!!!
To be honestly blunt, Obama is a Marxist, pure and simple. In one of his books he mentions a “Frank” who had an enormous influence upon him during his young years in Hawaii. This was Frank Davis, a well known avowed Communist. Can anyone wonder why Obama adhered so strictly to the radical leftist Rev. Wright and his leftist church. The first time I saw a photo taken of Obama in his Chicago office I was shocked to see a Che Guevera flag as his symbol. What does all this tell me? Add the fact Obama is the most “liberal leftist” senator in the US Senate, and what conclusion naturally comes to mind? What about Revsco, sentenced to prison now, who gave Obama his house and land at an astonishingly low price? Why do I see so many photos of Obama in varying situations Bill Ayers “just happened” to have dropped by but whom Obama doesn’t know? The lies quickly begin to stack up. The quickest way to sink the US into a full depression is to impose heavy taxes on all US citizens for his Socialistic Commie mandates such as “National Health Care,” “education for all,” “faith based initiatives with volunteers/staff selected solely by Obama - People, read the news carefully! Think for yourselves! There is NO free ride. The US has always done well without Marxism driving wage earners into poverty. Think!
Scripture tells us men do not learn from history. I think it is pretty pathetic to be more in love with the Party than with the right man. Same in the church,,loving the building and friends more than G-d and truth ! How about the scripture that tells us ALL GOVERNMENTS are ran by the god of this world !! One day everyone of us will stand before G-d and answer. It is a personal responsibility and there will be NO there to speak for you..
I see these talking heads on TV all paid off by Gov and specaial interest groups. I hear the lies over and over and over till America believe them. How stupid we all have become. How about getting your head straight. Go back, read the Constitution, the declaration of Independance, and your bill of rights. Take a look at your country sinking into the pits of destruction. Does anyone out there think G-d will bless us as we have thrown HIM OUT! Have you even thought about becoming a Independant?? Have you read their webs, checked their records, how they voted and for what. Why is it your so crazy for the flip flops. How about digging it all up and seeing the WHOLE picture.When you don’t have the whole truth..all you have is one big lie ! Obama is a Muslim,,no one dares name their children Hessian Mohammad unless he is Muslim ! Not to forget one can lie for Allah..ther webs promise to have their flag over the white house. Where the devil do you think Obama’s money comes from ,all commies and Islam and black panthers from his little ole cult church. which most of us know has been a front for yrs with the connection to the mafia in Boston. Who the hell do you think killed JFK? Islam,,,,and McCain,,he used to be my hero till I found out he shared secrets and put our troops in danger to get out of prison in Nam. and then he signed the papers to seal all the rest of our troops so we cannot get them anymore and bring them home,,Isn’t that specail..To be lawless and let ilegal immigration go on and on breaking our backs while our jobs leave America. How much do you have to SEE before you wake up. Most coming over the border is Arabs with Mexican names, and 75% of Mosques here training jihad on our soil, while infierating our colleges and schools with Saudi paid for books and programs. there is only one way to do anything,,the RIGHT WAY..legally. How about over 10,000 Saudi’s brought in right after 9/11..to take flight school !!! Being a old lady, doesn’t make me deaf, dumb and blind and I know my history, bible wise and other wise..but watered down history is in our schools from east to west to north and south..Take a quick guess as to who buys our foreclosers , much land and jobs and bridges and ports…Islam and China..and tho we voted to throw out the mostly UN, on it goes..Does anyone care that the world is starving because of Al Gores lies and seems to like tree huggers and animals better than people. and now the false report on corn for energy and our amimals go hungry and then all people..We sit here on seven states, and more of more oil than Saudi Arabia and don’t drill?? Have you ever really researched the oil and what it really does not cause as they say ?? Have you ever looked at Islam spreading all around the world,,and what it has done to most countries? and that is peaceful. Have you ever read the forefathers remarks on democracy? where in a democracy we vote and the President does as he likes..Hey we are a Republic where the people vote and we are served…according to OUR vote..to even think the wrong is on one side or the other..they are one bird..Clinton sold our secrets to China and ports and all else, so bush just sold the Arab Imigrants the ports again after we said NO…and guess what , most of the middle east owns us..Whats the plan?? Commies , ten nations ruling us all from the EU which are mostly Muslims or those who bow to it..Do you see a police state here, total control..in every facet of our lives..our freedom going down the drain..??? well we can change it,,vote Independant and don’t tell me Ron Paul is against Israel, he only said if the US would stay out of their face they can take care of themselves !! That will be my vote..and in the meantime, old Hillary who won’t drill as Obama for oil,,think of your NO FUTURE…do you really think she stepped aside,,gracefully..pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee Don’t ever underestimate the Clintons..but hopefully you will wake up…sooner than later..
God gave us free will. I will vote for McCain. I am not under the spell, I can still think for myself. Obama is a vote for change from everything we hold dear!!!!!!
Try finding something positive about the guy. It’s not there. He will set race relations back 50 years. The Islamic world will be dancing in the streets.
It seems to me that those who are thinking about wasting their vote on Obama are either ignorant or lack any sense of reason. On most of the radio shows I listen to, these idiots can’t even name Obama’s major acomplishment nor his position on any issue. Of course, since Obama changes his position like he does his socks, perhaps that’s why his followers can’t follow. Look up Obama’s record to see if he’s the kind of employee you’d want for America. Almost everyone looks to the past as a reasonable predictor of the future. Obama favors the worst kinds of abortion. His preferences are, if not extreme socialism, then something bordering on communism. His faith-based programs would not only differ by name but by the liberal constrains he can bring to bear on Christians—such as limiting their reading of scriptures in faith-based programs, and preventing them from proselytizing. He’s no more a Christian than Karl Marx. He’s a shyster of the first rank—he’ll try anything to fool anyone he can. Don’t let him succeed. Obama didn’t start chanting his “Christian” praises any sooner than he needed to. We need to keep building up America for the benefit of our children and our children’s children. Expose Obama for who he really is, and for what he is not, and he’ll disappear like a wicked witch. Vote for decency, integrity and hope; vote for John McCain President of the United States.
Not one of these two politicians gives a flying #### about any of you.
This election is not about voting for a party, it’s about voting for the basic structure of our government.
Republicans vs. Democrats?
No…
Democracy vs. Socialism
The “change” that is promised to us is true change.
I think Obama will change lots of thing. Maybe he will introduce some new things.
Now waiting for see what does do Mr.Obama
July 3 at 2:40 am | #1 | Link
This election year is so unprecedented!
Even if the candidate flip flops and lies about his true ideology… no one cares. As long as he continues to promise change.
This election has introduced “socialism” as a mainstream policy and communism is really good for America. Liberals are becoming too obvious of their real color.
People have become too ignorant of their own history and Patriotism is a thing of the past.
MSM has rotten to core. It is now the dictator of America and its king maker!
America will be later be thrown under the bus!