Grim News

Barack Obama, man of the cloth?

My best friend has called me onto the carpet and charged me with that most heinous of journalistic crimes, lack of objectivity.

Guilty.

I’m biased as hell.

Now that we have that out of the way, my friend has challenged me to bash Obama on some point, ANY point, just as an exercise in intellectual honesty. I must admit, after doing some digging into the matter, that there are a fair number of points to choose from.

First, there is his association with the “Reverend” Jeremiah Wright.  Let’s pick a few quotes and have a look, shall we?

• “We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye.”

Factually accurate.  We did bomb Hiroshima.  We did bomb Nagasaki.  It is hypocritical to call your own civilian deaths “an act of evil” while simultaneously calling the deaths of someone else’s civilians “a necessary act of war”.  War is hell, and September 11th was an example of the other side taking the initiative and getting in a first strike.  We shouldn’t be fighting terrorists because “they’re evil and we’re the good guys”.  We should be fighting them because if we don’t they’ll kill more of us.  The question of “how we got here” is best left to historians.  Right now, we need to fight to win, which means killing more of them than they do of us.

• “We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost.” (Sep 2001)

Again, one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.  Is Wright saying that we “deserve” the attacks? or is he saying that he isn’t surprised that they are happening.  Would any serious student of history doubt that a foreign policy based on intervention will eventually make enemies around the world?  Pro-Israel/Anti-Palestinian… Same thing.  We chose our friends in the world, and in so doing, chose our enemies as well.  Do we really expect them to lie down for us while we exercise our influence unopposed?

• “The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.” (2003)

I disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.  Wright is clearly using the phrase “God damn America” as the polar opposite of “God bless America”.  It’s a rhetorical device designed to “shock and awe” the listener.

• “Barack knows what it means living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people. Hillary would never know that. Hillary ain’t never been called a nigger. Hillary has never had a people defined as a non-person.”

Would any rational human being find inaccuracy in this statement?  The fact is, “rich white people”, have called the shots in this country from the very beginning.  Is that inherently evil? No.  But if you are NOT one of those “rich white people”, might you feel a bit of desire to get a seat at the table?  Might you resent folks who were fortunate enough to be part of the “power demographic”?  The black community has made a lot of positive strides in recent history, but can you, just for a moment, imagine what is at stake emotionally now that Obama is running for the White House and appears to be winning?  Should blacks vote for Obama solely on the basis of his skin color or ancestry?  No, in an ideal world, elections should be decided solely based on the character and policies of the candidates.

I would try to come up with an example of such an election, but um… I’m still looking.

As for Bill Ayers, former 1960′s radical and member of the “Domestic Terrorist” organization “The Weather Underground“, that one’s even easier to counter.  Let’s ignore the fact that Ayers and friends were engaged in their “terrorism” when Obama was all of 8 years old.  How exactly are these two men related?  They served together on the board of the Woods Fund in Chicago.

What is the Woods Fund?

Woods Fund of Chicago is a grantmaking foundation whose goal is to increase opportunities for less advantaged people and communities in the metropolitan area, including the opportunity to shape decisions affecting them. The foundation works primarily as a funding partner with nonprofit organizations. Woods supports nonprofits in their important roles of engaging people in civic life, addressing the causes of poverty and other challenges facing the region, promoting more effective public policies, reducing racism and other barriers to equal opportunity, and building a sense of community and common ground.

Well that is certainly contro-fucking-versial.  Ayers donated 200 bucks to Obama’s campaign for the Illinois State House.  That’s practically an inexorable bond! (sarcasm alert)  A 1960′s radical backing a Democrat?  Say it ain’t so, Joe!

Of course there are other “scandalous” charges against Senator Obama.  Let’s look at a few of these in depth, shall we?

Barack Obama’s middle name is Hussein.  In case one of my readers is both smart enough to read this far, and dumb enough to believe that this has anything to do with… anything, let me remind you that Obama was named after his father, and that Obama had just graduated from high school by the time Saddam came to power in Iraq in 1979.

Barack Obama is “secretly a Muslim“.  Um… no.

Barack Obama was sworn into office using the Quran.  You’re thinking of Keith Ellison of Minnesota, and so what?

Obama says “We are no longer a Christian Nation“  I can only hope… but alas, this is false too.

Obama was not born a US Citizen, and is a citizen of Kenya.  Well, technically, since Kenya was a British colony at the time Obama was born, that would make him British.  Of course, in 1963, Kenya gained it’s independence and granted citizenship to all former British subjects with ties to Kenya (like Obama’s father, which would, in turn, grant Senator Obama Kenyan citizenship)  Since Kenya does not allow citizens to hold dual citizenships after they turn 21, Obama lost his Kenyan citizenship in 1982.

Of course, all of this is rendered moot by the fact that he was born in HAWAII to a mother who was from KANSAS, thus making him as American as “Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet”.

Are you getting the idea yet?

In fact, the only real political haymaker thrown at Obama that I might be legitimately concerned about is his tax plan.  McCain, and others, try to paint Obama as a “tax and spend Liberal” who will raise all of our taxes.

Let’s look at the numbers, shall we? (numbers below taken from Cnn.com)

By the way, did I mention yet that the National Debt just passed 10 TRILLION dollars?  I *might* know a couple of people who’s tax bill will go up by 12 dollars per year under Obama’s plan.  Aside from that, the only folks paying more taxes under Obama’s plan are the folks who have been getting all of the tax cuts that put us under this debt in the first stinkin’ place.

I’m not saying that Obama is perfect.  I’m not “drinking the Kool-aid” from the Democratic party.  However, as I said before, the only question of interest to me is “Am I better off now than I was 8 years ago?“  Do I want more of the same? (McCain) or something different (Obama).  For me, personally, the question is a no-brainer.  Give the new guy a chance and let’s see what he can do.

Hey kids, remember this soundbite?

So, McCain is willing to throw 700 billion at Wall Street, but as for 5 million to protect an endangered species, he’s against that, right?  I find it slightly ironic that he got the dollar figure wrong on this study.  He claims that he’s against spending 3 million to “study bear DNA”.  The actual amount approved was 5 million.  He should know that because he voted for it.

Just to make it clear…

700 billion for endangered bankers = good

5 million (or less than .001% of the bailout money) for an endangered species = bad

Not only is it bad, it’s so bad that he voted for it before railing against it in his campaign.  Is it sinking in yet that McCain is a hypocrite?  Even if you don’t trust Obama and think he would do a lousy job as President, you have to admit that he doesn’t have a track record of hypocrisy and outright lies that Senator McCain has.

…but beyond that, I can’t promise anything.

Last night represented a first for me.  I parked my ass on the couch with my wife and watched a Vice Presidential debate in HD.  Normally, such attention is reserved for weekend football games and Jeopardy, those being about the only two things my wife and I agree on with respect to the idiot box.

I was about to witness a complete and total meltdown on live television, and there was nothing the McCain camp, or Palin’s “handlers” could do about it.  Imagine if Captain Smith saw the iceberg on “over the horizon” radar, and still sailed the Titanic right into that sucker.  This was going to be the best television since Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction”.

So it shouldn’t be a complete surprise that I was slightly disappointed with the debate itself.  Make no mistake, Biden’s “shit eating grin” spoke volumes about Palin’s babbling also rambling and did I mention that McCain is a maverick too, also, stumbling bumbling approach to the debate… also. (had to throw that last one in there to tie the whole sentence together, otherwise it might not have made sense)  Palin is the only candidate I’ve ever seen who can answer a question on foreign policy with a statement on her energy policy while governor of Alaska.  In fact, it seems like she answered EVERY question with a statement on her energy policy while governor of Alaska.

As for her delivery, can we give the hockey mom thing a rest?  I played hockey for a short time, which means technically my mom is a “hockey mom” too.  If she had talked like that around our house when I was a kid, we’d have had her locked up for being mentally incompetent. (let’s throw in one more “also” for good measure)  The constant winking at the camera and ham-handed cribbing from Ronald Reagan’s debate with Jimmy Carter in 1980 came across as fake instead of genuine and warm which is what made that approach so effective for Reagan in the first place.  (in fact, you can see a clip from that debate elsewhere on this very website)

What actually impressed me was Senator Biden’s performance.  I knew very little about Joe Biden aside from the fact that he had failed in the Democratic primaries twice, lead the Democratic lynching party against Robert Bork, and was considered someone who couldn’t keep his mouth shut at times. (my kind of guy, now that I think about it…)  I thought his approach was understated, yet more effective for that.  Instead of tearing into Palin’s rambling approach with a stream of soundbites and pithy comebacks, he either responded with the facts to correct her statements (effective) or threw a dazzling shit-eating grin into the camera as if to say “You don’t need ME to tell you she’s full of shit”.  Both he and Barack Obama appeared relaxed and ready to handle the pressure of a debate on live television.  McCain and Palin appeared nervous, uncomfortable, and unwilling to answer the questions asked of them.  It was Kennedy v Nixon all over again in vibrant HD color goodness.

What really got me, and I think this was the clincher, was Biden’s emotional response to dealing with family issues.  When Palin slid so easily into her “hockey mom” routine, Biden came back with a simple, yet emotionally powerful statement.

“Look, I understand what it’s like to be a single parent. When my wife and daughter died and my two sons were gravely injured, I understand what it’s like as a parent to wonder what it’s like if your kid’s going to make it.

I understand what it’s like to sit around the kitchen table with a father who says, “I’ve got to leave, champ, because there’s no jobs here. I got to head down to Wilmington. And when we get enough money, honey, we’ll bring you down.”

I understand what it’s like. I’m much better off than almost all Americans now. I get a good salary with the United States Senate. I live in a beautiful house that’s my total investment that I have. So I — I am much better off now.

But the notion that somehow, because I’m a man, I don’t know what it’s like to raise two kids alone, I don’t know what it’s like to have a child you’re not sure is going to — is going to make it — I understand.

I understand, as well as, with all due respect, the governor or anybody else, what it’s like for those people sitting around that kitchen table. And guess what? They’re looking for help. They’re looking for help. They’re not looking for more of the same.”

Who would have ever thought that a 36-year Senator would “get it” more than a self-professed “hockey mom” who’s entire image screams “Mom, apple pie, and baseball hockey”?  I don’t care how much you rehearse before a debate, or how much you cram, if your message is wrong then the preparation is worthless.  Obama and Biden stayed on their message, a message that resonates with the voters.

Sarah Palin came across as “one of us” in the debate last night, and no doubt the McCain campaign considers that “Mission Accomplished”.  The problem is, we don’t want “one of us” in the White House.  We want someone who is more prepared and more informed than we are to make the decisions.  It is too much to hope for to ask for someone smarter than us, or better than us, but at least give us someone that we can look in the eye and come away with the confidence that they can get the job done.  Palin should be running a boutique in a shopping mall somewhere, not one heartbeat away from Air Force One.

Chez has hit the nail on the head again…

In the bizarro world of contemporary politics, being “average” makes you better than someone who is part of the “elite”.  Let me see if I have this straight.

The candidate who “represents the Average Joe”:

• 26 year member of the United States Senate
• Son and Grandson of Navy Admirals
• Married to an heiress
• Owns so many houses and cars that he cannot apparently remember them all
• Has never been gainfully employed in the private sector

The candidate who “is part of the liberal elitist establishment”

• Son of a single mother
• In elected office (at any level) for just over 10 years
• Recently announced that he has just paid off his student loans
• Has a net worth that is not much higher than my own, and I work for a living
• Worked as a Community Organizer and college professor before going into politics

I’ll grant you that working as a professor (“Lecturer” to be completely accurate) and as a “Community Organizer” is only classified as work under the loosest possible definition, but it’s more than Senator McCain has done in all of his 72 years.

While I’m sure I could write several thousand words about Sarah Palin, if you aren’t hip to this scam by now, nothing I say here will make any difference.  This chuzzlewit is one 72-year-old-with-a-cancer-history heartbeat away from having access to the “Big Red Button”.  She makes Dan Quayle look presidential, for Christ’s sake.  If I wanted a sit-com (in the ‘stereotypical’ sense… not implying that she actually has the talent to act on television) mom in (or next to) the Oval Office, then why couldn’t it be Claire Huxtable?  At least she was intelligent.

In a last ditch attempt to convince the fence-sitters out there of the danger that Palin poses to the entire Western World, let me leave you with this…

She made Katie Couric look like a hard-nosed journalist.