First, Hillary Clinton did actually suspend her campaign over the weekend, calling for the Democrat party to unite behind Barack Obama. I'll be very curious to see what kind of a deal she was promised. I'm hearing more and more about the Supreme Court, with a high cabinet position coming in a close second. Time will tell, but you can bet the price was high.
In any case, Barack Obama is definitely the candidate now, thus the higher degree of scrutiny. I'd like to start with Obama's own words. I have made the statement in the past that he's taken on something of a religious persona, and he has affirmed that image himself:
I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.
Wow, he's not only going to be the first person in history to treat the sick and provide jobs for the jobless, but he's also going to fix the oceans and heal the planet. Pretty impressive...I wonder if he's promising to do all that in his first 100 days.
Kathleen Parker captures this phenomenon and what McCain faces by saying that '[U]ltimately, the idea of Obama may be harder to defeat than the man himself.' This would definitely seem to be McCain's biggest challenge, since Obama's policies are almost identical to what Jimmy Carter did in the 1970's that destroyed the American economy and created many of the foreign policy problems we're now dealing with. If McCain can focus on the issues and policies, he should be fine; if not, he's toast. For example, check out this interview with one of Obama's supporters:
Remember, this is an Illinois state Senator who worked with Obama (this is also from several months ago, before Chris Matthews did an about face and raved about Obama's oratory, saying it sent a shiver up his leg). The point still remains that it's a rare person who can identify something Obama has accomplished in the Senate. The only thing I can think of is the global poverty tax, which would send almost $1 trillion of American taxpayer money (about $8,500 per American citizen) overseas to third world countries [if you haven't contacted your Senators about this, by the way, you might want to do that right away; the details are here and here]. If you can name any others, please leave a comment and let me know.
Moving on, there are a number of other issues that Barack Obama is going to have to overcome. The AP offers a list of long-time associates of Barack Obama that could cause him problems. The list includes a convicted felon fundraiser, two racist pastors, a terrorist, a suspected terrorist, and a wife who thinks America sucks. But, given his religious nature, none of that will matter.
I wanted to go into a bit more detail on Obama's long-time friend Tony Rezko, who was convicted of over a dozen felonies last week, and faces even more charges in the months to come. Of course, Barack Obama was shocked to learn about this verdict, saying this wasn't the Tony Rezko he knew. Little Green Footballs describes the denial this way:
It wasn't the Rev. Wright he knew either, or the Father Pfleger he knew, or the William Ayers he knew, or the Samantha Power he knew, or the Robert Malley he knew, or the Trinity United Church he knew ...
What do I always say about patterns of behavior...? This is clearly a pattern. How long will he get away with long-term associations with the worst of the worst in our society, and then simply offer the excuse of I-didn't-realize-they-were
"Today's verdict and Obama's friendship with Rezko raises serious questions about whether he has the judgment to serve as president."
This is truly the point. Either Obama willingly associates with the absolute Left-most fringes of American society or he is a totally inept judge of character. What other explanation is there? Regardless of which is Obama's particular problem, this pattern is clear evidence that he is not prepared to be President of the United States.
Below is a link to the first campaign promise that Barack Obama is about to make. I wouldn't be surprised if this one came pretty quickly on its heels: Obama says he would not pardon Tony Rezko if he becomes President. It could be a hot button issue, but again, given the religious fervor of his followers, he could get away with it. Hopefully he'll never have the chance.
Now, another important topic, especially given the rumblings related to Iran: what is Obama's stance toward Israel? Over the past weeks, he has stated his support for Israel, but he has also shown a number of disturbing signals, including employing a lot of rabid anti-Semitic pro-Palestinian types as his advisers. The problem is that Obama has begun showing a trend of saying one thing to one crowd, and another thing to another crowd:
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama did not rule out Palestinian sovereignty over parts of Jerusalem when he called for Israel's capital to remain "undivided," his campaign told The Jerusalem Post Thursday.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama addresses AIPAC Policy Conference 2008, Wednesday.
"Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided," Obama declared Wednesday, to rousing applause from the 7,000-plus attendees at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference.
But a campaign adviser clarified Thursday that Obama believes "Jerusalem is a final status issue, which means it has to be negotiated between the two parties" as part of "an agreement that they both can live with."
This is a total, 180-degree flip-flop on the very next day! This is the kind of politician Obama is revealing himself to be: highly situational, willing to say anything to anyone to win. There are a number of problems with this, obviously. First, the guy is apparently becoming a chronic liar on the level of Bill Clinton. Second, we can't ever be truly certain what he stands for if his positions change with his audiences. Is this the kind of President you want? The Editors of NRO warn about this as dangerously opportunistic.
This is particularly true in regard to Iran and Israel. Anyone who thinks that Iran isn't chasing nuclear weapons has their head in the sand. Iran has stated repeatedly over the past several years that they seek a world in which Israel and American do not exist. Iran is very close to obtaining nuclear weapons. What do we think is the next dot that needs to be connected?? A high-ranking Israeli official has made a statement recently that an attack on Iran -- of which only the U.S. and Israel would be capable -- is 'unavoidable'. And Barack Obama is flip-flopping on whether or not we will support one of our biggest allies from an enemy that would just as soon see us obliterated as our ally?
Barack Obama is becoming more and more obviously not ready for the White House. He shockingly inaccurate on historical fact. His policies disastrous as determined by historical precedent. He is a long-term associate with terrorists and far-Left fringe types that call into question his character and judgment.
If Barack Obama becomes President, I am firmly convinced that he will be one of the most dangerous people in the world due purely to his incompetence and naivete. I shudder to think what he will do to this great nation.
There's my two cents.
Other links that are worth reading:
- Barack Obama is about to break his first campaign promise.
- RNC strategy: use the Dems' own words
- The agent of change [Barack obama] is just another partisan.
- How Trinity used millions of taxpayer dollars.
- Obama was selected, not elected.
- The world welcomes Obama.
- John Bolton: Obama the naive.
- Obama, Marx, and liberation theology.
- Obama's conflicted message.
- Eight things you need to know about Barack Obama.
- Obama's church must not be forgotten.
- The gospel according to Barack Obama.
- Six theses on Barack Obama.
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