In Their Own Words

Barack Obama presents himself as a different kind of politician, above the fray of racial or class warfare attacks, an outsider to the way things are done in Washington, and just another guy trying to do his thug thizzle...I mean, thing...on behalf of you, the American people. He denies surrounding himself with radicals or people who hate America, and he says his judgment is what qualifies him to be leader of the free world.

Ahem...I disagree.

If I may, I'd like to direct you to this incredible collection of quotes from Barack the Obamessiah and those closest to him. Here are a few that I think are particularly poignant:

"You got into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." -- Barack Obama

"...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; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth. This was the moment -- this was the time -- when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves and our highest ideals." -- Barack Obama

This is the reason we on the Right mock him as some kind of messiah, by the way. Well, that combined with this:

"I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions." -- Barack Obama

A young child once asked him why he wanted to be President. Here's his answer:

"America is ..., uh, is no longer, uh ... what it could be, what it once was. And I say to myself, I don't want that future for my children." -- Barack Obama

So, he wants to be Pres because America sucks and he's going to fix it. He's the messiah, remember?

"I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying." -- Barack Obama

"I am not in favor of concealed weapons. I think that creates a potential atmosphere where more innocent people could (get shot during) altercations." -- Barack Obama

Because that's much better than being shot by the criminal, I guess. Personally, I like 50/50 odds much better than 0/100 odds...

"...I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby." -- Barack Obama

"Rick Warren: ...Now, let's deal with abortion; 40 million abortions since Roe v. Wade. As a pastor, I have to deal with this all of the time, all of the pain and all of the conflicts. I know this is a very complex issue. Forty million abortions, at what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?"

Barack Obama: "Well, you know, I think that whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade."

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK. That's not leadership. That's not going to happen." -- Barack Obama

This gives you an idea of the level of control he wants to take in your life...

"To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets. We smoked cigarettes and wore leather jackets. At night, in the dorms, we discussed neocolonialism, Franz Fanon, Eurocentrism, and patriarchy. When we ground out our cigarettes in the hallway carpet or set our stereos so loud that the walls began to shake, we were resisting bourgeois society's stifling conventions. We weren't indifferent or careless or insecure. We were alienated.

But this strategy alone couldn't provide the distance I wanted, from Joyce or my past. After all, there were thousands of so-called campus radicals, most of them white and tenured and happily tolerant. No, it remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names." -- Barack Obama

"I don't believe it is possible to transcend race in this country. Race is a factor in this society. The legacy of Jim Crow and slavery has not gone away." -- Barack Obama

Uh...wait, I thought he was the candidate who transcended race...?

"What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice. He's much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I'm not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that's involved in national politics." -- Barack Obama

Oh, really? That's kinda troubling when you consider this sounding board says stuff like this:

"...White folks' greed runs a world in need..." -- Jeremiah Wright

"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 d*mn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people. God d*mn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God d*mn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme." -- Jeremiah Wright

"America is still the No. 1 killer in the world." -- Jeremiah Wright

"The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. The government lied." -- Jeremiah Wright

I think we know where Obama gets his disgust with America and racial defensiveness, don't you? But how about his closest advisor, his wife, Michelle Obama? Take a look:

"(America is) just downright mean." -- Michelle Obama

"For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction." -- Michelle Obama

"What I notice about men, all men, is that their order is me, my family, God is in there somewhere, but me is first." -- Michelle Obama

"The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more." -- Michelle Obama

Classy. Okay, so what about his running mate, the uber-experienced Joe Biden?

"You cannot go to a 7-11 or Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian Accent." -- Joe Biden

"My impression is [Obama] thinks that if we leave, somehow the Iraqis are going to have an epiphany" of peaceful coexistence among warring sects. I've seen zero evidence of that." -- Joe Biden

This was before he was picked as VP. Now he's singing the exact opposite tune, of course.

"Chuck, Stand Up, Chuck. Let Them See You. Oh, God Love You, What Am I Talking About?" -- Joe Biden to a man in a wheelchair

By contrast, here are some other quotes of note:

"This is not a man who sees America as you see America, and as I see America," Palin said. "Our opponent, though, is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect -- imperfect enough that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country. Americans need to know this." -- Sarah Palin

"I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." -- Obama's friend, Bill Ayers

"Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents, that's where it's really at." -- -- Obama's friend, Bill Ayers in 1970

"I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002." -- Hillary Clinton

"So I think (Obama) definitely has convinced people that he stands for change and for hope, and I can't wait to see what he stands for." -- Susan Sarandon

"(Obama's) big themes are Change Hope and Unity...I suspect that after he's elected, we'll hear much less about Change and Unity and a lot more about Hope. As in, 'I Hope this doesn't end in a huge disaster. I Hope he doesn't wreck the economy. I Hope he's not too overwhelmed by the complexity and horror of the world. I Hope I survive this administration.'" -- A reader at The Corner

Unlike Senator Obama, my admiration, respect and deep gratitude for America's veterans is something more than a convenient campaign pledge." -- John McCain

Food for thought.

There's my two cents.