Dispelling the Obama Rumors
With all the disinformation floating around about Barack Obama, rumors that otherwise fairminded people have bought into, it seemed time to set the record straight. Watch this for the truth:
Sphere: Related ContentObama asks What’s the matter with Pennsylvania?
You would think a low income worker would be more impacted by the loss of his job than he would by gays in the military. You’d think that the rising cost of gasoline, bread, and milk would have a greater bearing on his life than would creationism being taught in school. You would think that not having health insurance during a medical crisis would be more painful than reinstating the inheritance tax - a tax they are unlikely to ever pay. What then explains the cognitive dissonance of so many on the lower rungs of the economic ladder consistently voting in support of a party that is hostile to their interests? Why do so many states in America’s heartland vote Republican?
Kansas used to be a hotbed of leftist activism, but is today so conservative that the partisan line in that state resides between the hard and moderate right with the left out of the equation altogether. The issue of economy has been extricated from the political debate replaced by a culture war that is so puzzling that it leads one to raise the question what is the matter with Kansas? That was in fact the title of Thomas Frank’s seminal work where this grand mystery of America was explored.
Barack Obama touched on this question at a fundraiser this week in remarks that were nothing but honest if not nuanced. Obama touched off a firestorm with Republicans and Democratic foes branding him as elitist and “out of touch”. Nothing Obama said deviated from reality.
The Republican reaction is not only predictable, but what is needed to keep this culture war rolling in perpetuity. Just look at the attack line, with words of elitism and hints of racism. It plays to our worst fears and tendencies at the expense of an honest and open discussion. But that’s what you do to keep the red states voting red.
Sphere: Related ContentContext is a funny thing…
The mainstream media have been playing Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s 9/11 comments endlessly, but what they are showing you is a misleading excerpt, lacking context. I am convinced that if the video was not improperly edited and shown as it was delivered (below) that there would have been no controversy at all. But then how would they get John McCain elected?
Sphere: Related ContentObama’s historic speech strikes the perfect chord
 
In the 2001 World Series, New York Yankee 2nd baseman Alfonso Soriano hit a game and series tying home run in extra innings that seemed to turn the momentum of the series. I remember thinking at the time tht if the Yankees went on to win the series that the homer would go down as one of the great moments in Yankee lore. Well, the Yankees lost the series to Arizona and that Soriano homerun is barely a footnote to what was a historic series. I had similar thoughts today when watching Barack Obama deliver a historic speech on race relations in America. My thought was that if Obama goes on to secure the Democratic nomination and then defeats John McCain for the presidency that this speech will not only prove to be the pivotal point of the Democratic campaign, but will go down in history as one of the great all-time examples of political rhetoric right along with King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Obama had a very difficult path to travel today in finding a way to put Reverand Wright’s inflamatory rhetoric behind while not throwing a man he has stated was a close friend and influential character in his life under the bus. At the same time, Obama had to address the issue of judgement and why he chose Wright and the Trinity Church out of all the places he could have worshipped and at the same time explain how he could sit in that pew for two decades, listening to his pastor’s provactive comments without cause for concern.  For my money the Senator struck the perfect balance and delivered on all points. The speech he gave was intelectually nuanced, passionate, and honest, though never expedient. Most impressive to me was that Obama - knowing the political cost of doing so - refused to distance himself from Wright, saying that to do so would equate to “distancing (him)self from the black community.” I have more respect for him that he would stand by his friend even with polls showing that 92% of Ameriocans disapprove of him than had he thrown the man overboard. This speaks volumes about Obama’s character.
I actually think as we move ahead from this moment that the Wright debacle will ultimately have helped Obama. On the one hand there are certainly no longer questions about Obama being a Muslim. More importantly, Obama’s speech highlighted the deep fissures that still exist in this country and the work that still needs to be done to heal the racial scars that have come from years of injustice. It’s hard to imagine that anyone who heard the speech didn’t come away thinking that there is both much work to be done on this issue and that Barack Obama is a candidate uniquely qualified to tackle this gigantic issue.
I hope and pray America sees it the same way, for I believe we would be extremely lucky to have Barack Obama as our president.
Sphere: Related ContentObama: Pro Israel does not mean Pro Likud
How refreshing to have a presidential candidate tell us the truth, even if it runs counter to their political aspirations. Â Barack Obama, campaigning before jewish leaders in Cleveland said this regarding U.S. Israeli policy:
“I think there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud ap-proach to Israel, then you’re anti-Israel, and that can’t be the measure of our friendship with Israel.  If we cannot have an honest dialogue about how do we achieve these goals, then we’re not going to make progress.” Â
Obama disputed the notion that anyone asking tough questions regarding the Palestinian issue or suggesting alternative approaches to merely “crushing the opposition” is anti-Israel.  With Ohio’s pivotal primary coming next Tuesday it would have been very easy for Obama, who has been the target of a vicious email campaign claiming he is Muslim, a Farrakhan proxy, and an anti-Semite, to pander instead of delivering unsavory medicine.  Â
More and more I am coming to the belief that Obama holds certain things higher than his immediate political interests.  Most importantly, he nailed this tricky issue.  Israel can not thrive over the long haul with successive U.S. administrations acting as their enabler.  2/3 of Israeli citizens want peace with the Palestinians, yet our government has thwarted that process in the name of real security for all parties.  It is time to reclaim our middle eastern policy from the neo-conservatives.    George Bush ran as a man who could reach across party lines to get things done.  We know how that worked out.  Is Obama the man George Bush promised he was? Â
Obama Supports Marijuana Decriminalization
As a candidate for the U.S. Senate four years ago, Mr. Obama told Illinois college students that he supported eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana use or possession
“I think we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws,” Mr. Obama told an audience during a debate at Northwestern University in 2004. “But I’m not somebody who believes in legalization of marijuana.”
Sphere: Related Content35% - Obama’s Support Among Whites Holds Steady
The exit polls from Nevada provide more evidence that Obama has been unable to break out of his ceiling of approximately one-third of the white vote. In fact, in each of the three Democratic contests thus far, Obama’s support among whites has been remarkably consistent:Â
 If this 35% ceiling does, in fact, exist, it’s interesting to compare it to Jesse Jackson’s performance in 1988. Despite the passage of 20 years and the fact that Jackson and Obama are very different candidates and personalities, Obama hasn’t performed significantly better than Jackson. During the 1988 primaries, especially once the race narrowed down to Dukakis and Jackson, Jackson’s white support ranged between 20 and 35 percent.
Sphere: Related ContentHas Obama jumped the shark?
I like Obama and have supported him thus far, so this post is a little difficult to write, but here we go…  Barack Obama is history.  Yes, he is still alive in South Carolina, and polling strong in Nevada, but his moment has passed; he might as well bring his adopted out of town nephew into his campaign, for he has jumped the shark.  Maybe a talking dog?  It’s Hillary Clinton or bust at this point.  There is just a different feel in the wind right now, among Obama supporters, detracters, and the supposedly unaligned media.  When did things turn?  Was it the NH debate when he told Hillary she was “likable enough”, a peevish remark if ever there was one.  How about Hillary’s moment of tears.  Most figure those were the items that turned New Hampshire, stealing from Obama the knockout blow he so desperatly needed. The moments I believe were two:  Bill Clinton’s reference to Obama’s Iraq policy as “a fairy tale”, and Hillary’s statements regarding Martin Luther King, Lyndon Johnson, and the how the latter deserved more credit for civil rights.  At the time it had seemed it was the Clinton’s who had jumped the shark, but that was the moment Obama snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.  What had made Obama’s campaign endearing to that point was its refusal to make the campaign about race and to stoop to the sort of tactics of the Clintons, Bushes, and Washingtonions of whom the electorate had grown so tired, but the Obama response to both comments and the campaigns subtle dousing of the racial flames notified those supporters who were proudly voting for an African American candidate that race very much is an issue and one Obama will use to his advantage when possible.Let me state firmly that I am no fan of the Clintons.  I didn’t like Bill, I really don’t like Hillary, and I thought much of the good work accomplished in the 90’s was a result of republican congressional gains in ‘94 that forced Clinton to triangulate.  For all of their defects, one thing the Clintons are not is racist.  That is just an absurd proposition, as there has never been one shred of evidence in either Clinton’s history to support such a notion.  The fact that the Obama campaign is keeping alive the fairy tale and MLK comments in the hopes of perpetuating this Clinton/racist myth is simply appalling and a message that they will stoop to the manipulation of race using guilt against whites in order to gain any advantage, truth be damned.  Once this concept became apparent, I believe Obama jumped the shark.  It shows that his campaign is just smoke and mirrors and the more this uncomfortable whiff seeps through, the more Obama’s stock will decline, propelling Billary to the nomination.  I suppose I’ll need to find another way to assuage my white guilt.Â
Is it Obama the man or Obama the concept that infatuates Americans?
There seems to be a dramatic split over the feeling of Barack Obama as abstract concept and Barack Obama as tangible candidate, potential commander in chief. I wonder how many of Obama’s white supporters who revel in announcing to the world that they support an African American candidate will suddenly pull a different lever–a white lever–when in the seclusion of a curtained booth? Was this dynamic at work in the more private working of the New Hampshire primary as opposed to the very public nature of a caucus as in Iowa?
Kathleen Parker had an interesting piece in today’s St. Augustine Record questioning that which is the magic of Obama. Does this punch drunk spell he has us all under really translate in the least to how the man would govern?  Maybe feeling good is what it’s about, as right now we feel pretty damn bad.
Check out the article here.
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