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June 28, 2008

Exclusive: Saturday, June 28

Presidential Watch

See interesting collection of 38 of Obama's "not exactlys." GO HERE.

Watch humorous Jon Stewart commentary on Obama! - CLICK HERE.

Obama's Faux-Presidential Seal

Martha Zoller, Human Events.com

Barack Obama stepped in it this time or sat behind it, that is. Sitting at a short rostrum at a meeting with Democrat governors, Barack Obama launched the "seal" of his campaign. His image makers figure that if they want him to look presidential and not like a little kid who is not ready for prime time -- they created something that looked like the Seal of the President of the United States. The problem is he looks more like he's participating in a Saturday Night Live sketch, instead of being presidential.

Barack Obama was trying to look presidential behind the seal which has the eagle with the olive branches and arrows in its talons. He puts at the center, his logo which is an artist's representation of and "O" as a rising sun over the horizon. The Latin "e pluribus unum" is replaced by "vero possemus," which is not a bunch of opossums, but a bad translation to "yes, we can." At least it doesn't use the Spanish equivalent -- "si, si puede" but that's already the slogan of illegal immigrant groups.

Surrounding the eagle are a couple of advertising slogans -- "Obama for America" and www.barackobama.com. This poor attempt to make Obama look presidential just makes him look like a bad actor in an infomercial looking for money.

The left thinks it's wonderful, the sooner he can be president, the better and pretending to put a seal in front of him makes them feel they are one step closer. But there is something very wrong here. This candidate and his campaign appear to have no idea what American history is and what it means. They don't understand the lives and blood that have been spent adding honor and glory to each part of the Seal of the President of the United States. Read article.

Obamyths

Floyd and Mary Beth Brown, FrontPageMagazine.com

Members of the media, by a 4-to-1 ratio, self-identify as political liberals. This does not fully explain why Sen. Barack Obama received preferential treatment in his campaign against Hillary Clinton. However, it could explain why they are ignoring his flaws and untruths.

The term "mainstream media" is really a misnomer. It is unfair to call the news media "mainstream" when you compare them to America. Only 6 percent of journalists identify themselves as conservative compared to over one-third (36 percent) of the public classifying themselves as such. Only 19 percent of the public consider themselves liberal according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism 2008 "State of the Media" report.

Obama is not going through the intense vetting process which candidates usually have experienced by this stage of a national campaign. Consciously or not, the national media are neglecting to shine the spotlight on him when it comes to blunders and mistakes.

His mistakes range from the laughable to the seriously critical.

This week during an 11-minute impromptu statement to the media, he stumbled and said "uh..." 144 times. When off the TelePrompTer, he clearly is not the golden orator we have been sold.

Little was mentioned outside the blogs when Obama said that he has traveled all 57 states. Dan Quayle must be envious.

When arguing that our military's Arabic translators are needed in Afghanistan, he did not know that Afghans do not speak Arabic. George Bush would have been crucified for such an error. Read article.

THE DEMO-GOGUES

Mark Alexander, Patriot Post.us

"It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth-and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts." -Patrick Henry

Nothing like broken promises: "We've made the decision not to participate in the public-financing system for the general election. This means we'll be forgoing more than $80 million in public funds during the final months of this election. It's not an easy decision, especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections. The public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who have become masters at gaming this broken system. John McCain's campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs. We've already seen that he's not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups, who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations." -Barack Obama, taking the high road

Campaign victimitis: "We know what kind of campaign they're going to run. They're going to try to make you afraid. They're going to try to make you afraid of me. He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black? He's got a feisty wife." -Barack Hussein Obama, who, speaking of race, happens to be half white

More victimitis: "I'm a victim of sexism myself all the time, but I just think it goes with the territory." -the most powerful woman in America, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Speaking of heads in the sand: "The president has a tin ear to the voice of the American people. They spoke. He didn't care. He has a blind eye to what's happening on the ground in Iraq. He's got his head in the sand. ... It's the main issue. Everything else is eclipsed by the war. All of our accomplishments are eclipsed by the war, because we didn't end the war. And the war has an impact on other issues." -Nancy Pelosi Read article.

Asking the Bombers to Try Again

Morris & McGann, Vote.com

In an ABC interview on Monday, Sen. Barack Obama urged us to go back to the era of criminal-justice prosecution of terror suspects, citing the successful efforts to imprison those who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993.

It was key to his attack on the Bush administration, which he charged, has "been willing to skirt basic protections that are in our Constitution . . . It is my firm belief that we can crack down on threats against the United States, but we can do so within the constraints of our Constitution. . .

"In previous terrorist attacks - for example, the first attack against the World Trade Center, we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial. They are currently in US prisons, incapacitated."

This is big - because that prosecution, and the ground rules for it, had more to do with our inability to avert 9/11 than any other single factor.

Because we treated the 1993 WTC bombing as simply a crime, our investigation was slow, sluggish and constrained by the need to acquire admissible evidence to convict the terrorists.

As a result, we didn't know that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were responsible for the attack until 1997 - too late for us to grab Osama when Sudan offered to send him to us in 1996. Clinton and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger turned down the offer, saying we had no grounds on which to hold him or to order his kidnapping or death.

Obama's embrace of the post-'93 approach shows a blindness to the key distinction that has kept us safe since 9/11 - the difference between prosecution and protection. Read article.

Obama's lack of ordinary modesty

James Lewis, American Thinker.com

In his victory speech over Hillary, Barack Obama soared rhetorically about his feelings of humility. And yet he hardly sounded humble:

"generations from now,

we will be able to look back

and tell our children

(with mounting excitement)

that this was the moment

when we began to provide care for the sick,

and good jobs for the jobless.

This was the moment

when the riiiiise of the oceans began to slow,

and our planet began to heal."[bolding added]

Now politicians are allowed some rhetorical overkill, but this is straight into Star Wars territory. There are no real precedents for this in traditional American speechifying, and that is saying something. Obama tells his hypnotized followers that we have not been caring for the sick (false); that we have no good jobs for the jobless (false); that the rise of the oceans (which doesn't exist) will begin to slow (false); and that our planet (which is feeling just fine, thanks) will finally begin to heal. (Also false).

So this is pure drivel from the deep regions of fantasyland. But Obama's brain dead followers are marching right in lockstep. They are a million Weekend at Bernie's, with millions of flatlining Obamanites being propped up to look as if they were alive and conscious. It's the Million Man March of the brain dead.

This election will pit the mind-numbed robots against sensible voters. Who is the majority? That's not clear at all at this point. Read article.

It's Time McCain Picks Up The Glove

Lee Cary, American Thinker.com

Senator Obama's statement at a Jacksonville, Florida fundraiser last Friday is being heralded as a brilliant political move by many in the MSM. It was, in fact, a shameless and unjustified insult to all Republicans, and all Americans.

The man who claims to be a different kind of politician deployed a dirty trick worthy of his upbringing in Chicago's Daley-machine. It was a sad moment in American politics, and counterproductive to all the progress that's come in race relations since the era of Obama's hero, and a hero to us all, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.

As the party's presumptive standard bearer, McCain owes himself, and Republicans, a stern response to the Illinois Senator. And soon.

If you missed Obama's statement, you can read American Thinker's Rick Moran's blog here, and view the video here.

McCain's general silence in the face of him, and millions of Republicans, being called racists, does not, in this instance, provoke confidence in McCain from those of us who are outraged by Obama's sleazy tactics and demagogic antics. Read article.

From Breadbasket to Basket Case

Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Online WSJ.com

As the presidential campaign drones on, Barack Obama and the Democrats are fleshing out the promise of "change" with some specific, big-government policy proposals. Many are familiar, perhaps because they already have been tried - in Argentina.

That country has gone from South American breadbasket to world-class basket case. For the long version of how it happened and why Americans might not want to try it, hop on a flight to Buenos Aires. Here's a condensed version:

Although the winding down of Argentina to the status of international deadbeat began a century ago, the latest chapter is instructive. In March, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner seized on rising soybean prices to slap "a windfall tax" on soy exports. Farmers refused to pay, the president wouldn't budge, and a deadlock ensued.

Much of the rest of the country joined sides with the growers. But the uprising is no longer a tax revolt. It has become a rebellion against unfettered executive reach - or, in the view of the opposition, Mrs. Kirchner's authoritarianism. A week ago thousands of Argentines poured into the streets of cities around the country, banging pots and pans to express their dissatisfaction with their president's heavy-handed ways. It was the largest public outcry since the economic crisis in 2001.

Americans reading that laundry list may note that it sounds a lot like the mindset of the left wing that will dominate the Democratic Party's convention and choose Barack Obama as its candidate in August. From nationalized health care and government-owned refineries to punishing taxes on the rich, Argentina has been there, done that. There are good reasons to find the resemblance disturbing. Read article.

The Demonization Begins

Baldilocks.com

What I said in the last post is still true, but and it's due to be exacerbated by the following racist demagoguery. This is just pathetic.

[The Republicans are] going to try to make you afraid of me. 'He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?' [SNIP]

That old stuff just divides us," he said.

Obama, born to a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya, has cast himself as a candidate who can bridge divides within the country, including those involving race.

Most people couldn't care less about your name and your color, Senator Obama. They fear being lead by you because you have no substantive legislative record, you're a chronic liar and, after explicitly stating that you choose your friends carefully, you have repeatedly and systematically made friends with people who hate this country.

You would "bridge the divide," Senator, by burning that bridge.

Folks, don't let this Sower of Discord shut you up.

(Thanks to Sister Toldjah, who points out that it hasn't been the Republicans who have beaten the public over the head with Obama's race. Read article. See "Race Card.")

We're Afraid of Obama? Maybe He's Afraid of Us

Arnold Ahlert. Political Mavens.com

"They're going to try to make you afraid of me. He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?"-Barack Obama

Thus speaketh the "transcendent" candidate on June 20, claiming Republicans will use race to make Americans "afraid of him." Memo to Sen. Obama: Americans have plenty to fear from you-and race has nothing to do with it.

You may be shocked to hear that there are still Americans who believe, among other things, in self-reliance, low taxes, limited government, integral borders, national security and increasing domestic energy supplies. There are many of us who intuitively understand that "yes we can"-the elevation of everyone-is impossible to achieve without "yes I can"-the accomplishment of individuals. Individuals you and your party see as little more than human ATMs necessary to finance your socialist ambitions. Read article.

Has Affirmative Action Run its Course?

Bob Weir, American Thinker.com

Anyone who has been around for the last few decades has witnessed a sea change in attitudes by whites toward blacks. And, anyone aware of recent history knows that the days of "white only" and "colored only" water fountains, segregated schools and sitting in the back of the bus are ugly memories of hypocrisy for a country that proudly touted its freedom and the Constitution that guaranteed it. In addition, the women's movement has successfully changed attitudes in the marketplace and in the political arena.

Undoubtedly, the country needed a balancing of the scales if those disadvantaged groups were ever to be competitive with their more privileged counterparts. The question that many are now asking is; how much more evidence is needed to end a policy that uses discrimination to, ostensibly, end discrimination? A few decades ago, the idea of a black man or a woman being seriously considered for president was unfathomable to most voters. After the recent tug of war between Senators Obama and Clinton, illustrating record turnouts for a Primary election, it seems evident that this generation is more enlightened than its predecessors.

If he is elected, how could we continue to use a policy that appears to refute and disregard the progress made by blacks since 1961? Imagine having an African-American lead the most powerful nation on earth for the next 8 years, while some qualified whites are being denied promotions in favor of less qualified blacks.

Inasmuch as the Senator has mesmerized a sizable portion of a nation with his eloquent oratory about "change," why not begin that change by proclaiming that AA had its intended effect and is now as much a relic of the past as those "Negroes need not apply" signs that stood in the windows of retail stores in the old South?

Yet, many blacks are reluctant to relinquish the boost they get from AA because it cuts down on the competition. Read article.

10 Concerns about Barack Obama.....It's policy.

William J. Bennett & Seth Leibsohn, NRO.com

1. Barack Obama's foreign policy is dangerous, naïve, and betrays a profound misreading of history.

2. Barack Obama's Iraq policy will hand al-Qaeda a victory and undercut our entire position in the Middle East, while at the same time put a huge source of oil in the hands of terrorists.

3. Barack Obama has sent mixed, confusing, and inconsistent messages on his policy toward Israel.

4. In the primary campaign, Barack Obama consistently campaigned against NAFTA, but has now changed his tune, as he has with other issues.

5. Barack Obama's judgment about personal and professional affiliations is more than troubling.

6. Obama is simply out of step with how terrorists should be handled; he would turn back the clock on how we fight terrorism, using the failed strategy of the 1990s as opposed to the post-9/11 strategy that has kept us safe.

7. Barack Obama's economic policies would hurt the economy.

8. Barack Obama opposes drilling on and offshore to reduce gas and oil prices.

9. Barack Obama is to the left of Hillary Clinton and NARAL on the issue of life.

10. Barack Obama is actually to the left of every member of the U.S. Senate.

.........and.........Whom will a man this far left appoint to the Supreme Court? Read article.

The history of the selection of modern-day vice presidential nominees is chock-full of blunders caused by haste or miscalculations.

Marc Ambinder, National Journal.com

Just after twilight on July 1, 2004, John Kerry slipped through the garden in the back of his Georgetown town house. Accompanied by a single aide and two Secret Service agents, he walked about 60 feet uphill, crossed a side street, and entered the home of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. There he found a fellow senator, John Edwards, waiting for him.

Edwards had just flown in from a private Florida airfield near Disney World. As Kerry and Edwards began the conversation that persuaded the Massachusetts Democrat to choose the North Carolinian as his running mate, reporters from the major news networks, a wire service, and The New York Times milled about in front of Kerry's house. A source deep within the Democratic advance world had tipped them off that the party's presidential nominee would secretly meet that night with the person he would most likely ask to join his ticket. Kerry returned home by 9 p.m. Shortly afterward, floor by floor, the lights went out. The reporters left. Kerry announced his decision on July 6 on his own terms.

Such secrecy and caution may seem excessive, but the history of the selection of modern-day vice presidential nominees is replete with missteps caused by haste or by presidential candidates' being more consumed with political calculations than the prerequisites of the nation's second-highest job. Even though John McCain and Barack Obama began their sorting processes with the benefit of hindsight, they are being tempted by the forces that tripped up their predecessors. Read article.