The case against Barack Obama

With the latest polls, indications are that Barack Obama will likely be elected President of the United States. It is undeniable that the public is dissatisfied with President Bush, Iraq, and now the financial mess. All of this seems to be working against John McCain. Yet, I can only hope that voters will think long and hard before casting their votes for Obama. There are so many questions, so much doubt. I would like to outline why Obama should not be elected.

Experience

Barack Obama has served in the US Senate since 2004. His record in the Senate is negligible. He has no legislative accomplishments and has authored no legislation. Indeed, soon after arriving in the Senate, Obama launched his campaign for president, which has consumed his time ever since. Prior to that, he was a state senator from Illinois, being elected in the mid-90s. His record as a state senator in Illinois is also sparse.

Prior to being elected to the State Senate, Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago, work that his wife, Michelle, quoted as being something that no other candidate could boast. Yet, those years also have been filled with mystery and questions. What exactly did he do? What did he accomplish? Lately, some details have started to come out, which will be discussed later.

Aside from being a charismatic figure and a stirring speaker (when he has a teleprompter), there is little or nothing to suggest that Obama is prepared to be president.

Questionable Background

Obama’s early years are somewhat mysterious although he has authored two autobiographies by the age of 46. His father deserted the family when Barack was two. Rumors still abound that Obama might have been born in Kenya rather than Hawaii (which would make him ineligible to run for president). He has also been hounded by rumors that he was raised as a Muslim in his early years. Neither charge has been substantiated, and I do not give them credence.

After finishing university, Obama moved to Chicago, where he became involved in community organizing. It has now been revealed that part of his activities involved an association with ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). This partially involved giving training classes for ACORN leaders.

Questionable Associations

Along with his inexperience, the issue of Obama’s associations are a prime concern. The list is long.

Jeremiah Wright

Most of the publicity has gone to Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Wright’s incendiary sermons have been seen all over the nation on TV, so there is no need to recount them here. When they became common knowledge, Obama was forced to disown the comments and deny that he had ever been present and heard the more controversial words. His handling of the controversy was clumsy at best. Initially refusing to disown Wright and the church, Obama tried to walk a middle ground between his black supporters and the white supporters he needed to be elected. Yet, Wright would not go away. His further comments, added to a bizarre sermon by Catholic priest, Father Michael Pfleger in which he derided Hillary Clinton in racial terms, only added fuel to the fire. Pfleger is a controversial figure in his own right. A few years back, he spoke at a rally in Chicago protesting a gun store owner. Pfleger, in his comments, all but threatened the owner with physical violence.

It has also been revealed that Obama, while a state senator and US senator, directed funds to Pfleger’s church. (St Sabina in Chicago).

Obama has now left the Trinity United Church and denounced Wright.

Yet, questions still persist as to how he could remain in that church for 20 years and not know what was being said by the pastor who married him and Michelle, and baptized their children. On one occasion, Obama conceded he had heard some of Wright’s more incendiary comments-then retreated back to his denials. Wright’s comments about America, coupled with Michelle Obama’s controversial comments about “being proud of her country for the first time in her adult lifetime” raise concerns about Barack’s (and Michelle’s) inner attitudes.

In short, Obama did not handle the Wright affair effectively or credibly. The whole affair leaves a lot of questions that have not really been resolved.

Tony Rezko

Perhaps even more serious than Obama’s association with Wright is his friendship and financial association with now-jailed financier, Antoin (Tony) Rezko. This wheeler-dealer was ostensibly a housing developer , who was also deep into Illinois politics-reaching into the Governor’s mansion of Governor Rod Blagojevich. Rezko was convicted this year by a federal jury in Chicago on corruption charges. He is a long-time friend, confident and contributor to Barack Obama.

It was Rezko who helped Obama purchase a home in Chicago under suspicious circumstances. Under the arrangement, Obama purchased his home at a below-market price. Rezko and his wife purchased the adjacent property at an above-market price then sold part of the lot to Obama. Obama has himself admitted that the deal was a mistake on his part.

William Ayres

William Ayres, now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was a fugitive member of the Weatherunderground, a terrorist organization during the turbulent 1960s and 70s. Ayres and his cohorts were involved in bombings of the US Capitol, the Pentagon and New York City Police Hqs. He and his now-wife, Bernadine Dohrn eventually surrendered. Ayres was never prosecuted due to prosecutorial and investigator misconduct. On the eve of 9-11, he told an interviewer that he had no regrets about his activities and wished he had done more. Just a few years ago, he was photographed for a magazine standing on an American flag.

What is Ayres’ connection with Obama? It goes back to Obama’s first run for the Illinois Senate in the 90s. Obama was escorted to the Chicago home of Ayres and Dohrn for a meeting, in which they pledged their support for his candidacy. In addition, Obama served on the board of the Woods Foundation with Ayres and participated in seminars with him. Obama has helped direct funds to Ayres’ school programs-which were designed to radicalize school kids. Ayres may no longer be a terrorist, but he is still a radical.

The mainstream media, typically, has been slow to dig into the Ayres connection. Yet, when Obama was asked about Ayres at a primary debate, he handled it awkwardly, describing Ayres as a professor who “lived in the neighborhood”. Obama condemned Ayres’ Weatherunderground activities, pointing out that they occurred when he (Obama) was eight years old.

ACORN

This shadowy, yet massive organization has offices in over 100 cities in the US in addition to Canada, the Dominican Republic and Peru. Headed by Maude Hurd, a long-time community activist, they are involved in a variety of activities on behalf of low-income families. Of most interest is their work in voter registration and lobbying Congress and banks to extend sub-prime home loans to lower-income borrowers. Their name has surfaced in the recent bailout crisis. According to their web site, the current financial mess is blamed on “predatory lenders’’-period.

In connection to voter registration, ACORN has been implicated in criminal investigations in numerous states. Several ACORN workers have been prosecuted for filing fraudulent voter registrations . They are reportedly under investigation by the Justice Department.

While ACORN professes to be non-partisan and to receive no federal funding, they have received millions from HUD, and they are little more than an arm of the Democratic Party. They are, in short, a left-wing organization. In the first draft of the bailout bill, Democrats attempted unsuccessfully to sneak funding for ACORN into the bill

During Obama’s community organizing days, Obama was involved with ACORN and provided their officers with training classes. He helped plan ACORN protests and also acted on occasion as their attorney in Chicago.

In addition, the New York Times reported on May 11, 2008 that while Obama served on the board of the Woods Foundation and the Joyce Foundation, he helped direct tens of millions of dollars to ACORN and other community organizations. (NYT article by Jo Becker and Christopher Drew dated May 11, 2008).

Liberal Philosophy

Finally, it is Obama’s liberal philosophy that argues against his election. Of course, if you favor a far-left president, then Obama is your man. Conservatives, of course, have no reason to consider voting for Obama. However, if there are people in the middle who are considering voting for Obama, they should seriously consider what kinds of “change” he will bring about. His inexperience suggests that his will be an administration marked by incompetence reminiscent of Jimmy Carter. In terms of foreign policy, his commitment to continue the War on Terror is suspect. He is against Guantanemo, so what will he do with captured terrorists-flood the federal courts with them? What about wiretapping those who are in contact with known terrorists abroad? And, of course, will he pull our military out of Iraq before we have achieved our mission there? Seemingly, he will. It is understandable that many are tired of what has transpired in Iraq. Yet, it must be realized that we are in a global war against radical Islam that has declared war on us. Whether Al-Qaida was in Iraq or not when we invaded, they are there now fighting against our military. The terrorists must be defeated in Iraq, and we are winning. I fear Obama would rob us of that victory.

In terms of taxes, it is obvious that they will rise under President Obama. That includes corporate taxes, capital gains taxes and death taxes. He promises that 95% of families will get a tax break. Not with the programs he wants to institute. Since when do liberal politicians lower taxes? He also promises universal health care. Aside from the folly of turning health care over to the incompetent government, does anyone really think we can afford this?

Obama, of course, tries to appeal to a wide range of voters by downplaying his liberal leanings. Yet, the associations I have outlined above put the lie to that. No, Obama will bring in an army of appointees that will do the dirty work while he continues to position himself as a middle of the roader-much like Clinton did.

In addition, as President, Obama will have the opportunity to appoint numerous federal judges as well as probably 2 or 3 Supreme Court judges. This is an area where Obama really scares me. There is no doubt that Obama would appoint far-leftists to the federal bench. Carter did and so did Clinton. As a DEA agent, I saw first-hand how liberal Carter-appointed federal judges took the side of defendants as opposed to the prosecution. The judges who are appointed by presidents are lifetime positions. They continue to wield their influence long after a president has left office. One of the things that President Bush has done well is appoint quality judges (Harriet Miers notwithstanding). Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress have held up numerous appointments. Thus, there are still plenty of vacancies to be filled.

In summary, Obama would take this country in a dangerous leftist direction toward bigger government and socialism that would not help our economy. The list of questionable associates and friends is too long to ignore. His inexperience and negligible record as a state and US senator raises the question of what qualifies him to be President in the first place. Great speeches shouldn’t alleviate those concerns.

I think one reason for Obama’s wide support is the idea that his election would help America get beyond race, which all of us want to do. With all due respect, I think that is an illusion. As I have said before, America is ready for a black president, female, president, Hispanic, Asian-American or whatever. I just don’t feel Obama is the right one.

Poll after poll in recent years indicate that most Americans consider themselves to be either conservative or in the middle with only a fraction calling themselves “liberal” (around 20+%). Therefore, I argue that Obama’s true beliefs and vision for America don’t fit those of the overwhelming majority of the American people. Yet, he has convinced many in the center that he represents their ideals. If only these people could see through the rhetoric and consider what this obviously talented man, Barack Obama, is really all about.

As regards John McCain, he also has his weaknesses. On occasion, he has let conservatives down. His running mate also has legitimate question regarding her own experience. Nevertheless, in these dangerous times, turning the nation over to Obama seems to me as nothing short of reckless.

gary fouse

fousesquawk

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