I will admit that when this election cycle started 100 years ago that although I had heard Sen. Obama's speech in 2004 and knew of his victory and ensuing speech I never really paid much attention to him or his message. I had the general idea, liberal with seemingly good intentions probably into taxes etc. It wasn't until recently as in the last several months that I've started to actually make an effort to hear him speak whenever possible, so as to get a more specific feel for his politics, values, beliefs and judgement.
What I've been able to deduce from this little experience is that more people should listen to what Barrack H. Obama is saying...I mean they should really listen and they should be Terrified! After listening to him at Saddleback I thought surely, his poll numbers would fall and McCain should have a shot at saving us from ourselves. I think it's important to note...this was long before the Palin announcement. This was straight up Barrack Obama vs. Crusty Ol' John McCain. Long committed to voting for McCain, my vote was with him, but my heart really wasn't. Then I watched Saddleback. As I watched the first hour with Sen Obama his answers were flowery and often tangent filled as I friend and I watched we soon started counting the number of times he used the term "judgement call" and "you have to be careful". We later played a fun game of guess the question, the trick was one of us would listen to the question the other would then listen to his response and have to guess what the original question was. This game had a much higher level of difficulty than one would expect.
What happened next is what changed this campaign in my mind forever. After Sen Obama finished, he said his goodbyes and John McCain was introduced. An amazing thing happened. When John McCain was asked the same questions as Barrack Obama, his answers were assertive and succinct. In other words, John McCain knew the answers. He didn't need to use moral equivocations in each sentence to explain himself or his positions. He knew where he stood and he wasn't afraid to say so in a way that normal people would know what he was talking about.
Barrack Obama talks around every issue, because if he says what he truly believes in plain english, the American people would be running the other direction. Most recently I've watched the over hyped O'Reilly interviews. I will go on the record that I am not a regular O'Reilly viewer, the man makes for good Tv and doesn't need my endorsement, but I personally feel O'Reilly's #1 cause is O'Reilly. But say what you will about him at least he asked Obama some issue related questions and allowed Obama the time to sell his story. Here's what I've gleaned from Obama on the issues: Class Warfare is his game on the economy. He's all tax the rich, well under his plan my family is Rich. I assure you this is not the case.
When pressed on his plan to tax some Americans 50% of their income he deferred saying they could afford it. Well he's wrong I can't. What Sen Obama fails to realize is that's just the start of my tax burden. I mean It is still my money right? That's just the federal government's cut. Throw in all his plans to increase payroll tax, increase minimum wage and you've just eliminated the largest growing segment of the American economy, Small Businesses. So I begin to think and O'Reilly comes right out and says something to the effect that is a socialist plan. Barrack then begins to espouse the wonders of China, so I guess socialism is thinking too small, Meet Our Good Leader Obama!
I watched Obama slither and slide through questions about his ties to Bill Ayers, Rev Wright, and Daily Kos among others, with his answers always leading him back to a stump speech, but never to the heart of the question. Why do you hang out with these people? I thought is was great political theater as he managed to get through the interview without condemning nor denying his association with any of them with a smile fit for a Cheshire. He appears to think that Americans have never heard the saying "you can tell a lot about a person by their friends". He downplayed his relationship to Ayers over the last 15 years, first by saying that they barely knew each other then by reciting the old "I was only 8 " when my friend planned to blow up the Capital line. But he refused to admit there was a possible pattern of behavior in his life of associating with those in the extreme left. Those who are heroes in radical circles. For a man that seems to have an answer for everything on that he has no answer....
His ideas on National Security and Foreign Policy sound very similar to another treasure of a president given to us from the democratic party Jimmy Carter. He's found of referencing Directed diplomacy. It's as though he's missed the last 15 years of international diplomacy failures without consequences to back them up. In layman's terms: It's not like we haven't tried that! Do these people really think that the first option on the table is the Military Option? The idea that you can negotiate with Radical Islamic Terrorists is ludicrous. Al-Queda and others want you dead. Do you get that? They don't care if you voted for Bush or Gore. They still want you dead. How do you negotiate with that? Where do you find the middle ground? Well you can't kill me today, but how about you give me five more years? Carter's brand of appeasement led to the international Terrorist organizations we are still dealing with today. Yet Obama is using the same basic principles for his foreign policy 'plan' we'll call it, can't we as Americans realize we don't have to go through another Carter Administration to get to the good stuff? We've got McCain and Palin right now!
On the other hot topic of the year, Independence from Foreign Oil, when Obama is quick to point out that he's open to all kinds of explorations...except for those that are already proven to work. He opposes clean nuclear energy, but highly recommends Wind and discussed his conversations with T. Boone Pickens. You hear a great deal about "Big Oil" but what about "Big Wind" as it should be called with all the money being poured into Washington by those with personal investment in the success of Wind technology . He is currently saying he might possibly be open to off shore drilling , but I have a feeling come Nov 5 he'll change his mind. But he's vehemently opposed to drilling in ANWAR but wasn't pressed on whether or not he'd actually ever visited the place. He did struggle with the tough one of which was more important the family needing reasonable gas prices to drive to work or the emotional stability of the caribou.
Barrack Obama's followers have been spouted nonsense for months about this Candidate of change and hope, suggesting that those of us who "don't get it" missed the message because it went over our heads. But when you really listen to what the Man is saying hope and change have nothing to do with it, He clearly just likes hearing himself talk. I'm pretty sure if American is really listening they are not going to like what he is saying......
