By By Tray Smith
B. Hussein Obama tells his supporters that they are the change they’ve been waiting for. But as the “New York Time’s” David Brooks recently asked, if Obama’s supporters are the change they’ve been waiting for, why have they been waiting if they themselves have been here all along? Such inconsistencies in Obama’s rhetoric are symbolic of much greater flaws in Obama’s politics, which have recently come into long overdue criticisms from members of the political punditry.
To date, the leading critique of B. Hussein’s presidential candidacy has been its shortage of detailed policy proposals and its reliance on, in the words of John McCain, “eloquent but empty promises of change.” Obama has sought to correct those concerns and has greatly overcompensated. Indeed, we are beginning to learn that the only thing worse than the Obama campaign without a specific vision for the country is the specific vision for the country Obama has recently begun to roll out.
After his ninth consecutive primary victory last Tuesday in Wisconsin, Obama appeared before a crowd of supporters in Houston to celebrate his victory. There, he bemoaned the plight of a struggling American he met on the campaign trail who had “somehow entered into” a predatory loan and saw her mortgage payment double in two weeks. It should be interesting to discover the way in which this individual “somehow” entered into a predatory loan. Did she, as is customary of sub prime mortgage recipients, go to a lending institution, receive a substandard credit report, and willingly take out such a loan because she concluded it was her best financial option? Or did she trip over and fall into it after leaving a Mardi Gras Parade with a little too much alcohol in her blood stream?
In order to resolve this woman’s struggle, B. Hussein proposed cracking down on the fraudulent lenders who were tricking her out of her dream. How likely is it, however, that this woman would have ever realized her dream in the first place had she not been allowed to take out a sub prime mortgage with which to buy her own home?
Thursday night, in a debate with his Democratic presidential rival Senator Hillary Clinton, Obama stated that he would be willing to visit, as president, the leaders of threatening U.S. adversaries, including the terrorist sponsoring dictators of Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. Preventing such visits would be a problem because, according to Obama, “If we think that meeting with the president is a privilege that has to be earned, that reinforces the sense that we stand above the rest of the world.”
As president, would Obama not try to reinforce the sense that we stand above the rest of the world? Is there anyone he thinks has not earned the privilege of meeting with the president, such as Osama bin Laden? If so, is it because America does in fact stand above him? Does the man aspiring to be our next leader doubt America’s global moral, economic and military supremacy?
B. Hussein has recently come under fire for using lines from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick in his speeches. He insists the use of the phrases is justified because Patrick supports Obama, serves as his national co-chairman and has given him permission to use the material in campaign appearances. But should a candidate who has garnered substantial support based partially on his skill as an orator not at least speak his own words? Is reliance on other candidates for campaign lines the type of “new politics” that Senator Obama is said to embolden?
Last year, the National Journal named Obama as the most liberal senator. More liberal than Hillary Clinton, more liberal than John Kerry, and yes, more liberal than our hero of Chappaquiddick, Ted Kennedy. Just last week, Sen. Obama opposed isolating phone companies who cooperated with the government in monitoring terrorist communications from lawsuits. He has proposed lifting the cap on payroll taxes without adjusting benefits accordingly, which would be the largest tax increase in our history. Senator Obama is not only pro-choice, but he supports the tragic practice known as partial-birth abortion. How does Obama reconcile this record with his claim to represent post-partisan politics?
Since Obama left the Illinois State Legislature to run for the U.S. Senate in 2004, he has been a rising star in the Democratic Party. Less of a bubble than a hot air balloon, Obama is still unlikely to escape the prophecy that all bubbles burst. The only remaining question is whether his bubble will burst before or after the American people make the mistake of selecting him to be their commander-in-chief.
Tray Smith is a political columnist for the Atmore Advance. He is a student at Escambia County High School and can be reached at tsmith_90@ hotmail.com.