Note: We had a temporary glitch, in which readers’ comments did not appear and some of the text got lost and did not appear in its final form. Hope that is resolved. vdh
Frannie and Freddie
So far we know that the meltdown of Frannie and Freddie, abetted by Wall Street greed, caused the larger financial panic. Yet, there is little outrage that a Franklin Raines or Jim Johnson gave money to oversight members of Congress, hid behind a mantle of political-correctness in boasting about home ownership for everyone, and then cooked the books and borrowed to the hilt to justify mega-bonuses for themselves and their friends.
This was no different from Enron, but Freddie and Fannie miscreants had far more politically-correct cover than did Ken Lay. I don’t think a special prosecutor will ever look into the maze of conflict of interest problems of a Barney Frank, or the political associations of a Franklin Raines, or Congressional members who took cash or discounted loans and then signed off on these massive frauds.
While Obama is right that we need more Wall Street oversight, he cannot or will not explain the relationship of a Raines (informal?) or Johnson (once official) with his campaign, or his past support for resisting regulation of these entities, or his own receipt of funds from them.
Once Wall Street crooks caught on to the Freddie and Fannie schemes, and the availablity of government propping up of paper profits, they too could not resist piling on. But whereas we expected that from fanged Wall-Street serpents, we surely want more from public servants, who supposedly protect the public trust and take an oath to protect the national assets. A Lehman’s Fuld does what such creatures do—maximize profits for themselves and their friends; but a similarly flawed Raines suffers from the additional charge of falsity and hypocrisy.
Do We Want a Trillion-Dollar Increase in Government Programs?
So I fear, his trillion dollars in new entitlements would follow the Fannie and Freddie model: sinecures for hack politicians and ex-officials, big gifts to Congress to ensure lack of oversight, and fraud cloaked by grand slogans of promoting equality and helping the poor. Yes, I’ll pass on all that.
What’s the Matter with Obama?
For all those who write in adoration of Obama’s hope and change mantra, I hope that they can at least see why others are worried about his candidacy. The problem is not an Ayers or Wright per se, but the succession of such odious figures—the bomber Ayers,the racist Pfleger, the Palestinian zealot Khalidi, the crook Rezko, the hyper-racist Wright, etc.—that in aggregate cement the notion of a young hip radical who ingratiated himself with suspect characters, all of whose ideas Obama wishes suddenly to downplay rather than publicize.
Come Clean
He did not just know a Wright or Rezko, but knew them quite well for quite a long time. And in the case of Ayers, Obama has sorely misled: he apparently still emailed and communicated with him after 9/11, when Ayers, on his Fugitive Justice book tour, grandly announced that he regretted only that he had not bombed enough. At that point any further communication was indefensible, since the New York Times had widely circulated Ayers’ views. Yet Obama was emailing him at least until 2005!
A Pattern Here?
But even that coterie of fringe figures would ipsis factis not be fatal to his candidacy, if he and his wife had not serially dropped hints that they had deep reservations about this country that only reinforced the messages we hear from Ayers and Wright (“God D—mn America”)—and therefore confirm the picture of the Obamas as products of a disturbing Chicago leftist circle.
Michelle announces that the U.S. is “downright mean” and that hitherto she had no reason to have pride in America (a logical thing to say, given whom the Obamas had associated with for years). Indeed, her assertions, “For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country,” was not only not an anomaly, but typical of her world view: “Our souls are broken in this nation, ” or “(America is) just downright mean.”
Indeed, such declarations are in line with Obama himself when he says, “And if that child should ever get the chance to travel the world and someone should ask her where is she from, we believe that she should always be able to hold her head high with pride in her voice when she answers, “I am an American.” I think most Americans, given what they’ve seen of the United Nations and the world abroad, are already proud to be Americans and don’t need Barack Obama to restore their faith. And if it were a question of being admired by those on the West Bank, or in Russia, or Iran, they’d rather be disliked.
Still More
Even all that would be tolerable if Obama did not almost serially make the most astounding statements, from calling (before chastised) for reparations, ethnic studies charter schools, and more “Oppression Studies” to demonizing the white working class of Pennsylvania (“And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”)
More Still
But even his associates and his own admissions would not be fatal, had Obama himself not been involved in suspect organizations like ACORN, like the Woods Foundation, and like the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, that typically squandered someone else’s money to help radical organizations undermine existing institutions in service to some utopian vision of what they wish the United States someday to become.
Too Many Lacunae
And even then I would withhold judgment had Obama earned any record of success rather than played on identity politics. He had no distinguished record as an undergraduate at Columbia (so far as we can tell, given his refusal to release his transcripts) that would have won entry to Harvard Law School. Once there, he published nothing, in contrast to past editors at the Law Review. There is no record that his community organizing helped any but the career of Obama, and many of the Rezko projects are now boarded up. As a state legislator there is no record of legislative achievement, but plenty of ‘present’ votes to prepare for further career aggrandizement. As a Chicago Law Professor, there is not a single scholarly article of the sort Chicago insists on for everyone else. And as a US Senator, there is essentially a campaign for president from the day he was sworn in. So, yes, there is a pattern or rhetoric at the expense of achievement.
One sees that had Obama not been of half-African ancestry, or had he not used identity politics to accentuate that background, there is no reason to believe he would have ever left Chicago politics. Certainly he has no record comparable to a Rice or Powell, who excelled in their given areas of expertise, and while proud of their race, still felt it to be incidental to their professional personae. Again in contrast, when concerns about voter registration, Bill Ayers, or Obama’s experience are voiced, both the candidate and his appendages almost instinctively play the race card–we saw that today with the worries over Acorn and the attacks on Palin for raising the Ayers issue yesterday.
The Flip-flopping
And even then I would have withheld judgment had it not been for his (always later retracted after huddling with his advisers) revealing statements that an Iran was not much of a threat, that we needed to cut missile defense, that there was no need for further oil drilling should we just properly inflate our tires, that all U.S. troops should have left Iraq by March 2008, that we should leave NAFTA (later modified), that we should repeal the FISA accords (later modified), and a host of other disturbing contradictions on taxes, guns, abortion, capital punishment, public campaign financing, and almost every other position he took in the early primaries.
The Anoited Do as They Please
But even all that might be tolerable had Obama not engaged in questionable politics that reveal the Old Left’s doctrine of the noble ends always justifying the dirty means—suing to get an opponent off the ballot, his friends leaking, or in collusion with others leaking, sealed divorce records, not once, but twice to eliminate his primary and general election favored rivals, and now legions of Obamaniacs swarming radio shows to intimidate critics, fund raising millions of dollars illegally from foreign donors and the nonexistent, or his efforts to shut down free speech by seeking to sue or intimidate officials to stop unfavorable opposition ads.
Non Hic Porcus
So after a while, it adds up and becomes rather scary—and thus I still resist ‘we are the change we’ve been waiting for,’ vero possumus, and this is the moment when the planet ceased to warm and the seas subsided nonsense. And I have no apologies for such resistance, despite the swarm of emails one receives alleging racism, or worse for not bowing down in obeisance.
Biden
I must likewise differ with legions of readers who suggested Biden won the debate and I was remiss or blinkered in not acknowledging that. He was the more impressive in recall of “facts,” but they were not facts at all. In fact, almost everything he said was simply false, from nutty comments about Hezbollah in Lebanon and our strategy in Afghanistan to his own record on Iraq and Bosnia, or Obama’s stance on Iran. I prefer someone who honestly adduces a few real facts versus another far more polished who believes his sophistry and rhetoric allow him to present dozens of untruths under the banner of “experienced” and “knowledgeable.”
Biden has a little of the Obama con-artist in him (e.g., cf. Obama’s: “Another one of those tricks I had learned: (White) People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. They were more than satisfied, they were relieved — such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn’t seem angry all the time.”). That is, Biden believes that his smile and rhetoric always allow him to say almost anything and (almost) get away with it. In the past, his plagiarism and phony bios had derailed his candidacy only when the evidence was so overwhelming as to become embarrassing for the media. This year had he not been allied with Obama, his serial gaffes, racist remarks, sexist condescension, and fabricated assertions on foreign policy would have long ago made him a national embarrassment.
So yes, I confess I am more impressed with the Idaho graduate who was earnest, if not sometimes hesitant, than the class toady who gets everything wrong as he smirks about his powers of recall. Biden’s falsity even extended to his appearance, as he wore too much make-up that only added to his image of vanity (whitened teeth, hair plugs, frozen forehead and smile).
Going negative
McCain’s problem is that after playing Zeus on Olympus, it is hard to bring up such worries about Obama’s judgment in friends, the type of associations he cultivated in Chicago, and his once hard-left views—without seeming crass and cruel. Obama has so prepped the battlefield, that legitimate worries about whom he knew, what he did, and how that past might explain some of his more astounding assertions, are now de facto seen as racist, or Rovian or mere “smears.”
For McCain to win, the current financial panic will have to subside, he will have to bring up Obama’s serial record of poor judgment, and his background which is far to the left of a Dukakis, Gore, Kerry, or Mondale, but quite synonymous with a European socialist. Palin will have to ignore critics and go out fighting in an unapologetic manner. She is an underutilized asset, since she has no qualms drawing distinct class and cultural lines, and only benefits when the elite go negative on her. It’s not over yet, but last night’s debate was a lost opportunity and such opportunities are rarer as the race winds down.
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26 Comments
1. sarcanon:Not sure whether VDH cares to have nitpicky editorial/typo issues brought to his attention or not, but just in case, perhaps he in the first sentence means “abetted” rather than “abated”? I can’t imagine Wall Street’s greed having abated the current fiscal crisis in any manner. Also, there appears to have been some copy truncated form the end of the piece. In any event, I’m looking forward to his Biola appearance this afternoon!
Oct 8, 2008 - 9:49 am 2. cfbleachers:(I posted this elsewhere, but it was intended for here and was blocked by the glitch. My apologies for anyone who read it in the other thread, but I thought it was most appropriate here.)
Since I have absolutely zero interest in socialism, I am very nervous about the lifelong ties that Sen. Obama has to raging, frothing, fringe left voices. I also think that this sham that since Bill Ayers COMMITTED his heinous acts when Sen. Obama was 8 years old, it shouldn’t hold sway with anyone that a relationship formed some time later.
Bill Ayers and his wife of no soul still adhere to the belief that the acts were legitimate and justifiable and if you believe that as they do, you are most likely a disgraceful cretin.
Moreover, the “I was 8″ argument does not apply to the litany of haters swimming like remora around Sen. Obama, assisting in keeping clean and insulated… the predatory instincts of this campaign and the outer elements of it, with some inner elements shelved or in “deep background” currently.
Rev. Wright, the Nation of Islam (including high ranking staffers Cynthia Miller and Jennifer Mason), Michael Pfleger, Michael Klonsky, Carl Davidson, Khalid al Mansour, ACORN, the New Party, Sam Graham-Felsen, Noam Chomsky, Frank Marshall Davis, Rashid Khalidi, the late Edward Said, Robert Malley, Samantha Power, Tony McPeak, Zbigniew Brzyzinsky, Susan Rice, Franklin Raines, Jim Johnson …because these are not household names…they carry less impact on the electorate.
Put another way, Louis Farrakhan, Arafat, the Daily Kos, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Benedict Arnold, Michael Moore, Ken Lay, Charles Manson and Squeaky Fromme would fit into this cadre nicely. And Pat Buchanan and James Baker would find it comfortable in the Middle East advisors club.
So, we can cease the sophistry about Bill Ayers attempted murder when Sen. Obama was a child and focus on the manifesto that led Ayers and Dorhn to believe for a nanosecond that killing our young men in uniform and their innocent dates at Ft. Dix, or murdering Brinks truck drivers or bombing police stations and trying to kill some of the very men who walk into a crumbling tower…or even gloating about the murder of an innocent actress and an elderly couple and sticking a fork in her pregnant belly…is somehow a belief system that can be “acceptable” or exonerated…is simply beyond the pale.
A separate, but equally dangerous belief system is one in which people of the Jewish faith are stereotyped and demonized with false traits and attributes…making them the scapegoat for the flaws, failures and festering sores of dying regimes. “Jews start all the wars” was a drunken, slobbering slur uttered by Mel Gibson, in a tequila soaked rage. But, when the sober assemble and utter the same slur…in campaign meetings for a candidate who has amassed a blended cocktail of Israel haters with ingredients spanning his entire life…while turning a blind eye toward the all star lineup, …suffocates the words “Never Again” and replace them with “It couldn’t be, could it?”
Khalid al Mansour (aka Don Warden), Rashid Khalidi, the late Edward Said, Tony McPeak, Samantha Power, Susan Rice, Robert Malley (and more especially his parents), Zbigniew Brzyzynski, Anthony Lake…is a lineup that would put James Baker and Pat Buchanan on the bench when it comes to antipathy toward Israel in particular and Jews in general.
To suggest that any serious concerns raised by the individuals with whom Sen. Obama chooses to surround himself…is merely “guilt by association”…is an empty canard.
Of course one would look at the totality of the picture and come to conclusions about what one thinks and how they think…about an array of subjects. Some lesser lights come here or send emails to the contributors and in one breath spout “you people”…obviously coming to conclusions about anyone who posts or comments here by the choice they made to associate in this forum…and in the next breath say that it’s silly to do the very thing with the man who seeks to lead the nation.
It is not “guilt” by association…but deeper understanding of the underlying belief system…by LIFELONG association. The argument about Ayers is dead wrong on three counts. To suggest that it was a fleeting association is a lie. To suggest that it is not meaningful is a sham. And to suggest that the only moment in time that is of consequence is when the bombs blew up…is an intentional misdirection.
Ayers matters. Dorhn matters. Frank Marshall Davis matters. Michael Pfleger matters. Jeremiah Wright matters. Michael Klonsky matters. The radical professors at college, including Edward Said matter. Khalid al Mansour matters. Robert Malley matters. Sam Graham-Felsen matters. The Nation of Islam staffers Jennifer Mason and Cynthia Miller matter. They matter because Sen. Obama’s flirtation with and immersion in people and ideas that froth with rage and hate against America and Israel matter. At least to anyone who says “Never Again”. And that matters…to me.
Oct 8, 2008 - 11:34 am 3. tanstaafl:A teriffic summary of the whole enchilada.
Last night’s debate, indeed, a lost opportunity to bring this stuff to the fore.
Oct 8, 2008 - 12:02 pm 4. Cornhead:Why doesn’t the media question Sen. Obama on his knowledge and experience regarding the military? (e.g. Tell us about our current tank models?)
If he wins, he will be Commander in Chief.
I saw the Gunny Sgt. author of “Once a Marine” on BookTv and to think of a President Obama giving the Marines commands is scary simply because Barack doesn’t know anything about the military. Nothing. Zip.
At least Lincoln read all the military books in the Library of Congress and served in a militia.
And another laugher: some Obama supporter claimed on the radio tha “Sen. Obama will be his own chief economic advisor.”
How’s that?
Did Obama even take Econ 101 at Columbia?
Oct 8, 2008 - 12:17 pm 5. Ron Kean:It’s good to have the thread back. This is no time for a breakdown in communications.
Now where were we? Oh yeah, I remember.
Obama can deny all he wants but many of us believe that he subscribes to the same anti-American anti-capitalistic beliefs as those of his 20 year friends.
Why stay with them if you don’t like what they like? It would be one argument after another. Can you imagine?…
‘OK…OK Michelle. It IS a mean country. I’ve never been proud of it either. Now can we just go to sleep?’
‘I strongly disagree with what you said in your sermon today reverend.’
‘Bill…I appreciate all that you’ve done for me helping me get the cash to those guys to vote for me but I don’t like your ideology. Never did.’
Or did he say, even 5 years ago, ‘I don’t want to hear that anymore! I love this country and everything it stands for. Where else in the world could I have risen to high so fast? Where else could I have started out with nothing and worked and earned enough to buy this beautiful home. This is a great country and anybody who says otherwise is wrong. God bless America.’
What did he used to say?
Oct 8, 2008 - 12:21 pm 6. Fred:Annoited ==> Anointed
Oct 8, 2008 - 12:39 pm 7. Second Thoughts:This election isn’t over. And Obama and His People are at their arrogant worst when they think it’s over. His message is supposedly positive, but his supporters are truly craven. Look at the crude and unnecessary brutality doled out to Senator Clinton after she was “defeated.” I voted for Obama in an earlier primary and regretted that vote almost immediately… I can’t be the only one.
Oct 8, 2008 - 12:45 pm 8. ET:This list contains almost every instance of Obama foot-in-mouth disease that’s been documented, though I think you forgot the bit where Obama said that we can’t just consume as much as we want and expect the world to say “That’s okay”, which was a very revealing moment.
But no matter; those who have bought into the Messiah movement that is the Obama candidacy simply cannot be bothered with *any* of the objections you listed, and it’s quite especially amazing to hear the press, that self-styled hero of the question-authority, all-the-news-that’s-fit-to-print school of thought closing its eyes and ears whenever it concerns anything remotely questionable about the man.
That group of people who sent you email scoffing at your failure to “acknowledge” that Joe Biden “Won” the debate is but one small example of how closed-minded it’s possible to be while believing yourself to be the exemplar of open-mindedness. I encountered a lot of that during college days, and expected that people would eventually grow out of it – but they, like the Pennsylvians they look down upon, seem to cling to their notions of themselves as compassionate, thoughtful, and even-handed philosopher-kings-of-the-people.
Feh!
Oct 8, 2008 - 1:16 pm 9. Alyssa van de Findenhoven:I can understand and relate to the frustration that Dr. Hanson is feeling at this point. The sad truth is that Obama’s success in the campaign is a clear reflection of the state of American media, American education, and American mental laziness. Leftist radicals have been telling Americans for decades that they want control of the whole ball of wax. Americans seem to have grown tired of hearing it (or are simply too young, immature, and undeveloped to know better) and decided to finally let them do their worst.
And they will. Oh, yes . . . . they will.
Oct 8, 2008 - 2:09 pm 10. enscout:McCain almost needed to apologize to voters last night for voting ‘Yea’ on the bailout legislation. The American electorate seems to be more savvy than these impossibly pompous politicians. They have already voted by their actions regarding the matter – stock market continuing to decline. They can see that the bill is not a fix for the problem: just kicking the can down the road & more insidious Federal pork.
By voting for the bill he has clearly indicated that he IS NOT able to rise above his current station: Just another “Do Nothing” US Senator.
I will hold my nose & vote for him, if only to keep the stealthy, crooked Obama from occupying the W H.
God save our Republic.
Oct 8, 2008 - 2:35 pm 11. TLM:“The sad truth is that Obama’s success in the campaign is a clear reflection of the state of American media, American education, and American mental laziness.”
Of these three, I’d pick American education as the crux of the problem. Odd that Obama rarely says anything specific about his education policy when speaking in public, especially considering his work as a school reformer and chairman of the CAC Board. He apparently likes our politicized public education system just the way it is. Or he doesn’t want to give the public a reason to look into his association with his buddy Ayers, “Professor of English” at UIC and noted “school reformer”.
The MSM suddenly feels comfortable putting out “reports” about his association with Ayers. As the economy trumps all else in this election they assume Obama is unstoppable. Now they’re afraid they will look negligent for not vetting the Democratic candidate if he’s shown to be a liar regarding his Chicago past. Truly pathetic attempt by the MSM to appear relevant.
Oct 8, 2008 - 3:25 pm 12. BP:Laziness, indeed. Thanks, VDH – for the most relevant commentary yet on the odd, sleepy, unquestioning acceptance of the surprisingly blank Obama resume and rhetoric.
I say ‘blank’ because he seems able to say (minus the gaffes) just enough about any topic, but often without any arguable specifics and therefore comes off “sounding reasonable.” This has the effect of preempting any criticism of his ‘position’ while simultaneously allowing the hypnotized, yearning, (supposedly) idealistic aspirations of my fellow Democrats to be projected on this hip, inoffensive canvas.
Dangerous.
I guess when I said a few weeks back in the company of my nearly all-liberal pals that “We at least have the choice this election of two unquestionably decent candidates” and was greeted by incredulous stares and silence.
Strange days indeed.
Oct 8, 2008 - 7:26 pm 13. John Mclachlan:I am from the UK but am following the US presidential election. I believe that there is a strong defeatist attitude in the McCain camp. There is also a contempt of and fear of the people every bit as pronounced as the elitist attitude of the Obama camp. The public’s concern about the financial situation is acknowledged as superceding most other issues in importance. There is documentary evidence that the cause of the current financeal crisis has its roots in the CRA. Under the CRA, the democrats legislated that banks recklessly lent money to special interests who would be unlikely to repay the money. The oversight on the financial industry consisted of ensuring that lenders were being reckless with their depositor’s money. There is also the court case where Sen Obama upheld the right of people who were unlikely to repay a loan, being loaned or given money, in circumstances where common sense suggests doing so was unwise, from a purely commercial point of view, rather than in the pursuit of politically driven redistribution of wealth. (A socialist policy) (Sen Obama’s membership of the new party, and its verifiable agenda, can be tied to the current financial crisis. Rather than stating that the proponents of socialist policies are consciously evil (which some of them are) it is reasonable to state that the law of unintended effect will always create a catastrophe, whenever any attempt to defeat the market is made for political reasons, no matter what the motive or laudatory the objective. The issue of motive is irrelevant, if the issue of judgement is at the forefront as an issue. However “NICE” Sen Obama and his followers may be, their ability to maintain a healthy economy is demonstrably lacking, since like all caring democrats, they are impatient for eliminating injustice and unhappiness, but will kill the goose that layed the golden eggs in trying to finance the unachievable. I believe that most voters are able to understand the origin of the financial crisis, the culpability of the democrats and of Sen Obama and need only to have the message repeated to them sufficiently often that it sticks.
Oct 9, 2008 - 2:16 am 14. RJ:Months ago I told my friends that our dear Chicago street pimp wanna be thug with no balls Obama would use racism as a major offensive and defensive tactic.
I used a basketball as my example; look at its membrane and consider this a racism shield.
All that is inside, the real facts and guts (heart and soul?) pertaining to Obama and his campaign is supposed to be shielded via the “racism membrane” as early as possible. Truth does not matter, controlling or deflecting the energy direction is primary.
Racism as a shield could do wonders for his game of politics. The campaign would then just bounce along its chosen path toward the presidency.
Freud would love to have Obama as a patient.
How long would the good Dr. need to analyze? What would happen if the interchange were successful?
Obama might never go back to playing his pick up basketball games. He might move out of Chicago, even Illinois after completing his time with Herr Freud.
The sunshine of Hawaii might call. Would Grandmother be invited to live in his house with the wife and kids? Would Obama give up smoking for good?
Dreams contain hope and change, sometimes even reality.
Oct 9, 2008 - 5:49 am 15. Amused Cynic » Blog Archive » I don’t think Obama really is a terribly smart guy…I think he just plays one on TV…:[...] the meantime, back to Hanson, whose careful recitation dramatically illustrates the weirdness of the Obama phenomenon. And even [...]
Oct 9, 2008 - 6:16 am 16. goffredo:Obama says in a presidential debate that he would go into Pakistan after Bib Laden regardless of what Pakistan thinks. Obama was very serious and indeed he intended to be taken seriously by the american people. In another informal situation McCain had made a bad taste joke saying bomb-bomb-bomb Iran. McCain was joking amoung friends. Bad joke? Ok. Bad friends? Maybe, but still a joke. The two situations, audiences, messages and political implications are hugely different. I wish the McCain people keep this in mind. Obama is fast and slick and I am concerned McCain has not yet found the way to tackle him hard.
Oct 9, 2008 - 8:36 am 17. Webutante:Thank you for spelling it all out, Victor.
Oct 9, 2008 - 9:12 am 18. sqjtaipei:Great summary. Thanks for making such a list. He lost me during the “Throwing grandma under the bus speech” back in March.
Oct 9, 2008 - 10:42 am 19. Ron Kean:A day in the life of Barak Obama:
Barak – ‘Reverend, you’re starting to sound like a broken record and I don’t like it. One day whites are bad. The next day America’s bad. Then it’s back to the whites again. I’m feeling very uncomfortable.’
Rev. Wright – ‘Man…look at this crowd. They love me. I’ve been doing this shtick since your girls were babies. I ain’t stopping this gravy train. ‘
Barak – ‘Seriously, I love this country and your generalizations and exaggerations are very offensive.’
Rev. Wright – ‘I’ll talk to Farrakhan. He’ll get you the whole south side. Do you want to go to the senate? Big government. That’s where the big money is. ‘
Barak – ‘God damn America.’
Later that day in the boardroom:
Barak – ‘ Geez Bill, we blew through that 50 million like grease through a goose.’
Ayres – ‘ I think I can get another hundred. Just keep smiling and showing up at the meetings and let me handle the rest.’
Barak – ‘Ya know Bill, we’ve never talked about anything you did before the CAC. What college did you go to? What was your major? What was it like back then?’
Ayres – ‘ I was just like everybody else…went to a couple of protest marches and smoked a lot of pot.’
Barak – ‘I bet you never had stuff as good as the Maui Wowie we used to have.’
Ayres – ‘I remember when you could get an ounce for $15.00.’
Barak – ‘Ha Ha Ha That’s funny. Now where were we? Oh yeah. How quick can you get the hundred mil? I can get Farrakhan to give me the whole south side. We’re talking about the senate.’
Ayres – ‘The senate? Man…that blows me away. Figuratively speaking of course.’
Oct 9, 2008 - 9:14 pm 20. George Best:People who want handouts, who are jealous of success, or just have a hatred for George Bush for no real reason could care less about these debates and who Obama knows or hangs out with.
If the debates really mattered, these politicians like Biden and Obama wouldnt flat out lie like they do. Its just a chance for people to see them talk like it is a sermon.
Who really believes that Obamas statement that anyone who makes 250k or less wont have their taxes increased? That is the biggest fraud in the world yet he says it because it keeps his base of stupidity in line.
We all know its Obamas base that have caused this financial problem. The guilt and pressure of those are succesful or make the decisions with credit are made to feel bad that poor less succesful people cant live better. Who in their own lives would loan money to people who cant or wont pay it back because they live day to day trying to get what they can.
We can analyze what Obama is or what he says, but the intelligent people who see it would never vote for him so it is pointless. What needs to be discussed is how you get the idiot vote to your side. Obama knows how to do it by lying and convincing people what he will do when he knows it is not true. The idiot base wants something to grab on to because they hate being at the bottom of the capitalist food chain so they will vote for Obama.
Mc Cain is so pathetic that any decent Republican candidate would wipe the floor with Obama, even in these tough times. That tells you what this country really feels about Obama. However, Obama is running for President at the perfect time and lying his ass off to get elected because he knows this is the only time he has a shot and he is doing everything he can. That is his history, do what you need to do to get elected regardless of the facts.
The fact he could ever be considered a President by the people of this great country shows we are on a downward spiral that can only be corrected by some new leadership in the Republican party. It might turn out to be Palin, but Obama is going to make history and destroy our country while we Republicans reorganize. Lets hope this reorganization does not take two terms.
Oct 10, 2008 - 6:51 am 21. Israpundit » Blog Archive:[...] Not Quite Ready to Join the Crusade [...]
Oct 10, 2008 - 9:28 am 22. thud:As a Brit hoping to move to America I believed I was running away from the damage socialism does…not to it…do not underestimate the smiles of a modern socialist.
Oct 10, 2008 - 3:39 pm 23. jim flenniken:small correction to the Dr’s excellent post: Jim Johnson is still involved with the Obama campaign, just behind the scenes: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Johnson_to_lead_Obama_briefing.html
Oct 10, 2008 - 4:10 pm 24. Ron Kean:It’s Saturday night almost 11:00 PM and I believe somebody is trying to sabotage VDH.
We can’t post on his new thread…AGAIN.
Something’s going one here.
Oct 11, 2008 - 8:59 pm 25. Sandra M:Last night I saw a documentary on SAVING OUR ECONOMY that will be repeated at various times on the Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Channel. It names names which is what Americans whose savings have been wiped out by the likes of Barney Frank want to know.
Barney Frank has a highly gerrymandered district that in any other year would be safe. But this year has caught the attention of many people who might not ordinarily vote or pay attention to politics. I have donated to Barney’s Republican opponent Earl Sholley and to John Murtha’s Republican opponent, William
Russell.
High credit card rates a mafioso loan shark could love and an onerous bankruptcy law? How about a Global Poverty Act which would take part of our GNP and give it to the UN to spend? All are courtesy of Joe Biden who’s up for re-election to the Senate this year. His opponent, Christine O’Donnell has an interesting web site. Do visit.
It’s important that voters know that after two years of Democrat control and a do nothing congress, we can elect a Republican house. One third of the Senate is up for re-election and we might even be able to take over the Senate as well. The majority party chairs the committees and sets the agenda. Electing “blue dog” democrats in Republican districts was Rahm Emanuel’s brilliant idea. The left howled that these were conservatives but having those seats gave the Dem party POWER. And that’s what they’re all about. They’re willing to win dirty: the FBI now has ACORN investigations in 10 states.
I see the Obama campaign like a large cauldron of soup that’s beginning to boil. Bubbles (scandals) are popping up all over and he must be in a sweat about these coming to the surface before November 4.
By the way the latest is that Bill Ayers may have helped co-write Obama’s DREAMS OF MY FATHER. Jack Cashill, author of HOODWINKED,does a very competent literary comparison between Obama and Bill Ayer’s memoirs.
Harry Reid, Charles Schumer and Chris Dodd will be up for re-election in 2010, which gives the voters time to find first-rate opponents to challenge them. People will not soon forget being impoverished by these clowns.
I have lots more political info at my blog: http:sandrabarracuda.wordpress.com
Feel free to copy, paste and send anything there you find interesting to whoever’s on your email list.
We have the best candidate since Reagan on our side and the other one we can push or carry over the finish line as Rush recently said.
Oct 12, 2008 - 8:04 am 26. frank Miller:If Obama wins, America will survive.
Oct 23, 2008 - 4:37 amFM