Monday, May 5, 2008

Barack Obama: Guilty By Association?

By now everyone knows the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and what he has done to the Obama campaign, but what about another of Barack Obama’s friends, Deval Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts? I just read an interesting opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by Jon Keller in which Keller essentially called out all of Patrick’s faults and proceeded to say that Obama would end up just like Patrick. The article brings up many similarities between Obama and Patrick: They are both African American, they both attended Harvard Law and they both frequently focus on “change” in their rhetoric. Earlier this year in a campaign speech, Obama even borrowed some words from one of Patrick’s speeches and was accused of plagiarism. The two are close friends, and may be similar in some ways, but is the assumption that Obama will follow the same path as his friend really fair?

I am not personally an Obama supporter, and I am not planning to vote for him come election time, but this is not because of the actions of his friends and acquaintances. To judge him solely on that would be short-sighted, and I feel for the guy for enduring so much judgment, even if this sort of scrutiny does come with the territory. While I do think Obama might be promising more than he can deliver, the main reason I don’t support him is that I don’t agree with many of his major policies. One of Keller’s major criticisms of Obama in the article revolves around these promises of change. Deval Patrick has failed on several occasions to see his promised changes through, and Keller thinks Obama is likely to do the same. I, too, question whether Obama will be able to carry his changes to completion, as I am always skeptical of politicians that make grand promises, but one thing makes me think that he perhaps isn’t just paying lip-service.

A gas tax holiday has recently been proposed, which McCain and Clinton are supporting and Obama is opposing. I firmly agree with Obama on this, and I respect that he is holding his ground. Most Americans don’t understand economics all that well, and many will jump on the gas tax holiday bandwagon. It would have been easy for Obama to support the tax holiday along with Clinton and McCain and gain the goodwill of millions of Americans who are faced with the reality of $4 a gallon gas, but it wouldn’t have been the best move for the country. Obama may be more perseverant than people think, and these allegations that he will be another Deval Patrick may prove to be a bit premature.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

MY FELLOW "BITTER", STUPID, WORKING CLASS PEOPLE :-)

If you think like Barack Obama, that WORKING CLASS PEOPLE are just a bunch of "BITTER"!, STUPID, PEASANTS, Cash COWS!, and CANNON FODDER. :-(

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think Barack Obama with little or no experience would be better than Hillary Clinton with 35 years experience.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with no experience can fix an economy on the verge of collapse better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) led the greatest economic expansion, and prosperity in American history.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with no experience fighting for universal health care can get it for you better than Hillary Clinton. Who anticipated this current health care crisis back in 1993, and fought a pitched battle against overwhelming odds to get universal health care for all the American people.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with no experience can manage, and get us out of two wars better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) went to war only when he was convinced that he absolutely had to. Then completed the mission in record time against a nuclear power. AND DID NOT LOSE THE LIFE OF A SINGLE AMERICAN SOLDIER. NOT ONE!

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with no experience saving the environment is better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) left office with the greatest amount of environmental cleanup, and protections in American history.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with little or no education experience is better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) made higher education affordable for every American. And created higher job demand and starting salary’s than they had ever been before or since.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with no experience will be better than Hillary Clinton who spent 8 years at the right hand of President Bill Clinton. Who is already on record as one of the greatest Presidents in American history.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that you can change the way Washington works with pretty speeches from Obama, rather than with the experience, and political expertise of two master politicians ON YOUR SIDE like Hillary and Bill Clinton..

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think all those Republicans voting for Obama in the Democratic primaries, and caucuses are doing so because they think he is a stronger Democratic candidate than Hillary Clinton. :-)

Best regards

jacksmith... Working Class :-)

p.s. You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you don't know that the huge amounts of money funding the Obama campaign to try and defeat Hillary Clinton is coming in from the insurance, and medical industry, that has been ripping you off, and killing you and your children. And denying you, and your loved ones the life saving medical care you needed. All just so they can make more huge immoral profits for them-selves off of your suffering...

You see, back in 1993 Hillary Clinton had the audacity, and nerve to try and get quality, affordable universal health care for everyone to prevent the suffering and needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of you each year. :-)

Approx. 100,000 of you die each year from medical accidents from a rush to profit by the insurance, and medical industry. Another 120,000 of you die each year from treatable illness that people in other developed countries don’t die from. And I could go on, and on...

OBAMA AIDE: "WORKING-CLASS VOTERS NOT KEY FOR DEMOCRATS" :o

Anonymous said...

That settles it! I definitely won't vote for Pastor Wright next November! :D

(And yes, the gas tax holiday is a stupid idea and the worst sort of pokitical pandering.)

Anonymous said...

The issue is that with such a short-lived political history, we don't have much basis to argue what Obama will actually do. He is a wild-card so to speak in that he promises the moon but we don't know if he'll actually deliver.

His speeches are well written and he has charisma, but charisma and good speeches aren't wisdom, and wisdom we need more than charisma or good speech writers these days.

Thus we have looked to who he surrounds himself with to try and determine who he is. It is one thing to associate with people, another to have them as close friends.

I associate with people I completely disagree with, but with people I consider close friends I share something. Usually it is a belief, be it about economics, spirituality, politics, or entertainment. We don't have to agree on everything to be close friends, but there is something we share that makes the friendship worthwhile.

So I can say that we can't define Obama by his friends outright. But if all of his friends share similar radical beliefs I call to question the wisdom of a man trying to become President. If it only takes one rotten apple to spoil the bunch, how am I to believe one good apple survived among so many rotten ones?

I find it troubling that it is when his friends become a problem that he distances himself from them.

His wife is a firecracker in her own right and, again, Obama had chosen her as his wife and hasn't distanced himself from her comments, nor made any statement trying to say that she needs to calm down or watch her mouth. If you don't say you disagree then you are agreeing.

So it is in the timing of his choices that makes me suspect. It is in the lack of forethought that makes me tentative.

From day 1 Obama should have started talking about issues and not ideas. I know the "why" and "what" of modern issues pretty well and I quickly got tired of his lofty restating the same things over and over. He hadn't, until recently, been giving enough of the "how" for me to ever support him.

From day 1 Obama should have publicly distanced himself from his controversial friends before it became politically advantageous. People call him on holding court with some very anti-American people, it makes Americans worry about the intentions of Obama. Especially when he makes remarks about why people believe in the things they do. I find that one statement alone enough to discredit him from ever getting my vote or support.

If Obama had done these things, I would be less disgusted by him. Not that I love the other candidates, they all have their own issues. But for people to talk him up like he's the cat's meow is a sad commentary on the awareness and intelligence of the modern American citizen.