NOBAMA: TOO RISKY

NOBAMA: TOO RISKY

Presidential elections are usually a choice between the lesser of two evils, and this cycle is certainly no exception. It is extremely rare to find a candidate that exactly matches our own philosophy. Only once in my voting lifetime have I had the opportunity to cast a ballot for a President I knew would nearly identically match my own ethos, and that was Ronald Reagan in 1984. Every other election since has been a compromise, some big, some small. As this election nears, every voter must consider both the times in which we are living and the experience and attributes of those running. Most of us can name someone else we would rather have as our next President, but that is fantasy. The reality is that there is only the one choice, unless you care to waste your ballot on a third party candidate who will not win.

The first factor is the situation in which we find ourselves currently. We are involved in two wars on the other side of the globe. Our national economy and indeed that of the entire world has been rocked by the mortgage mess and falling home values. Politicians of every stripe have been caught being naughty or outright corrupt. Congressional approval ratings are abysmal thanks to the complete incompetence of Democrat leadership on nearly every issue. More than seven years have passed since 9/11, and Bin Laden remains alive and free to taunt us with an occasional video tape. Our ports and borders remain unsecured, allowing a free flow of illegal immigrants and possibly Al Qaeda members. Iraq has improved but isn’t quite completely secured yet. Iran continues its seemingly inexorable march toward nukes while their leader preaches the destruction of Israel. Pakistan holds nuclear weapons under suspect security arrangements with a military heavily infiltrated by terrorist sympathizers. North Korea is a continuing problem with no clear leader and no firm resolution in sight. Africa is beset by AIDS, political violence, and famine despite decades of international assistance. In South America, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela consorts with our enemies and behaves like the petty tyrant he really is. Anywhere one looks around the globe there are situations that directly threaten our national security. That only scratches the surface. In short, this is no time for amateurs nor is there time for learning on the job. The new President will have a full plate from day one.

Barak Hussein Obama has done next to nothing. If his brilliant new ideas were so hot, why has he done absolutely nothing in the Senate since arriving? He has authored no important legislation and made no significant progress on anything. Remember that this is at a time when his own party controlled both the House and Senate with significant margins. It would be different had a Republican majority prevented him from accomplishing his goals, but that was not the case. Even if his record as an Illinois legislator is paper thin. Reaching further back into his history, I still have no idea what a “community organizer” is.

Senator Obama’s associations from the past are at least concerning. He still has not answered to how he could sit in church year after year and not have a problem with Reverend Wright’s sermons damning the United States. Obama described Wright as his “spiritual advisor” until scrutiny forced him to distance himself from the reverend. Then there’s the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers. Senator Obama boldly lied when questioned about Ayers during the last debate. McCain pointed out that Obama had begun his political career in Ayers’ living room, an established fact that Obama falsely denied. Ayers is a man who participated in the bombing of the Pentagon and a New York City Police station and to this day expresses no regrets. Senator Obama constantly claims all the violence took place when he was eight years old. That is a diversion and doesn’t explain or excuse their associations in more recent times. Obama is certainly the most inexperienced man ever to receive the nomination of a major party for President. One term as United States Senator, a stint in the Illinois legislature, and time as a “community organizer” (whatever that means) is the extent of his resume. He has no military experience, not even indirectly. He has no experience as an executive. What he has is the ability to say nothing better than anyone in quite a while. Certainly his rise to prominence is impressive politically but not enough to qualify him for the office.

John McCain has not been a reliable conservative in the past, nor is he espousing uniformly conservative policies now. He has made a career of defying the party when he was needed to pass important legislation. Far too often McCain sided with Democrats and proposed or furthered bills on matters that were not exactly on the top of the Republican agenda. He has spent his political career not as an executive, but as a legislator. He has shown a disturbing propensity to compromise on important issues, an important tool for a Senator, but not necessarily as good for POTUS. Some of his recent proposals, like $300B to buy up home mortgages, smack of unadulterated socialism. McCain has spent the last decade poking a finger in the eyes of conservatives at every opportunity. Now he comes asking for our votes and laying a dubious claim to Reagan conservatism. McCain is fortunate that he is running now, when America needs a man experienced in military policy.

I must address the disappointing Obama endorsement by Colin Powell. The general was brought into the national security staff and later appointed Secretary of State under Republican administrations. Powell was a total disappointment at State, failing to secure U.S. access to attack Iraq from the north through Turkey and throughout generally opposing the policies of the very administration he served. Powell endorsed Obama today on “Meet the Press”, no surprise given Powell’s questionable behavior since he left the government. He has fashioned himself as some sort of neutral wise man. Never mind the fact that he is during time of war NOT endorsing a fellow Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war schooled in military command. No, no, instead let’s endorse a guy whose resume is transparent. General Powell lost his credibility long ago, and now it seems he is losing his mind as well.

John McCain is the only choice. It will require some nose-holding in the voting booth, but there really is no other choice. Barak Obama as President would be dangerous for America. His distorted world view, wrong-headed policies, and radical associations from the past should be enough to put off most voters. Unfortunately the media is in the midst of a torrid affair with Obama, and they spend all their ink covering over any matter that might prevent his election. It will be interesting to see how far the press will go in these last two weeks.

Fear for the republic should Obama and his ACORN defrauders manage to get him elected. Jimmy Carter, anyone?