What’s Ludacris About Senator Obama?

A couple of my friends have decided not to vote for Obama after all. The reasons can be broken down into what we now know and what we now suspect about him.

What we now know about Senator Obama:

1. In changing his positions for political expedience on so many issues, his core campaign theme of ‘a different type of politician offering hope and change’ was a lie. He supported his minister, Rev. Wright, until he began to catch heat, and then he dumped him. We would be stupid to believe he learned of Wright’s beliefs at the last moment. He supported the rapper, Ludacris, until he began to catch heat, and then he dumped him. We would be stupid to believe he learned of the rapper’s foul mouth and his “kill the bitches”, “kill the police” rap lyrics at the last moment. He supported public financing of campaigns, until he collected a lot of money, and then he opted out. We could continue with many more examples, but this is enough; my friends got the idea.

2. He can’t seem to admit he was wrong about the surge, and, as a corollary, can’t give any credit for its incredible success where it’s due.

3. His many gaffes on foreign policy (he wanted to bomb an ally, Pakistan; he misunderstood the significance to both parties of Jerusalem; he thinks he can talk Ahmadinejad out of developing the bomb) shows his inexperience and lack of judgment.

4. His economic plans include huge increases in taxes, especially on the investment savings of millions of Americans. He also plans to impose a national health plan that would eventually become a single-payer form of socialized medicine. He wants to impose an “excess profits” tax on oil companies. That would sure bring in a lot more oil. He wants to impose a new tax on U.S. citizens that would help reduce global poverty.

5. Despite his moves to the right immediately after he locked up the nomination (flipped on FISA, on 2nd Amendment, on whether Iran poses a threat to world peace, others), his voting record is that of the most left-wing of all Democrats in Congress.

What we now suspect about Senator Obama:

1. His very long and close association with Reverend Wright and with the Weatherman bomber, William Ayers; his early refusal to honor our flag (he later began wearing a flag pin when the heat became unbearable); his wife’s statements about not being proud of her country and how America is "just downright mean" – taken together make us suspicious that the Obamas may be representative of those few liberals who truly hate their own country.

2. There is also some reason to believe that this man, Senator Obama, has some sort of a Messianic complex. His treatment of General Petraeus in Iraq, his speech in Berlin, where he played the part of an already elected President, coupled with what he reportedly said to members of Congress that “the Europeans see him as a symbol of America’s best traditions” are all quite worrisome. And, of course, speaking privately to supporters in heavily left-liberal San Francisco, Obama let down his hair and described working class people in Pennsylvania as so "bitter" that they "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them."

These friends I speak of who have changed their monds about Obama are life-long Democrats. There is much reason now to be hopeful that the election in November will not return another Jimmy Carter to the presidency. Only one term of Carter was ruinous, and we are still paying the price. One term of Obama would be equally ruinous.