Friday, October 31, 2008

MORE MUSINGS

Information is flowing hot and heavy - the tragedy is that so many people are voting based upon incomplete or false stories... I am good friends with many who support either McCain or Obama. What is startling to me is that those favoring McCain usually have a few good reasons for doing so while those favoring Obama either simply repeat Obama talking points or talk in the broadest of generalities. If you have been following this blog over time, I check all sides out. I have heard a lot from both sides, and indicated my endorsement in my prior post. Lots of things still go through my mind, and I will share some of them here...

1) People despair on not knowing more about Barack Obama. It is not for lack of information. They simply have to have a diversity of news sources - not just MSNBC, CNN, or other sources that the liberal ADA rates as liberal! Fox is rated 48 on a scale of 1 to 100, almost in the center, but looks conservative only by comparison. There are also many books, some written by Obama, some by people friendly to him, and some hostile to him. The same is true of McCain, except that the mainstream media have been totally uncritical of Obama/Biden and totally critical of McCain/Palin., It is not as though one side is without sin. Rather, it is because the mainstream media has taken sides and has chosen to ignore a plethora of stories about the Democrats at ALL levels and create stories unfavorable to the GOP. Remember the one about someone at a Palin rally yelling "kill him"? The Secret Service said it never happened, so the reporter probably mouthed the words himself and then wrote them as "news". The blatantly left-wing Associated Press has written dozens of negative stories on Governor Palin. I have yet to see one criticizing the frequent inconsistencies and lies of Obama/Biden. At the VP Debate for example, the McCain website listed 32 lies that Biden told. The press was silent. For example Biden said he and Barack were against any redefining of marriage to include homosexuals. On the Ellen Degeneris Show, he said to wild applause that he and Obama would vote against Proposition 8 in California if they lived there and thought a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage was "regressive". Obama voted 94 times to raise taxes. Why anyone would think he would cut them now is absurd. Higher taxes and redistribution of wealth is in his blood. Character matters, and even a modicum of research into these and dozens of other issues would reveal that the Democrats are challenged when it comes to character.

2) In the book, THE FAITH OF BARACK OBAMA, by Stephen Mansfield of the NY Times, Obama admits he found at Trinity "validation for what he already believed." When you see all the Christian things that Obama specifically DISBELIEVES, you will know he is not a Christian at all. Jesus Christ says that if you do not accept him, your father is the devil. Obama himself says he did not come to Christ as in salvation or submitting himself to him, so his father is the devil! That is why he lies so well. He lied about accepting public financing, he lied about the 250k tax threshold (he is now at 150k and dropping fast, most likely to the 42k figure he voted for THREE TIMES), he lied about Ayres, he lied about Wright, he lied about his votes which are PUBLIC RECORD, etc. It seems the biggest lie may be who he REALLY is - a Kenyan born citizen of Indonesia (per his paternal grandmother, and half-sister, and half-brother) who REFUSES to release his birth certificate and who would be the first ILLEGAL ALIEN president. Obama just went to Hawaii when his grandmother was being RELEASED from the hospital, and within a couple days, the Hawaii governor announces his birth records are "sealed". This was already done in Kenya, indicating there ARE birth records in Kenya. You cannot get a PASSPORT without a birth certificate. How can you become President without one when it is a Constitutional requirement?

3) The Democrats have a bill in the House eliminating 401k accounts. A 5% payroll tax (half by the employee and half by the employer) would create a retirement savings account. This has more potential than the endless Dem attacks on the Republicans gutting social security that come along every four years. McCain ad folks, where are you? The mainstream media is ignoring it as they do ALL news that would interfere with the talking points of the Obama campaign.

4) I hear a lot about hate. Unfortunately, most of it seems to be coming from the side making the most accusations. I have been involved in bringing people together since childhood - at 5 my parents worked in Colorado to bring Anglos and Mexicans together. I have lived in diverse situations most of my life and have an inter-ethnic family (my wife's ancestors were from Ghana, mine from Germany and Holland). I teach students from Pakistan about the Lord. I have spoken and written endlessly about the disconnects in our society. Yet in 34 years of marriage, we have had fewer comments about our marriage than there are fingers on one hand, but the hate from Obama folks has been intense. Steeped in deep political ignorance, it is next to impossible to carry on an intelligent discussion. Just like Sarah Palin was hanged in effigy and all manner of hate has been unleashed on her, so does vitriol come from the left. Look at the people supporting Obama - Hamas, the Iranian Parliament, Louis Farrakhan, Jeremiah Wright, Rashid Khalidi, George Soros, Father Plaeger, Bill Ayres, Jesse Jackson. Do you identify with the ideas of ANY of those folks? I do not.

5) I do not want one party to control everything. In the 1930's, the Republican machine in Philadelphia had massive voter fraud and all manner of evil. Nothing has changed except it is now a Donkey instead of an Elephant in charge. Why would ANYONE turn over ALL THREE branches of the government to one party, particularly when the bulk of the media firmly support that party? A free press is normally a protection, but this party wants to silence the remaining opposition. Can you imagine fallible men and women running all branches of the United States government with a cheerleader press and NO accountability? Particularly when they OPENLY ADMIT they want to eliminate dissenting voices, a trampling of freedom of speech. It is a recipe for disaster that can take decades to overcome, if at all. This is the stuff of Marxist countries and dictatorships. Unfortunately, the average voter knows NOTHING about civics and LITTLE about history. If they hear what they want to hear, as mathematically impossible and incredulous as it may be, they vote and think they are informed. It is a travesty.

6) The left has failed at everything they have done. The Soviet Union failed. Eastern Europe failed, China had to adapt. Ireland failed until it threw out socialist policies. France and Italy are trashing what Obama is advocating. It is madness! The left has destroyed the educational system, putting out indoctrinated kids who can't think for themselves. Those kids are now Obamatons who NEVER considered the truth of their guru. They have messed up the country through the courts. Obama wants the courts to administer the wealth (look at who has tried that - try Zimbabwe for starters). They have messed up the press which is rightfully losing money and influence. They have messed up Hollywood with gross immorality and violence causing many in the world to hate our culture. They messed up Cuba. They have messed up EVERY American city they have gotten their hands on - Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, with endless promises, little performance, and constant corruption. In Chicago, Obama got his start through deep corruption, which he euphemistically calls "Chicago Politics". They messed up our entire financial system, being in control of Congress the last two years and ignoring and/or voting down every warning sounded over the last few years. Many saw this disaster coming, but Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, and a host of other empty suits defended the corruption and mindless spending. Why on earth would you implicitly trust all the branches of government that has ALWAYS failed when in that position???

7) Obama’s people have tried to destroy Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber and everyone else who has the temerity to question him. It seems like the Old Soviet Union, doesn’t it? If he were to win, if you are outspoken as I am, YOU would be likely to be investigated (the politics of personal destruction); maybe we would be called the FORMER United States of America!

8) It is madness to continue what doesn't work. We had three branches of government all Democratic with Jimmy Carter. It failed. We had the first two years of Clinton a failure. HIs last six years were better with the GOP Congress! The last two years gave us a financial meltdown with Dems opposing all sane proposals to prevent it. Why reward failure??? I say bring in the best and then hold THEIR FEET to the fire. I wouldn't give McCain and Palin free reign either, even though they say the same thing to ALL their crowds and even though they are people of PRINCIPLE. People are fallible, but pick the best and most honest ones you can.

9) The Associated Press has run an orchestrated a campaign against Palin and McCain with dozens of stories. They have ignored the lies of Biden and Obama, ignored his pay to play in Chicago, his busing in of folks from Chicago to neighboring Iowa to turn the caucuses against the favored Hillary, hid reneging on his promise to have a publicly funded campaign, his constant lies on the GOP, his economic and educational failures in Illinois, his putrid friends, and his and Joe Biden's wildly different (opposite) positions depending on his audience.

10) We wrung our hands when the left started taking over our churches, our colleges, our seminaries, our schools, Hollywood, science, and the press. With leftists ensconced in these positions who long ago adopted the dangerous belief that there is no absolute truth and that Bible-believing Christians are worse than Islamo-fascists, why is it a surprise when a leftist man runs and they all boost him and slander his opponents? Why is it the least bit surprising that they engage in voter fraud since they believe that the ends justify the means? These folks have long wanted to take over, and this is their best opportunity. We cannot look at any of our institutions for fairness or conscience or anything else. They must be defeated by God and by prayer. The method most used by God with the Jews was to turn their enemies against each other. I am prayer for confusion in the camp and for all the truths that have been suppressed to be openly known so our nation may survive its most serious challenge since its founding. This is not in the hands of any campaign. Jesus is Lord and HE will intervene for the sake of his saints.

11) There is a reason for old sayings...
If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
All that glitters is not gold.
A man is known by the company he keeps.
If it looks like a duck...

Saturday, October 25, 2008

A DIFFERENT ENDORSEMENT

This election is probably the most critical in memory, and that is not hyperbole. Believe me, as someone who is 59 years old and who has been interested in politics since a young teen, I have heard the hysteria every four years. This is different. Our country has been changing for many years, but we have had many tsunami changes in our country in the last few years that were not fully in place when other candidates in the past who had similar platforms as those today were running. Never has the lack of understanding of history and civics by so many Americans been so critical in determining our future. Combined with that are millions of voters who do not understand English and who often vote based upon propaganda from one side or another. With all this in mind, this endorsement will include The Critical Issues of the 2008 Election. After each one, I will say how Barack Obama and Joe Biden stack up and how John McCain and Sarah Palin stack up and then my conclusion on that issue. These are:

1) The defense of the constitution/Supreme Court
2) The maintenance or change of the culture
3) The maintenance or change of open exchange.
4) The maintenance or change of America being acknowledged to be under God.
5) The candidates character
6) America’s Role in the World
7) America’s Economic System and Taxes
8) Qualifications to govern of the President and Vice President

This is not a thirty-second sound bite. It is not simply a rehash of what many are saying. It is the result of considerable research and listening hard to what people are saying and reading what they actually say. The future of our country is certainly worth at least ten minutes or so of critical thinking. It has cost many gallons of blood fir the United States to still be a viable country, just as the church of Jesus Christ is here today because of the blood of the martyrs.


The Critical Issues of the 2008 Election

1) The defense of the constitution/Supreme Court

For some time, there has been an epic battle over the constitution. Some wish to keep the constitution exactly as it was written. I don’t – no document except the Bible in its original manuscripts is perfect, and we have 27 Amendments to it so far. We even have one amendment – the 18th that abolished liquor - that was later rescinded by the 21st Amendment. The original constitution of the United States did not provide for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to a trial by jury, and other freedoms. It was two years and six days later that the Bill of Rights was passed by Congress (and another 27 months after that for them to be ratified) that included those and other rights. Many like to point to the infamous wording in Article 1, Section 2 of the constitution apportioning representation and taxes by taking the number of free persons and indentured servants, excluding Native Americans and counting all others as 3/5 of a person. Ironically, counting the slaves at all was opposed by anti-slavery forces, and this compromise gave the pro-slavery forces of the south disproportionate power since slaves could not vote. This gave the White House to southern candidates more often that not up until the civil war.

However, there is a process to amend our constitution, and it is orderly. That is what we mean by “Strict Constructionist Judges”. They simply rule on the Constitution as amended. They do not try to amend the Constitution on their own. There has been a relatively recent trend to “legislate from the bench” and to treat the Constitution as a “Living Document.” While in fact the amendment process does make it a “Living” and not a static document, many mean by “Living” that they can interpret the constitution to suit themselves. The tragic Dred Scott Decision in 1857 shows what happens when courts insert personal philosophy into their constitutional duties. It is critical to know whether a candidate wishes to force his own philosophy and opinion by making our constitution say things it does not say. Even proponents of abortion admit Roe v. Wade was decided for the wrong reasons. The so-called “Right to Privacy” is now being very selectively applied, with those protected by the press having TOTAL privacy and those vilified by the press having NO privacy. When we look at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California, there is almost never any constitutional basis to their decisions.

OBAMA/BIDEN – Obama freely states he believes the Constitution is “living” Document. When queried about judges, one of his absolute favorites is Ruth Bader Ginsberg, former chief counsel of the ACLU, an extremist activist organization. With Obama, from the Supreme Court down, an Obama administration would appoint judges who pass political litmus tests such as “pro-choice” and who would put political considerations above any objective constitutional criteria.

McCAIN/PALIN – McCain says he will appoint “strict constructionist” judges. His tendency to “cross the aisle” has given conservatives worries that he will not either make or fight for these appointments, particularly if the Senate remains under Democrat control. Palin favors a constitutional amendment on marriage because of the problems of having states have different rules on such a basic issues. McCain does not tend to favor constitutional amendments to solve issues. He tends to leave those decisions to the states.

MY CONCLUSION — McCain is definitely not as reliable in this area as a Romney or a Huckabee would have been, but he definitely will not appoint more Ruth Bader Ginsbergs. Further, he is much less likely than Obama to engage in behaviors not permitted by the Constitution or try to “make it up on the fly”. Significant advantage, McCain/Palin

2) The maintenance or change of the culture

There is a battle over whether our country should be uni-cultural or multi-cultural. We are in a national crisis of moralilty in our country. Situation ethics has led to rampant dishonesty in both the public and private sectors. Behaviors that were illegal not long ago are now celebrated and some would seek to enshrine protections around them. I am all for changing the culture, as no human culture is perfect. I would love to see the crassness, the sexual pervasiveness, the coarseness, and other negative aspects eliminated. I would love to see a culture much more like the Kingdom of God. While the world cannot be the church, for a nation to be cohesive, there have to be shared ideals and morals. Whenever our country has not been centered on basic Judeo-Christian morality, we have gone astray. In the time of Andrew Jackson in 1828, we are told that fewer than 40% of Americans belonged to ANY church. We declined and ended up with a tragic civil war. A revival occurred in the Victorian era and America entered the world stage as a major power for the first time. By the 1920’s, America was living large. The Roaring 20’s. Churches were increasingly lost to modernism as people dishonored the Bible and stopped believing in God’s truths. They lived for money and by 1929, money failed them. Compared to the current crisis, the stock market crash was FOUR TIMES as bad. People were jumping out of buildings. There are forces at work now to remove all vestiges of Christianity from the culture and to substitute neo-paganism and secular humanism, both of which are extremely intolerant. Combined with this is the notion that all cultures are equal. While all cultures have some positive values and ways of life that can be shared, there are values that are intrinsically opposite and incompatible. For example, Sharia law and the values of a free society cannot coexist. Remember that what you see in Canada will be here within five years, and what you see in Europe now will be here in ten years unless there is great resistance. Europe is experimenting with limited Sharia law, which is a huge mistake. It is leading to fracturing even in a post-Christian continent.

OBAMA/BIDEN – Obama states that religion has to be more cooperative and less unique even though his own church of twenty years was extremely divisive. He admits to cocaine use and has a long history of very radical associations and mentoring. His mother was rather radical, followed by his relationship as a child with Marxist Frank Davis, later found to be a pedophile. He has suppressed all his college information, though he admits he was radical then. The Bill Ayres relationship which lasted a long time and which was far more intimate than he would admit. They not only shared board relationships, they collaborated on radical education policies that radicalized students but did not improve their academic performance. His long “mentoring“ relationship with Jeremiah Wright indicates Obama is comfortable with “Liberation Theology”. Steve Mansfield, NY Times author of “The Faith of Barack Obama” quotes Obama as saying his turning to Christianity from atheism was because he found “validation for what he already believed” not that he was turning his life over to Jesus as evangelicals often put it. This is clear evidence that Obama not only agreed with Rev. Wright, but that he believed that way coming in. This is further confirmed by Jeremiah Wright’s use of the term “Messiah” for Obama. Obama preaches “change”, but is non-specific. Given that he used the Eckard Tolle (Oprah’s New Age Guru) term “This Present Moment” a couple of times in Berlin, we can expect that this change would be along the lines of the New Age. Biden has spoken like a traditionalist, but he seems to want to change the Catholic Church rather than leave it. The Bishops have restricted him from the Eucharist, but he still considers himself a Catholic. One wonders why people are determined to change the core values of institutions rather than joining an institution that agrees with him.

McCAIN/PALIN – McCain is a traditionalist whose handling of his first marriage and his legendary temper shows his confession can be more impressive than his behavior. While he certainly went through hell as a POW, he had no right to put Carol McCain through the rejection he showed to her. I accept Carol’s forgiveness that brought closure to it now that he is remarried. McCain does at least preach traditional American moral values and seems to be in a state of change. He has been attending North Phoenix Baptist Church and indicates he will be baptized as his wife has been. Palin is considered more grounded on the cultural issues, given her long church experience and seriousness about her faith. While tolerant, she clearly would advocate maintaining good cultural values and trying to minimize the more unseemly aspects of our society. One senses she would be less compromising than McCain on these issues.

MY CONCLUSION — I want to see the culture change for the better, not for the worse. I do not want to see the appalling practice of homosexuality exalted. I do not want to see America radicalized. We are seeing that spirit already at work. A Warren, Michigan, pizza shop, Salvatore’s, offered free Pizza to those stealing McCain signs. People are afraid to show McCain signs in cities or have stickers on their cars because of vandalism that has occurred. Almost all felons are favoring Obama. So are America’s enemies. They see something many Americans either refuse to see or cannot see. We do not need to give radicals of any stripe a platform, and that includes Obama.

3) The maintenance or decline of open exchange.

There is a battle over whether the “Fairness Doctrine” should be made law again. The obvious targets are not the New York Times, the taxpayer supported Public Broadcasting System, CNN, MSNBC, etc., even though these parade as “news” outlets but which are blatantly partisan and remind one of the old “Pravda” or ”Investia” in the now defunct Soviet Union which reliably carried the party line. Remember the talk about George Bush lacking “gravitas”? Within 48 hours, probably two dozen political and media figures used the term who probably didn’t even know what it meant prior. Obviously, the fax or email went out and they performed on cue. There have been lots of repeats of the same modus operandus since. The VERY SAME words, even, which shows the lack of originality and true intelligence on the part of the left. The real targets are Talk Radio and the Internet, which expose the hypocrisies of leaders and media outlets in ways other media do not and who actually invite dissenting opinions while openly disclosing their own. To have the dominant party seek to silence all opposition is a key consequence of having people in power who don’t view freedom of the press and many other freedoms as inviolate. People who speak their minds are demonized, attacked, and marginalized. The freedom of expression that has disappeared in other countries must not be allowed to be silence Americans. We cannot become a country of spineless “Yes-men” and “Yes-women”. Yet that is exactly what we see with perhaps one of the most uninformed electorates in memory. People are rabidly supporting candidates without a clue about what they stand for or whether they WOULD be able to or SHOULD be able to actually implement what they are advocating. Central to this has been a press which is blatantly and unapologetically supporting one candidate, covering up all that candidate’s weaknesses, and attacking his opponents on every turn. This lopsided coverage is so inappropriate and transparent that one of the cornerstones of a free society to protect us from demagogues and dictators – an unbridled and critical press – is now missing except for an alternative media that some are determined to muzzle and destroy. If one party controls all three branches of government and also controls the press, we know the power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Where do the candidates stand on free exchange.

OBAMA/BIDEN – Obama has voted to abridge the right to bear arms and seems to not view freedom of religion as absolute either, with criticism of faiths that believe in absolute truth. His support of the “Freedom of Choice Act” would force Catholics, Protestant, Orthodox Jewish, and Muslim voters to whom abortion is murder to pay for abortions with their taxes. He views the freedom of religion to be subservient to the dictates of the state – exactly what has happened when leftists have gained power in other countries. Look at the Three Self Movement in China, and the “official” church in other countries. It is most ominous for believers who have a faith that matters to them and which is opposed to the prince of this world. Obama’s cohorts in Congress have already indicated their desire to control public expression and suppress dissent. This is a classic component of leftist governments and radical movements, and the press we have seen during this election cycle that propagandizes more than informs reminds us of how far we have fallen. It is like the old Jimmy Stewart movie “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” in real life.

McCAIN/PALIN – McCain and Palin have not restricted the extreme one-sided criticism and deep and constant personal attacks they have suffered. They have even gone to great lengths to restrict their own people from attacking Obama on legitimate issues if it appears personal. McCain took Jeremiah Wright off the table despite overwhelming evidence that Obama agrees with Wright on many issues, witness his quotes in “The Faith of Barack Obama”, where Obama states he found validation at Trinity for what he already believed. This was a key error in the campaign, as the almost synchronous parallels between the Obama campaign and Saul Alinsky’s tome “Rules for Radicals”. McCain and Palin clearly believe in a continuation and enhancement of the Bill of Rights.

MY CONCLUSION — I value my freedoms too much to see them made subservient to the prevailing opinions of those in power. I cannot trust the Democrats to allow free speech to continue based upon them freely announcing their plans to restrict it. The Internet, TV, and Radio are also the “press” of our day, and their absolute freedom must not be abridged. If you didn’t hear it, check out Mark Levin’s masterful comparison of the Obama campaign with Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” – it is the October 14th program available online at www.marklevinshow.com. It will tell you all you need to know.

4) The maintenance or change of America being acknowledged to be under God.

Almost all our founders realized that a democratic republic cannot long endure if people are largely not self-governing and cognizant that they are under God. Many in the ACLU and other groups are seeking to remove the public honor of God from our country. I do not confuse the public honoring of God with personal piety. After all, God has said, “They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Many of our founders honored God publicly, but did not show the same honor for Jesus Christ. In fact, our first vice president and second president, John Adams, denied the deity of Jesus Christ, as he was a Unitarian. I am not seeking a return to the days when God was cloaked in “providence” and all the other terms of the day, but I am seeking the freedom for our leaders to be able to openly express their faith without retribution and that our nation continue at least to officially recognize God as our protector, our Sovereign, and the one who bestows our freedoms.

OBAMA/BIDEN – Obama claims to be a Christian, but from his own statements is clearly NOT one in the Biblical sense of a person who believes in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and who has given Christ Lordship over his life. His preference for radical ACLU justice Ginsberg does not portend well for any continuation of the public honoring of God. Obama wants to appoint justices who will further erode any presence of God in the marketplace. He obviously does not believe that it is God that gives freedoms, but the state. He views faith as a private thing that restricts its effectiveness in a person’s entire life. Obama’s association with some free-sex persons such as Frank Davis (a pedophile) and Bill Ayres (bisexual and orgy behavior) who really see God as being in the way does not portend well. Obama’s apparent spirituality means nothing when you understand that Biblical Christianity is totally missing and that the New-Age Oprah has endorsed him and wants to produce an ad for him. He has an exalted opinion of himself and without an intimate relationship with God would be hard-pressed to receive direction from him. The acid test for who is a Christian and who is not is how the world treats you. If the world loves you, you are not a Christian, because the world hates Jesus. Jesus said if they hated him they will hate you. NO ONE is mocking Obama for his “faith”. It threatens nothing they believe, and his support for abortion and even what can only be called infanticide and his statements that homo-sexual marriage is no different from heterosexual marriage means any faith he has is of no consequence to sinners. Obama has plainly said that people who are dogmatic about their faith are dangerous. His faith is NOT the faith of the best of our fathers.

McCAIN/PALIN – McCain and Palin both acknowledge God freely, particularly Palin, who had a born-again experience at the age of 12. As noted above, the acid test is how they treat the Christian. While no one is giving John McCain a hard time about his faith, they ARE mocking Sarah Palin for her faith constantly because they realize that her faith is incompatible with the world system. McCain talks Orthodox Christianity, but he is likely not to wear it on his sleeve. He is likely to continue oblique references to God that have been traditional for Presidents regardless of their degree of faith. Palin has seems to rein herself in a bit, but I would venture she would be more open about her faith if elected than anyone since Jimmy Carter,

MY CONCLUSION — I see McCain/Palin as in a maintenance of the status quo on this issue, which is not really satisfying. However, I prefer that to having more harassment from an even more liberal supreme court and emboldened ACLU. I see Obama more as an anti-Christian and McCain as perhaps on the fence a bit. Biden is a rebellious Catholic while Palin is an evangelical. McCain and Palin acknowledge they have prayed a lot, and Palin has referred to those interceding for her. I would take someone with less experience who relies on the prayers for her as opposed to one whose faith is really in themselves.

5) The candidates’ character

Character is perhaps the greatest qualifier for president and the most profound disqualifier. The mantra of the left is that what is done in the bedroom doesn’t matter. They are totally wrong. It matters a whole lot. Whether a man or woman keeps their vows is everything. Ask John Edwards about that. Whether a person has self control means a lot. Whether a person is honest and truthful says a lot. We lives through constant scandal with the Clintons. The President is a role model and junior high kids started doing “Monica’s” following his example. Our nation’s moral tone declined greatly even with decent economic times. The Bible says sin is a reproach to any people. We are not electing an economics professor – and most of THEM have been wrong! We are electing a leader who needs to hear God for us to survive and who needs to view themselves as UNDER God.

OBAMA/BIDEN – Obama comes off as cool, clean, even-tempered man. His history in Chicago suggests a lot happens under the radar and below the surface. His participation in pay-to-play politics earned him the moniker “Chicago Thug” from Hillary Clinton, which is why many P.U.M.A. folks who favored Hillary are going for McCain. They do not trust him. The pervasive lies in his campaign ads, even charging that McCain will reduce social security and Medicare benefits show deep defects in character. Plagiarism of one of his speeches further confirms his dishonesty. His personal associations with a pedophile and people of low reputation, his cocaine use and his tendency to keep lying as long as possible and then blaming others when caught in a lie is disturbing. His radical pro-abortion and pro-homosexual viewpoints are the type of thing that gets God really angry. The clothes do NOT make the man, and it is what’s inside that counts. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it IS a duck! Biden is no better. He insists on remaining in the Catholic Church while trashing the essential doctrine of the sacredness of life. He lies with abandon as well, having had to withdraw from a presidential race before because of plagiarism, and the conflicts in his soul have resulted in a multitude of decisions in the Senate which have proven to be totally wrong. It is not longevity, it is faithfulness.

McCAIN/PALIN – Few doubt the character McCain showed in Vietnam. Few can also forgive. Him for carrying on with Cindy when married to his first wife Carol. It was a mighty lapse of character. Yet, it was a lapse, and King David had those as well. The key thing is whether one repents. That is what I would like to know from McCain. Palin’s character seems strong. The nagging little scandals the press is gleeful over seem inconsequential in the whole scheme of things. Certainly her integrity in giving birth to Trig is noteworthy of consistent character.

MY CONCLUSION — I see character being a deficit in terms of both Presidential Candidates. I suppose if I weighed it, Obama’s would drop far lower because of the depth and length of his absurd associations and the very dishonest campaign he is running. Palin’s character leaves Biden’s chronic dishonesty in the dust. Christ really is the only answer.

6) America’s Role in the World

Exceptionalism means that America has a special place in the world. Some used to think that about Britain. The thing is that unlike God’s eternal covenant with Israel, God sets up nations and takes them down. The Babylonian, Grecian, Roman, British and all the other empires were brought down when God was through with them. Some believe God is through with us because of our great sin. Yet he has not raised up another one yet because no other large nation honors him the way we have. There are some smaller nations who have, and perhaps God will raise them up. In the meantime, we need to be a city on a hill. We have blessed the world, and need to continue to do so. We need to do it better. Rwanda and Darfur should never have happened. Iraq should have happened differently. Stronger leadership in the 90’s could have resulted in the capture of Osama bin Laden and a prevention of 9/11. Strong leadership stopped the butcher of Baghdad. We are guilty where our leadership was not strong enough to stop other massacres and for letting the Holocaust get started. A weak America lets down the world. An inward-looking America (and we have been there before) has let down those who look to us for their example.

OBAMA/BIDEN – The Democrats seem ill-at-ease with the military. Barney Frank wants to cut military spending by 25%. Considering that Obama keeps harping on the war and going into Afghanistan, it seems strange that a military decimated by ill-advised Clintonian policies should be sheered again in a time of war. This is not streamlining like McCain has advocated, but a public commitment not to develop any more new weapons. Obama has erred before in telegraphing his intentions to the world. His blunder on invading Pakistan was one of the worst. The fact is, Obama does not view the world in terms of good and evil. He sees it as a “community”. The world is NOT a community. There are forces who hate some people and who would destroy them whether in war or by infiltrating them. The PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, etc. are not part of any world “community”. There are terrorists who must be opposed. We do not want unrepentant murderers, rapists, and child molesters living in our communities. Where they do go, mayhem results. The same would be true in the world stage.

McCAIN/PALIN – Both McCain and Palin agree with American exceptionalism and the special responsibilities we have as a superpower. They believe in sticking with an unpopular war to its natural conclusion and that is admirable. They believe in working with allies, but beyond that, just doing the right thing for our country.

MY CONCLUSION — Many Democrats want us to make decisions along with other world leaders. Of course, it is nice to get consensus, but France and Germany were profiting off Saddam and would NEVER have been enthusiastic in bringing him down. Europe has been spineless most of the time. We have to have spine when they don’t or it all goes now. One cannot follow the polls in making decisions, but must stick to the right way regardless of the consequences and regardless of what our “friends” think. We tell our teens to do what is right, and not to follow their friends. The same must be true of the President. Obama does not understand that the moral superiority of Israel’s cause is absolute, so he has given hope to her enemies that they will have a friend at the table. The tendency to make up truth as he goes along does not make our allies feel comfortable. Treaties and NATO are covenants like marriage, and they are not to be followed at the whim of the President. His fluid treatment of truth does not bode well on the world stage.

7) America’s Economic System and Taxes

Capitalism has its pro’s and con’s. Unbridled capitalism can be very cruel. Yet, God often gave examples on how the faithful would be rewarded and that we should try to make our masters prosperous through our hard work and service. The assault on small business (companies earning up to 27 million or with 100 employees in many fields as defined by the SBA, not micro-businesses like mine) is so off-the-wall considering 80% of Americans are employed by “small” companies. Companies have no magic cash drawers. The money comes out of the pockets of the employees or the customers. As an entrepreneur, business is very difficult. When one has a great year, there are usually two or three poor years which drain off any of the extra profit one may earn. Even with the “good” year, taxes at all levels eat up so much, a lot of the hard work and endless hours seem for naught. The idea that raising taxes cures the problem has been disproven time and again. When Reagan cut taxes, revenues went way up, because we do not have a fixed pie, only a pie that can grow substantially with the right policies.

OBAMA/BIDEN –Democrats are often found in educational jobs with tenure (no risk of being fired, even if you loose your abilities or are non-competitive with someone better qualified to be in your position), government jobs with lower productivity, less individual responsibility, and almost no chance for failure. Republicans are often found running businesses and charities where money is not appropriated but earned and where there are always people around seeking to supplant you. Obama and Biden, like almost all Democrat candidates in recent memory are rather stingy with their own money, but eager to work on public money and vote for more government to spend more money in more ways.

McCAIN/PALIN – Both McCain and Palin want lower taxes and are committed to a more capitalist model as opposed to a more socialist model. They believe that business must not be throttled when it needs to get its second wind. They believe we must be looking to grow the economy, not strangle it. Given the bailout, it is probably not likely that taxes get decreased anytime soon. In fact, I would not be surprised to see the Bush tax cuts expire for those earning over $1,000,000 per year.

MY CONCLUSION – Obama’s votes as the nation’s most liberal senator bear this out. A poor economy is his best asset, but rather than correct it, he sees it as an opportunity to consolidate power and engage in class warfare. A fundamental lack of understanding of how the economy works, including the ill-fated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fiascos directly tied to Democrat policies, is not good preparation to be President. This is not a game, but a critical situation where the decisions made affect us many years into the future. Obama proposed redistribution of wealth by giving federal income tax breaks to those not paying federal income taxes. In effect, taxpayers would be subsidizing the social security retirement of others. Although he steadfastly had opposed the Bush tax cuts, when they expire taxes will rise on those making over 42k per year. Obama talks about a middle class tax cut, but if you look closely at the figures, it is only about $500/year for many people. Clinton promised middle class tax cuts, but they vaporized after inauguration. No informed person doubts that the boom in the 1990’s would not have happened with a Democrat Congress voting more taxes such as Clinton got passed before the GOP took over Congress in 1994. Obama’s figures of taxes and spending simply do not compute and it is obvious to all. Since truth is what you want it to be with liberals, as they do not believe in absolute truth, they will say this to get elected and worry out it later if there are any consequences to doing what Democrat liberals always do when they have opportunity – tax and spend. Taxes will likely rise with either party, particularly if Congress stays Democrat, as veto power cannot be used endlessly. Genuinely wanting to reduce or at worst maintain taxes at current levels seems more admirable than voting 94 times for higher taxes as Obama did. Having checks and balances is probably as critical an issue on the economy as on any other area of decision-making.

In the Great Depression, Saskatchewan went from right wing to left wing socialist, kicking out the party in power. Neighboring Alberta, with similar demographics, went from liberal to conservative. They both recovered at the same time. The fact is, the party in power gets the credit and blame unfairly. It is well known that tax and spend policies always cause problems. Hoover lost the Presidency because of it. The Great Society produced nothing of the kind. It is through the Biblical principles of hard work and personal responsibility that nations and peoples progress.

Since 1945, when the GOP is in control of Congress, stocks average 14% gains per year. This is REGARDLESS of who is president. When the Democrats control Congress, stocks have increased only 7%, half as much, again no matter which party holds the presidency. Hoover raised taxes after the crash – it was a disaster. The economy under Reagan in the beginning was bad, which he inherited from Carter. Only when he convinced a hostile Congress to go along did things improve. The first two years of Clinton’s reign were very rough. He did what Obama is promising – raising taxes and spending, and the Democrat Congress did not resist. In the Revolution of 1994, when the GOP swept both houses of Congress, we had prosperity for the remaining six years of Clinton. If Clinton hadn’t had to go along with the GOP, it never would have happened. The first six years of Bush were also good. It is only about a year after the Dems took both houses of Congress in 2006 that it all hit the fan – ALL THE FINANCIAL MELTDOWNS HAPPENED UNDER THE DEMOCRAT WATCH, which the media continues to lie about. The CONGRESS is in control of money and laws! We have three branches of government! The government entitlement programs are in trouble. Social security, Medicare, and prescription drug costs are rising quickly. With Obama’s policy of giving these to illegal immigrants without them paying into the system, these systems will crash sooner. The same will be true of health care. The government is not efficient at running these programs. They are filled with waster and provide more bureaucratic jobs than actually help people very much.

European countries are trying to shed the unworkable socialistic practices which have led to high unemployment. In some parts of Europe, 11% unemployment is normal. Innovation in drugs is minimal. Older people cannot get procedures because they are not deemed worth saving. Religion is seen as irrelevant. It is a post-Christian continent with rampant immorality and perversion. Why would we want all that here?

8) Qualifications to govern of the President and Vice President

The constitution simply requires that candidates for these positions be at least 35 years old. It does not specify gender or race. It does specify that the person be a natural born citizen, but does not require one to have any applicable experience whatsoever. One need not be a lawyer or have been in another governmental position, elected or unelected. The media and others have made up criteria important to them. Nonetheless, several governors have become presidents with little or no foreign policy experience – FDR, Carter, Reagan, and Clinton. JFK, a relative novice, became President and was greatly tested. What about the current crop? And who would best be a “heartbeat away from the Presidency”

OBAMA/BIDEN – Much was made of Obama’s inexperience in the primaries by Hillary and Joe Biden. Perhaps the fact he has much less experience than even JFK prompted Joe Biden in an unguarded moment to predict an international crisis as other powers would test Obama. Madeline Albright came to the same conclusion. In Biden’s words, the Presidency simply does not lend itself to “on the job training”. Obama has shown a shocking ignorance of the world stage, looking through an academic lens as opposed to a realistic and pragmatic one. He does not understand how good and evil intersect or how decisions must be made based upon principle as opposed to expediency. America suffered much when we had presidents like this before. Woodrow Wilson comes to mind immediately. Biden was seen as one with immense experience who would help Obama in this. The problem is, Joe Biden has been wrong on almost EVERY foreign policy issue over the last three decades, voting down funds that would have mitigated the bloodbath in Cambodia, opposing the rescue of Kuwait, opposing the surge, and recommending that Iraq be divided into three countries. Yes, Joe has seniority, but it is like a company with a guy who has been there forever, but who has not studied to improve himself or become conversant on the key issues of the day. You might not fire him, but you aren’t going to choose him to run the company.

McCAIN/PALIN – McCain has been well vetted, and has a positive reputation by almost all on the world stage. He is seen as strong and willing to act on principal. He is obviously old enough, and I have been a bit surprised that more older people have not been enraged at the ageism directed toward him. Yikes, his 96 year old mother looks healthy enough to serve. I wasn’t around when FDR was in a wheelchair, but his VP’s were sure rather shaky. Palin has been the butt of more jokes and even some GOP folks have wondered aloud whether she was ready to be President on Day One. In all likelihood she won’t have to be, but many Presidents. Let alone Vice Presidents came into office with far less experience and accomplishment than she has. Her executive skills and knowledge of energy seem a nice balance for McCain.

MY CONCLUSION — All are qualified by the Constitution to be President unless Obama’s half-sister’s assertion he was born in Kenya is proven and his pesky birth certificate turns out to be a fake. While Obama’s 140 days in the Senate were unexceptional, I believe real doubts about his loyalty to the United States, witnessed by his degrading comments about the USA while abroad and his long association with people who do not have the best interests of the United States at heart should give any serious voter cause to pause in pulling his lever. Biden never caught on in his own run, so for many people he is a non-factor. McCain is obviously qualified, and has shown generally good judgment except in his occasional escapades “across the aisle”, where he inevitably seems to lose to the Democrats. I am not worried about Palin, because she can learn more on foreign policy. She has been a quick study before, and moral certitude is more critical than winning a Jeopardy contest. The views she has expressed seem solid to me, and I would trust someone with less prior knowledge in this area who values prayer far more than someone who believes they know it all and blunder on.


My Endorsement

Based upon all of the above, it is obvious that there are no Messiahs running for President. The Messiah I follow is Lord, and I impute to NO candidate what can only be attributed to Jesus Christ. I have heard the alleged prophecies about the “change” that is coming and that God is going to do major surgery on our country and “put the ax to the root of the tree.” Obama said in Virginia that there is a “righteous wind at our back”. I believe we ARE at a pivotal point in our history. As a country, we are far more critical of ourselves than is merited in some areas and far less critical of ourselves than is merited in other areas.

The candidacy of Barack Obama has provided much excitement and hope to many. Joe Biden has seemed to be a bit of a drag due to his gaffe-a-minute proclivities, which have been largely ignored by the press. Unfortunately, many of the worst elements of our society are firmly in the Democrat corner. Those who think what is done in the bedroom matters not in terms of policy overwhelmingly support Obama/Biden. Those who mock true Christianity LOVE Obama/Biden. Those who think the government is the answer to every problem but who are unbelievably stingy with helping the poor with their own money, are overwhelmingly Democrats including OBAMA/Biden. Those who hate American exceptionalism LOVE Obama/Biden. Those who believe in free love, normalizing perversion, enshrining abortion and even infanticide overwhelming LOVE Obama/Biden. Those who believe CNN and the NY Times are objective when in fact the mainstream media has overwhelmingly supported Obama/Biden and covered up their mistakes also support Obama/Biden and demonize McCain/Palin, even attacking them with shameless abandon. Those who despise Creationism and having free discourse in our schools and giving poor parents true school choice LOVE Obama/Biden. Those who would not shed one tear for America to be taken down a few notches in the world’s eyes LOVE Obama/Biden. Those who have never tried to run a small business in good or difficult times and who misunderstand business risk overwhelming support Obama/Biden.

When any intelligent person looks at the Democratic Senate which added about 180 BILLION dollars to the bailout to pay for their pet pork projects and Speaker Pelosi of the Democratic House which played politics with the bailout in order to embarrass John McCain, why ANYONE would want to give over the Presidency and the 2,000 or so policy jobs that go with it to someone whom Congress would rubber-stamp and where the press would be a totally non-critical fourth flank is totally beyond me. The desire of Democrats to stifle dissent and their dangerous proclivity to see the constitution as a “Living Document” has resulted in their view of the freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom to bear arms, etc as all being subservient to their overall plan for society. While the left believes in absolute sexual freedom that has been criminal for most of our nation’s history, it never believes in absolute personal freedoms that our nation was built upon. Those personal freedoms threaten the influence and control of the left, while the sexual freedoms prey on and take advantage of human weakness to increase political power.

Many believe that Obama would be behind by 20 points if the media were truly fair. Many people do not hear programs that expose the contradictions and lies or the fact that these approaches have failed before. When Obama smirks, the cameras turn away. When Joe Biden says that JOBS is a three letter word, they ignore it. When Obama rises to power through the corrupt Chicago machine it is passé and has hundreds of millions from kook fringe people like George Soros behind him, it does not concern them a bit. Yet if a reporter goes to a McCain or Palin rally and screams something hateful and then reports that the campaigns are full of “hate”, it is front-page news. How many people go to a rally themselves and see for themselves??? The Secret Service said it did NOT happen, and they actively listen for things like that. When Obama is on The View, they call him sexy. When McCain comes on, it is twenty hostile questions and an interrogation session. The American people are deceived because of this gross and pervasive inequity and many are supporting Obama with no real vetting having been done or hard questions asked by the people they blindly trust. To actually a put a man into office whom the press will never challenge was done in Germany – the consequences were tragic.

I have found that those who favor Obama will not engage in dialogue, listen to reason, or even engage bloggers like me. If he says in one venue he is a “Christian”, they believe it and refuse to read his own words on the subject that make it clear he is NOT a born-again follower of Jesus Christ. They holler, they scream, they put their fingers in their ears. The spirit of Obama that seems to draw people to support him uncritically is a rather scary proposition. It has happened before with great tragedy.

We have seen what happens when left-leaning people are in charge. In education, they have stifled debate on the origins of life and on climate change. In California they even want to prevent students home-schooled in creationism from qualifying for the better colleges. At Baylor University, a professor said he would not write a letter of recommendation for any student going to medical school if he or she did not firmly believe in evolution. The left fights school choice and home schools because it wants an educational monopoly to indoctrinate our children. Sound familiar? A journalist for the New York Times quit when he was tired of being told how to slant his stories. A man in Wisconsin who had been delivered from homosexuality was witnessing to a man with a rainbow ribbon and he was charged and convicted of a “hate” crime. And these arose from people with the courage to be open about their faith. With Biblical Christianity under fire, with the ACLU trying to push God into a closet out of public view, and with the basic freedom to live by your convictions under attack, the next step is to render all dissent illegal. It has happened elsewhere. It can easily happen here with the Presidency being the final piece of the puzzle, and he has the skills to make it actually seem “patriotic”! The final scene of “The Red Menace” could happen when the United States falls without a shot being fired. A quiet revolution according to Alinsky’s plan which the Obama campaign has followed to the “T”. Funded largely by anti-God, anti-Semitic, anti-American billionaire George Soros. How blind people are to the obvious!

I wanted very much to vote for a person of color for president. A breakdown of all barriers has been a hallmark of my life since childhood, However, no one including myself should jettison their core values to support someone who is elite and self-absorbed, someone without a working moral compass, and someone who seems to have the ear of every anti-American person in sight while not regarding the core freedoms men and women have shed their blood for.

John McCain was not at all my first choice, but I believe he will do well, particularly with the addition of Sarah Palin who reflects so many disappearing core values that so many used to take for granted. I cannot conceive of how anyone who is at all attuned to reality could pass over John McCain and Sarah Palin for a team that is so morally weak and out of touch with what really matters. I believe an Obama/Biden win would be a mistake of epic proportions that would very soon be recognized as a whopper of a mistake. There is no need to have Biden’s crisis come on us. We simply have to keep the amateur out of the White House and vote for the most qualified and morally grounded team available – that is John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

POST DEBATE ANALYSIS

Debates are probably not the best way to choose a President, but they are here to stay. While the ability to convince is an important skill for a president and a vice president, good skills of argument can mask extreme weaknesses of position. I think John McCain held his own, but he had SO many opportunities to deliver a punch that would have had major effect but chose to pull his punches. Why I do not know.

At least he did one of the suggestions I (and I'm sure many others) sent to him which was to bring up the fact that the Democrats have controlled congress the last two years. Boxers usually do not win a boxing match with a single punch. It takes a furious flurry of them - he should have led with that and then noted how this entire financial meltdown happened under the watch of the Democratic congress which resisted all calls to take action to avert it. He should have given a quickie civics lesson since a lot of people think the President runs everything. We have three branches of government. The Congress controls spending. He then could have decked Obama by noting that Nancy Pelosi, Democrat Speaker of the House played politics with the bailout and then the Democratic-controlled Senate put over 150 BILLION dollars of spending on top of the $750,000,000, taking advantage of a national crisis to get funding they never could have gotten otherwise.

When Obama mentioned tax cuts, McCain should have asked him why he voted for EVERY tax increase and EVERY spending bill that ever came his way in the Senate. Why should Americans believe that you will act any differently once in office?

A lot of talk centered around Joe the plumber. His is actually a microbusiness. The Small Business Administration defines small businesses as including car dealers up to $27 million a year, many businesses with up to 100 employees. Your proposed new taxes, Mr. Obama, will be more than the profit margins of many of these critical companies where 80% of Americans work. Despite our economic problems, our unemployment has been relatively low. These companies will have to either raise prices, which will mean more jobs lost to foreign competition or more jobs lost due to insane tax policies. And then you will use those taxes to make more government jobs which often produce nothing! We got off this treadmill before with 20 million new jobs under Reagan. It is plain dumb to try what has never worked before in our country.

Speaking of jobs, we all want to see alternative energy sources. But look, I live in Arizona, in the heart of the sunbelt, and we are poised to become the "Persian Gulf" of solar. This won't work in the Pacific Northwest or other areas with heavy cloud cover. Wind works well in Oklahoma and in other wind tunnel area. Oil and natural gas is in abundance in Alaska and off our shores. We can and must have coordinated energy grids better using our nation's vast resources. Where I depart from you, Senator, is that all this does not happen overnight, and simply pouring billions into government programs to find solutions where there is no significant energy expertise makes little sense when we can incentivize our energy companies to drill offshore and develop alternatives. Private enterprise understands energy and has the expertise and resources to do it in a way that responds to the markets. Remember the Yugo? Americans do not want impractical and uncomfortable vehicles which some group of bureaucrats decides is good for them. GM has had great success with the hybrid Tahoe which meets the needs of many active American families in an efficient manner. In America, it must not be we/them" or "either/or" but "both/and".

On abortion, John McCain should have said "Talk is cheap, Barack. You are a co-sponsor of the Freedom of Choice Act which removes ALL restrictions ANYWHERE on abortion and forces taxpayers to fund what they know to be wrong." The LA Times says only 4% of Americans believe in totally unrestricted abortion, so over 9 out of 10 of those who say they plan to vote for you don't agree with you on that. There are severe differences in morality here, and my position reflects the huge advances in knowledge since Roe v. Wade was decided - they knew almost nothing about the pain that pre-born infants feel. You say you are against torture. All abortion, and especially partial birth abortion is truly torture and the American people need to know why you want torture against innocent preborn infants to be legal while working a bit aggressively against terrorists should be avoided at all costs.

You keep talking about the economy, but you don't seem to understand that morality and the economy are linked. Nations which fail to protect the vulnerable and those who refuse to have moral absolutes in every area of life have never succeeded. America has been successful because we combined moral goodness with economic freedom. We have worked to correct our glaring moral weaknesses of the past such as slavery and the unequal treatment of women. But many have been going backwards with ultra-violent movies and video games - the producers of which, almost universally support YOUR campaign. Many are trying to change the most fundamental relationship in the world - marriage - seeking to redefine it at their whim. These moral relativists are all in your corner, and you can keep their votes. What the undecided's should consider, though, it that you want to appoint judges who have NO moral absolutes, and who view our constitution as outdated and worthy of being changed by those who like to legislate from the bench. Not ALL change is good! Some CHANGE would be disastrous!

On the tone of the campaign, there have been unprecedented attacks on Sarah Palin that would be hate crimes. Many of your supporters have engaged in extreme vitriol about her that is baseless to anyone who has a brain. When they talked about her being gang-raped in New York, you were silent. While we are at it, you are silent about a lot. You are silent on your relationship with the Marxist Pedophile Frank Davis. You are silent about your cooperation with Bill Ayres in terms of trying to radicalize education. You are silent about how your campaign almost perfectly has mirrored Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" seeking a quiet socialist revolution. You are silent about the fact that you heard a racist sermon the first time you went to Jeremiah Wright's church. I could go on about Rashid Khali of the PLO who obviously believes that what Jesse Jackson said about lowering our support for Israel no matter what you say. And Louis Farrakhan would say "Amen" to that. Where there is smoke, there is fire, and someone with all the associations you have with shady and questionable characters makes me wonder how you would have sufficient judgment to decide which world leaders we can trust.

There is lots more, but you get the idea. If only... Oh well, maybe they will run some tougher ads... And some tougher speeches...

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS!

I heard one of the best and most informative hours EVER tonight on the campaign. Log on to http://marklevinshow.com and replay the audio for the first hour of the program on October 14, 2008. You will not be disappointed, except for the fact Mark used some strong language which is NEVER necessary to make a point. Try to ignore that while Mark Levin reviews Saul Alinsky's rules for radicals written in 1971 and it so jives with the Obama campaign that it is absolutely eerie. It is like the final piece of the puzzle. You will smack your forehead and wonder why you didn't think of it. For example:

Why the mantra is "Change" and why it is so ill-defined.
Why his relationships with radicals were real and far more intimate than anyone is charging.
Why Wall Street, Iraq, etc. are so central to the campaign language.
How to tap general dissatisfaction.
Why having no moral absolutes is so critical for the movement's success.

Tune in and enjoy.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

BILL AYRES - BELLWETHER FOR "CHANGE"

The fact is that if Barack Obama held to a Biblical Worldview and did not oppose practically every Biblical standard of holiness, this election would be yawner, and I would be singing his praises. Most Americans, Black, White, Asian, and Hispanic, particularly Christians, would gladly be voting for a Godly man of color who possesses such obvious talent and bearing. However, we cannot vote based upon fantasy, and we cannot vote based upon a person's assertion "I am a Christian" or anything else. We have to look deeper. Hillary was the first I believe to bring up the Bill Ayres issue in her epic primary battle, which almost got her across the finish line, and it has long made me wonder why on earth it has remained up til recently in the province of radio talking heads.

Who a person hangs with tells a lot, particularly if it is more than a casual relationship. Barack Obama had a TWENTY-YEAR relationship with an anti-Semitic and racist pastor who believes in "Liberation Theology". See which world leaders embrace that perversion of the true freedom Christ brings (Hint -none are leaders you;d want to have dinner with). Barack Obama shared billing with Louis Farrakhan on a church program and the Muslim-dominated "Million Man March", and lives around the corner from Louis, America's best-known anti-Semite. Barack Obama worked intimately with an admitted terrorist (Ayres) on brainwashing school children - right out of Hugo Chavez' playbook. With our country looking for change, we had better know what KIND of change an Obama Administration would like to bring. If we do not get a GOP Congress, there would be little to hold back Obama's agenda for "change".

We know from the New York Times' Steve Mansfield's fawning book "THE FAITH OF BARACK OBAMA" that Obama thinks much in the Bible is beyond belief and that rather that coming to Christ as in conventional evangelical Christianity, he found in his church validation for what he ALREADY believed. That is NOT Biblical Christianity. Remember, he was raised an atheist and was indeed a skeptic by his own admission. But read the book and listen CLOSELY, my friends. Barack Obama said WITH HIS OWN MOUTH that Trinity validated what he already believed! Trinity is part of the UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, an ultra-liberal church that ordained homosexuals in the 1970's onward and officially endorsed HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE in 2005! Don't listen to parsed words to win an election. Look at his own "faith", an admitted skeptic on the resurrection and anything else miraculous, a twenty year relationship with Jeremiah Wright who gave a racist sermon the VERY FIRST TIME Barack went there (thank God for churches with good tape ministries), and a friendly relationship with the white racist, Father Pfleger. Pfleger says America is the "worst sin against God". While Obama takes a bit off that in his Berlin speech, the words of both Barack AND Michelle Obama have the fingerprints of this worldview on them.

America is far from perfect, but America's greatest moral failing is NOT as Obama postulated in Rick Warren's Saddleback Forum "failing to be our brother's keeper". America has done that beyond any country in history. It is Obama's failing, and the failing of most liberals who vote for big government while not helping their own brother. Obama's half-brother lives in poverty. Multi-millionaire Al Gore's mother couldn't afford her prescriptions (or so he said), Joe Biden gave $379 to charity out of $2.5 million in income, and now Oprah's mother is in financial trouble while her daughter has BILLIONS. The Democrats' biggest failing is not using their own money to be their family's keeper. America's biggest failing is not putting God first, and not having righteous laws which protect the preborn, support Biblical morality, end oppression and injustice, truly bring racial and ethnic justice, and get financial predators off the backs of the poor. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." - GOD.

Voters simply do not think, do not question, and do not research to find out the truth. All these troubling issues are staring us in the face. Taken as a whole, and taking into account the radical groups pouring money into Obama's campaign from here AND abroad (guess who in congress is holding up THAT investigation, and who will NEVER let it see the light of day if Obama wins?), and taking into account the Obama campaign's muting of the colleges where Obama went prior to Harvard - Occidental and Columbia which would likely provide a lot more corroborating evidence, we see a man whose historical agenda simply is radically different from what he has to say to try to get elected. That is why the Ayres relationship is CRITICAL. It is the one where the paper trail has been less obfuscated.

I don't often lend space to anyone on this blog - this is only the second time and it is only the balance of this post. To avoid footnotes, I have reproduced VERBATIM below the script and sourcing for the new McCain web-ad on Bill Ayres. Sourcing is critical, because the Obama campaign blows all of this off - I know: I just received a letter this morning from Joe Biden (we get both sides - however, both sides cannot be right when they say the opposite thing - it take discernment to see who is right and who is wrong). Read this and tell me what you think.

Script For "Ayers" (WEB :90)
ANNCR: Barack Obama and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers. Friends. They've worked together for years.
But Obama tries to hide it. Why?
Obama launched his political career in Ayers' living room.
Ayers and Obama ran a radical "education" foundation, together.
They wrote the foundation's by-laws, together.
Obama was the foundation's first chairman.
Reports say they, "distributed more than $100 million to ideological allies with no discernible improvement in education."
When their relationship became an issue, Obama just responded, "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood."

That's it?

We know Bill Ayers ran the "violent left wing activist group" called Weather Underground.
We know Ayers' wife was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
We know they bombed the Capitol. The Pentagon. A judge's home.
We know Ayers said, "I don't regret setting bombs. .... I feel we didn't do enough."
But Obama's friendship with terrorist Ayers isn't the issue.
The issue is Barack Obama's judgment and candor.
When Obama just says, "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood."
Americans say, "Where's the truth, Barack?"
Barack Obama. Too risky for America.

JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

AD FACTS: Script For "Ayers" (WEB :90)
ANNCR: Barack Obama and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers. Friends. They've worked together for years. But Obama tries to hide it. Why? Obama launched his political career in Ayers' living room. Barack Obama's Relationship With Ayers "Went Much Deeper, Ran Much Longer And Was Much More Political Than Obama Said."

CNN'S DREW GRIFFIN: "Barack Obama confirmed during a primary debate that he knew Ayers and when pressed, said they served on a charitable foundation board together. And Obama condemned Ayers support of violence. But the relationship between Obama and Ayers went much deeper, ran much longer, and was much more political than Obama said." (CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," 10/6/08)

Barack Obama First Met William Ayers In 1995 During His First State Senate Campaign, When Obama Held Event At Home Of Ayers And Wife Bernardine Dohrn, Which One Attendee Said Was Aimed At "Launching Him" In First Campaign For State Senate. "In 1995, State Senator Alice Palmer introduced her chosen successor, Barack Obama, to a few of the district's influential liberals at the home of two well known figures on the local left: William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. While Ayers and Dohrn may be thought of in Hyde Park as local activists, they're better known nationally as two of the most notorious -- and unrepentant -- figures from the violent fringe of the 1960s anti-war movement. ... 'I can remember being one of a small group of people who came to Bill Ayers' house to learn that Alice Palmer was stepping down from the senate and running for Congress,' said Dr. Quentin Young, a prominent Chicago physician and advocate for single-payer health care, of the informal gathering at the home of Ayers and his wife, Dohrn. '[Palmer] identified [Obama] as her successor.' ... Dr. Young and another guest, Maria Warren, described it similarly: as an introduction to Hyde Park liberals of the handpicked successor to Palmer, a well-regarded figure on the left. 'When I first met Barack Obama, he was giving a standard, innocuous little talk in the living room of those two legends-in-their-own-minds, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn,' Warren wrote on her blog in 2005. 'They were launching him -- introducing him to the Hyde Park community as the best thing since sliced bread.'" (Ben Smith, "Obama Once Visited '60s Radicals," The Politico, 1/22/08)

CNN: The Meeting Was Widely Considered As "Barack Obama's Political Coming Out Party And It Was Hosted By Bill Ayers."

CNN'S DREW GRIFFIN: "Anderson, this meeting at Bill Ayers home has been classified in many different ways. What I can tell you from the two people who were actually there, is number one, former Senator Alice Palmer says she, in no way organized this meeting and she was invited and attended it briefly. And Doctor Quentin Young, a retired doctor, told us this indeed was Barack Obama's political coming out party and it was hosted by Bill Ayers." (CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," 10/6/08)

ANNCR: Ayers and Obama ran a radical "education" foundation, together.

Barack Obama Led Education Foundation That "Poured More Than $100 Million Into The Hands Of Community Organizers And Radical Education Activists" And "Translated Mr. Ayers's Radicalism Into Practice." "Despite having authored two autobiographies, Barack Obama has never written about his most important executive experience. From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists. ... The CAC's agenda flowed from Mr. Ayers's educational philosophy, which called for infusing students and their parents with a radical political commitment, and which downplayed achievement tests in favor of activism. In the mid-1960s, Mr. Ayers taught at a radical alternative school, and served as a community organizer in Cleveland's ghetto. ... CAC translated Mr . Ayers's radicalism into practice. Instead of funding schools directly, it required schools to affiliate with 'external partners,' which actually got the money. Proposals from groups focused on math/science achievement were turned down. Instead CAC disbursed money through various far-left community organizers, such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (or Acorn)." (Stanley Kurtz, Op-Ed, "Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism On Schools," The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/08)

From March Of 1995 Until September Of 1997, Barack Obama And Ayers Attended At Least Seven Meetings Together Relating To The Chicago Annenberg Challenge. (Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Board Of Directors Meeting, Minutes Of The Board, 3/15/95, 3/31/95, 4/13/95, 6/5/95, 9/30/97; National Annenberg Challenge Evaluation Meeting, List Of Participants, 5/24/95; Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Chicago School Reform Collaborative Meeting, Minutes, 10/23/96)

CNN: The Paths Of Barack Obama And Ayers "Repeatedly Crossed" At The Annenberg Challenge. CNN'S DREW GRIFFIN: "One place their paths repeatedly crossed, according to a CNN review of board minutes and other records, was Chicago's Annenberg Challenge project where a $50 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation matched locally raised funds to improve schools.

According to participants and project records, Bill Ayers fought to bring the Annenberg grant to Chicago, Barack Obama was recruited as its chair. For seven years, Bill Ayers and Obama among many others, worked on funding for education projects, including some experiments supported by Ayers." (CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," 10/6/08)

ANNCR: They wrote the foundation's by-laws, together.

Barack Obama "Served On The Board's Governance Committee With Mr. Obama, And Worked With Him To Craft CAC Bylaws." "The Daley documents show that Mr. Ayers sat as an ex-officio member of the board Mr. Obama chaired through CAC's first year. He also served on the board's governance committee with Mr. Obama, and worked with him to craft CAC bylaws. Mr. Ayers made presentations to board meetings chaired by Mr. Obama. Mr. Ayers spoke for the Collaborative before the board. Likewise, Mr. Obama periodically spoke for the board at meetings of the Collaborative." (Stanley Kurtz, Op-Ed, "Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism On Schools," The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/08)

Bill Ayers Was Asked To Help Barack Obama Formulate The Chicago Annenberg Challenge By-Laws. (Chicago Annenberg Challenge Board Of Directors Minutes, 3/15/95)

ANNCR: Obama was the foundation's first chairman.

Barack Obama "Was The First Chairman Of The Chicago Annenberg Challenge." "In the 1990s, Ayers was instrumental in starting the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which was awarded nearly $50 million by a foundation to help reform Chicago schools. Obama was the first chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge and Republicans have been highlighting his ties to Ayers through the group." (Pete Yost, "University Won't Open Obama-Related Records Now," The Associated Press, 8/19/08)

ANNCR: Reports say they, "distributed more than $100 million to ideological allies with no discernible improvement in education."

Chicago Annenberg Challenge: "Distributed More Than $100 Million To Ideological Allies With No Discernible Improvement In Public Education." "With Ayers directing the project's operational arm and Obama overseeing its financial affairs until 1999, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge distributed more than $100 million to ideological allies with no discernible improve-ment in public education." (Editorial, "Obama's Friend, America's Enemy," National Review, 8/27/08)

ANNCR: When their relationship became an issue, Obama just responded, "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood." That's it?

Barack Obama On Ayers At Democratic Debate: "This Is A Guy Who Lives In My Neighborhood." "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago, who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis." (Sen. Barack Obama, ABC Democratic Presidential Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 4/16/08)

ANNCR: We know Bill Ayers ran the "violent left wing activist group" called Weather Underground.

Bill Ayers Was A Leader Of "The Violent Left-Wing Activist Group The Weather Underground." "Senator Obama's ties to a former leader of the violent left-wing activist group the Weather Underground are drawing new scrutiny as he battles Senator Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination." (Russell Berman, "Obama's Ties to Left Come Under Scrutiny," The New York Sun, 2/19/08)

ANNCR: We know Ayers' wife was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.

Bill Ayers' Wife, Weather Underground Leader Bernardine Dohrn, Appeared On FBI's "Most Wanted" List. "Bernardine Dohrn, the former leader of the militant Weather Underground who turned herself in after 11 years on the run, says she looks forward to spending time with family and friends and intends to continue a rebellion against 'the system.' ... 'I remain committed to the struggle ahead,' Ms. Dohrn told reporters Wednesday after a court appearance. 'Given the system which perpetuates ... harsh oppression and suffering, rebellion is inevitable and continuous.' Ms. Dohrn, 38, pleaded innocent to nine charges -- seven stemming from the 1969 'Days of Rage' anti-war demonstration in Chicago and two more for jumping bail. She was released on $25,000 bond and a hearing was set for Jan. 13. Ms. Dohrn, who once appeared on the FBI's most-wanted list, arrived in court with a lawyer and William Ayers, another ex-radical who said he lived with Ms. Dohrn in New York and is the father of her two children." (James Litke, "Fugitive Leader Surrenders With No Regrets," The Associated Press, 12/4/80)

ANNCR: We know they bombed the Capitol. The Pentagon. A judge's home.

In The 1970s, Weather Underground Bombed The Capitol And The Pentagon. "As an Illinois state senator in 2001, Mr. Obama accepted a $200 contribution from William Ayers, a founding member of the group that bombed the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon during the 1970s." (Russell Berman, "Obama's Ties to Left Come Under Scrutiny," The New York Sun, 2/19/08)

New York State Supreme Court Justice's House Was Bombed By Weather Underground. "In February 1970, my father, a New York State Supreme Court justice, was presiding over the trial of the so-called "Panther 21," members of the Black Panther Party indicted in a plot to bomb New York landmarks and department stores. Early on the morning of February 21, as my family slept, three gasoline-filled firebombs exploded at our home on the northern tip of Manhattan, two at the front door and the third tucked neatly under the gas tank of the family car. (Today, of course, we'd call that a car bomb.) A neighbor heard the first two blasts and, with the remains of a snowman I had built a few days earlier, managed to douse the flames beneath the car. That was an act whose courage I fully appreciated only as an adult, an act that doubtless saved multiple lives that night. ... Though no one was ever caught or tried for the attempt on my family's life , there was never any doubt who was behind it. Only a few weeks after the attack, the New York contingent of the Weathermen blew themselves up making more bombs in a Greenwich Village townhouse. The same cell had bombed my house, writes Ron Jacobs in The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground. And in late November that year, a letter to the Associated Press signed by Bernardine Dohrn, Ayers's wife, promised more bombings." (John M. Murtagh, "Fire In The Night," City Journal, 4/30/08)

In His Book, Bill Ayers Writes About Participating In The Bombings Of The Capitol And Pentagon. "Now he has written a book, 'Fugitive Days' (Beacon Press, September). Mr. Ayers, who is 56, calls it a memoir, somewhat coyly perhaps, since he also says some of it is fiction. He writes that he participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, of the Capitol building in 1971, the Pentagon in 1972." (Dinitia Smith, "No Regrets For A Love Of Explosives," The New York Times, 9/11/01)

ANNCR: We know Ayers said, "I don't regret setting bombs. . I feel we didn't do enough."

In The September 11, 2001 New York Times, Ayers Was Quoted Saying "I Don't Regret Setting Bombs ... I Feel We Didn't Do Enough." "'I don't regret setting bombs,' Bill Ayers said. 'I feel we didn't do enough.' Mr. Ayers, who spent the 1970's as a fugitive in the Weather Underground, was sitting in the kitchen of his big turn-of-the-19th-century stone house in the Hyde Park district of Chicago." (Dinitia Smith, "No Regrets For A Love Of Explosives," The New York Times, 9/11/01)

ANNCR: But Obama's friendship with terrorist Ayers isn't the issue. The issue is Barack Obama's judgment and candor. When Obama just says, "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood." Americans say, "Where's the truth, Barack?" Barack Obama. Too risky for America.

JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

Barack Obama On Ayers At Democratic Debate: "This Is A Guy Who Lives In My Neighborhood." "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago, who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis." (Sen. Barack Obama, ABC Democratic Presidential Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 4/16/08)

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

McCAIN BEING McCAIN

Presidential Debate 2 of 3 came and went last night, probably leaving most minds unchanged. Barack Obama followed in the steps of Biden by repeatedly lying on just about everything, but McCain was content with continuing to totally misread his opposition and not use his own team effectively. Obama makes his points better than his surrogates, but many in the New Media make GOP points far better than McCain does himself. Doesn’t this guy listen??? Conservatives have always been wary of him, but McCain continues to alienate his base while giving independents no totally compelling reasons to vote for him.

1) McCain let Obama continue his mantra about the last eight years. The fact is that a Democratic Congress has a far LOWER approval rating than President Bush, and the Democratic Congress has been in control the last two years and has presided over ALL the financial meltdowns. McCain refuses to point this out. When the MSM chant about the economy being the issue, he refuses to intercept the ball and return it for a touchdown. Obama has no credibility on the economy either in Illinois or in the Senate. You cannot cede field position and expect to win.


2) McCain continues to praise Democrats in Congress, despite the fact he came out the loser each time he collaborated. With Russ Feingold, he engineered Campaign Finance Reform, which chipped away at Freedom of Speech and ended up with him being outspent three to one by Obama. He collaborated with Teddy Kennedy, and a poor immigration policy is the result. He jumped into bed with Joe Lieberman on climate change and now champions the lies of Al Gore. Right at the time when more scientists are getting the courage to debunk the myth of MAN-MADE climate change, with the onerous big government implications of accepting that mantra, McCain, who is no scientist, jumps on the bandwagon. It is as though he would PREFER a Democratic Congress which has caused and presided over this Financial Meltdown rather than one controlled by his own party. In addition to weakening the case of those seeking to win a GOP majority in the Congress again, we all know that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid would outmaneuver McCain every time, so those voting for McCain must vote in a GOP Congress whether he wants one or not if they want change they can believe in.

3) McCain hammers on earmarks, but he voted FOR the bailout with $125 BILLION in pork added to the $700 billion the house wouldn’t pass the first time. This $125 billion makes the other earmarks he is criticizing look puny. Where was his leadership? If there had to be some pork, why so much when it passed with 74 votes? And frankly, with the response of the markets and with 55% of voters against the bailout, it looks like he would have been better off opposing the whole thing – short term pain for long term gain.

4) McCain lets Obama mischaracterize his tax plan while failing to point out that letting the tax cuts expire is in fact raising taxes. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Letting people think CEO’s of large corporations are getting MORE tax cuts in the current situation is not tenable politics.

5) McCain did not bring up his opponent's anti-Israel connections with Wright, Farrakhan, Khalid, etc. He could easily have said, “My pro-Israel stand is long and unblemished, and those in Israel acnknowledge that. My opponent sat twenty years in a church which was anti-Semitic, marched with Louis Farrakhan, one of the world's worst anti-Semites, and had collaborations with numerous others who do not have Israel’s good at heart, but in fact who proved by their hateful words to be enemies of our greatest ally in the Middle East. I have courage to stand against Israel’s enemies. My opponent has not shown that courage.”

6) McCain criticized Reagan repeatedly for the Lebanon blunder while ignoring the continued Clinton blunders of inadequately dealing with terrorism, which led to 9/11 and the Iraq war. Obama’s policies are eerily similar to Clinton’s, and McCain should have blown him out of the water.

McCain brought back to those of us who never supported him in the primaries why we didn’t. He seems to love to stick his finger in the eye of principled conservatives while cozying up to those in Congress who have repeatedly been proven on the wrong side of the issues. One wonders if he has the slightest stomach to push for strict constructionist judges for the Supreme Court and the Federal Courts if he does win. Sarah Palin has made John McCain more palatable, and one could only hope more of her views will rub off on him. Many of us wish SHE were at the top of the ticket. The Teflon Obama propped up by the press is no viable alternative, of course, but can’t we do better than the lesser of two evils??? Meanwhile, we are in the fourth quarter and McCain is playing the same game that causes the Eagles to lose games they should be winning. All Obama has to do is hold the ball and run out the clock, particularly since he is registering folks and having them vote early so even if he falters he will have millions of unchangeable votes already in the bank. (By the way, don’t we have an Election DAY? Dems in Ohio have facilitated what Obama’s folks are doing and it reeks of fraud and coercion.) McCain has to blitz and gamble and strip the ball away and not just run up the middle for the nth time. Democrats are bankrupt on the issues but know politics. One would only hope that McCain would understand that the parties really ARE different and by not explaining and living the differences, he continues to fail to make the case of why undecided voters should support his candidacy.

The church has been afflicted with those coming as “angels of light”, men and women with large followings in state of the art buildings who pervert the scriptures and lead people away from the heart of the gospel. Like the false prophets, Obama has tapped into a hunger in this country, but if you go beyond the fawning media and look at the particularly ugly and sinister forces behind his candidacy, and the forces which have held sway in his own life, you will quickly come to the truth of the matter. Obama has an attractive appearance and manner that appeals to the flesh, but, the REAL Obama will be revealed. God will strip away the attractive veneer to expose a man who is worse on the inside than even his most vociferous opponents have charged, and those who continue to support his candidacy will do so at their spiritual peril.

However, that said, simply defeating him isn’t remotely adequate, and the GOP hasn't proven itself up to even that task. I believe God will cause him to blunder so badly that he defeats himself. It is only by God's mercy, not by acts of righteousness that we have done. We must also realize that we must ask God to bring McCain to the foot of the cross and reveal himself to him in a Damascus Road experience. Going to church is not remotely enough. Not even a Southern Baptist Church. The challenges we face are even stronger and more subtle that what McCain faced in the Hanoi Hilton. We must also ask that Sarah Palin will not operate in the flesh but in the Spirit and that she would realize that except for God’s hand, she would be in Alaska nursing her baby and dealing with petty politics as usual. Our trust is NOT in any man or woman. All are totally fallible. Only God can lead us effectively. We are in perilous times, and we need leaders who are totally in touch with the Lord so they will not be misled and so they will not falter.

Friday, October 03, 2008

POINTS BUT NO KNOCKOUT

Pundits on both sides acknowledged Sarah Palin’s connecting with the people. The down-home expressions and common sense approach showed why she came out of the gate so fast. However, both she and Joe Biden and practically every other participant in the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates for as long as I can remember turned questions they did not want to answer into opportunities to use talking points or use excerpts from their stump speeches.

Like Joe Biden, there were points that were memorized or in her notes. Joe had none of the obvious “gaffes” he is famous for, but he did lie repeatedly while ostensibly stating “facts”, doubtless providing fodder for some more of McCain’s ad boys. Palin left out anything approaching controversy such as the infamous “bridge to nowhere” that ironically both Obama and Biden supported. What is inexplicable to me, however, is that there were LECTERNS there, and she could easily have had several knockout punches ready to be thrown. They were so obvious. McCain has strenuously avoided using them himself, and this was a golden opportunity missed, since this VP debate generated so much interest it may have had more viewers than the upcoming final two presidential debates. Contrary to all the happy-talk, McCain/Palin is not a bipartisan ticket. McCain/Lieberman would have been one, and it would have been a disaster. McCain needs to wake up and realize that every moment the Democrats are pummeling his ticket with their criticisms, and he needs to run as a Republican. The Mainstream Media are campaigning full time for Mr. Obama, and these debates provide the only real opportunities to connect unfiltered to a national audience. People often dismiss campaign speeches and ads as not credible when the same points are not made during the debates So many Americans are so woefully ignorant of the issues that they will vote on talking points unless the debaters go for the jugular. Debates are NOT diplomacy. They are WAR. Maybe McCain will still make these points, but since the handlers didn’t give them to Sarah, I am not holding my breath. For a military man, McCain seems strangely passive when he needs to fight to survive. Here are five points that would fit on ONE sheet of paper that cannot be credibly refuted:

1) Everybody is talking change in Washington. I am too. The Democratic Party has controlled Congress – and Congress is the legislative body with prime responsibility for oversight and budgets - over the last two years during the time when all these meltdowns have occurred - Indy Mac, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the rest. When Joe is talking about regulations, he is confused. Wall Street was doing fine with a less regulated atmosphere. Those watching this debate saw their stocks go up and banks weren’t failing. However, despite GOP pressure, the Democratic Congress has resisted again and again in reining in Fannie and Freddie who together with ACORN were pushing the mortgage companies into unwise loans. This is the unwise under-regulation that the Democrats clung to because their campaigns benefited from large campaign contributions, especially those of Chris Dodd and Barack Obama. These men profitted from the endemic corruption and looked the other way. Barney Frank, Maxine Waters and others are on tape claiming there was nothing wrong with these institutions and praised the disgraced Franklin Raines, a man who raped 90 million from Fannie Mae, and whom I might add sits as an economic advisor to Barack Obama. Is this change we can believe in? Is Nancy Pelosi’s disgraceful bitterly partisan performance last Friday before the failed House vote on the bailout change we can believe in? She is only TWO heartbeats away from the Presidency as long as the failed Democrats control Congress, no matter who wins the Presidency. Now that scares me.

2) These last two years of Democratic failure in Congress are harbingers of the future if you don’t vote in both John and I AND a GOP Congress. Most Americans have a stake in the stock market, whether directly or in terms of their 401k’s, Company or Union Pension Funds, or other investments made on their behalf. You can check this out yourself, but objective data shows that since 1945 stocks appreciated 14% per annum with the GOP controlling Congress, twice the 7% managed by Democrats. Economic progress by minorities has been greater under the GOP than under Democrats where big government programs have universally failed to live up to their expectations. Anyone who thinks the Democrats lead on the economy is flunking history, and we want not only no CHILD left behind, but no AMERICAN left behind in a sea of high taxes and failed new governnment boondoggles..

3) My opponent here keeps repeating his stump speech on this dishonest tax plan being pushed by the Democrats. Joe, you and Barack want the Bush tax cuts to expire. Those gave tax decreases all the way down to $42,000. Don’t be cute saying that you are not increasing taxes on the middle class when the net effect of letting a tax cut expire is indeed the same as raising taxes. And the FICA Tax is often higher than the income tax for small businesses, and Obama wants to raise the FICA threshold. You cannot hide from the fact that you are tax and spend liberals just like John Kerry and Al Gore whom the American people rejected in the last two elections.

4) Joe says he is not for homosexual marriage. However, Barack Obama approved of the flawed court decision in California overturning the will of the people of California, and he refuses to support defining marriage between a man and a woman. This parsing of position is not reflective of transparent government. Positions must be unequivocal and clear to the American people.

5) I’m all for diplomacy for Iran, but make no mistake. The Europeans, who have largely not been involved in the war in Iraq, have been dancing with the Iranians through diplomacy for five years. Ahmadinejad is more militant than ever. Historically, evil is not vanquished through diplomacy but through confrontation. My choice is the use of economic confrontation, but if the pursuit of obtaining nuclear weapons continues unabated, Iran has to know that we will not run home with a worthless piece of paper as Neville Chamberlain did from Adolf Hitler, receiving adulation from the masses while a short time later London lay in ruins. This is not a war of words - just words. America has enemies that want multiple encores of 9/11. We should pursue all means, but not be so eager for peace that we are naïve and cause even worse issues down the road.