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 We even have one amendment – the 18th that abolished liquor - that was later rescinded by the 21st Amendment.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.