The new face of Barack Obama …

Obama’s handlers and spinmeister's are busily concocting a campaign based on “images” and “sound bites” rather than one of policy substance.

In an effort to look more Presidential while standing at the podium, Obama’s media consultants decided to add a Presidential-like seal to convey a more solid and “official” image. Much like the stage managed placement of black and white people behind the podium, this is more artificial spinmeistering  to divert attention from the message

According to the Associated Press…

“A new seal debuted on Obama's podium Friday, sporting iconography used in the U.S. presidential seal, the blue background, the eagle clutching arrows on left and olive branch on right, but with symbolic differences. Instead of the Latin 'E pluribus unum' (Out of many, one), Obama's says 'Vero possumus', rough Latin for 'Yes, we can.' Instead of 'Seal of the President of the United States', Obama's Web site address is listed. And instead of a shield, Obama's eagle wears his 'O' campaign logo with a rising sun representing hope ahead”

Michelle Obama too …

It seems the spinmeisters had to overcome the impression that Michelle Obama was an “angry black woman” and curb her more strident tone, compared to her husband’s more laid back approach, when she proclaims that “Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual — uninvolved, uninformed.”

And to overcome her gaffe which led to the oft-repeated sound bite  of her saying "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change."

Questions remain: Will this political makeover transform Michelle Obama into the image of a gracious potential first lady who is proud of her country and her husband? Will it help ameliorate the image of another co-presidency where the unelected wife is an integral part of the policy decision making that will affect all America?

However you slice it, Michelle Obama is not running for office and serves only as a time-wasting diversion from the more important examination of Barack Obama’s history and opinions, both past and present, on issues of substance. Even Bill Clinton’s campaign handlers were appreciative when the public focused on Hillary instead of their deeply-flawed candidate.

Who is Barack Obama and what does he stand for?

Without a doubt, this is one of the most important questions facing our nation today. As a nation, it is critically important to prevent another Jimmy Carter or Clinton-style democrat from being elected to office. Carter, as you may well remember, brought about the rise of Islamo-fascism – the sting of which is being severely felt today – and whose failed economic policies drove both prices and interest rates through the proverbial roof. Like Clinton, he failed to protect America by utilizing a swift military response to those who would attack America or her citizens.

Hope? Change?

Obama’s spinmeisters concentrate on a two word mantra: the first being HOPE and the second one being CHANGE. They are hoping to create an image of an electable candidate by presenting a neutral blank slate upon which America’s citizens can project their own hopes and wishes for change. Everybody hopes for the changes that will improve their lives. Unfortunately, many of these hopes and changes vary greatly depending on your racial, ethnic, religious, gender, and income level. Thus, it is necessary to present the “empty suit” whose real plans and desires must be hidden and held in abeyance until after the election.

What do I see when I see Barack Obama?

I see a far-left liberal democrat trying to cobble a coalition of disparate groups, all vying for political power, prestige and profits from an Obama administration. A man whose voting record puts him to the farthest left of all of his Senate colleagues including the notoriously liberal Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, who I feel is ideologically akin to a Marxist. All favoring the “collective” over the rights of “individual” citizens. All engaging in social engineering and wealth redistribution. The very type of people whose guiding principle is “don’t do as I do, do as I say.”

I see an angry black man who sat in a church year-after-year, for twenty years, absorbing the angry anti-white, anti-American vitriol of his spiritual mentor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. A man who may be affecting the neutral mask of sensibility so as not to scare “white America.” A man who sees everything:  first, through the prism of self-interest, then through the prism of race, and then through the prism of power. Some say Obama joined the Trinity United Church of Christ for political reasons and to bolster his street credibility. The fact that he did not leave it sooner and quickly move to disavow the hate speech coming from his spiritual mentor says that he is loyal above all, but lacks the foresight, strength and leadership to lead America in these perilous times. I see a man with the same soft-spoken self-assured demeanor as Louis Farrakhan. And while I do not believe Barack Obama is a virulent anti-Semite or anti-white racist, I still am unsure of what he does represent. 

I see an old-time Chicago-style democrat with more than a nodding acquaintance with cronyism, political favoritism and outright corruption. A good friend of Tony Rezko, the convicted Chicago influence peddler.   

But most of all, I see an inexperienced Junior Senator whose pronouncements on certain aspects of foreign policy lead me to believe that his liberal ideas will provide additional aid and comfort to the enemy while, at the same time, his domestic policies will be weakening our military and creating chaos with economy. Whatever confluence of events allowed him to get this far in presidential politics, I see another empty-headed democrat concentrating on their “feelings” and not able to make the hard choices necessary to lead America on behalf of all Americans.

The spinmeisters have done their job …

I do see Barack Obama as an empty slate. Unfortunately my intelligence, as well as my native gut feeling, will not allow me to project my hope or need for change  onto his candidacy because I do not believe he can rise to the level of expertise or knowledge required by the President of the United States. I cannot believe he can overcome viewing everything through the prism of race and politics to serve all Americans. And cannot trust his hack democrat advisors to fill the gap with their old self-aggrandizing and shop-worn political theories.

For those who want to call me a racist …

Outside of my family and friends, I really don’t care what most people think and am somewhat immune from labeling. I find most people who consider themselves community activists or  representatives of their people to be racist, earning their livings off the backs of their followers and those who are short-sighted and cannot see that these people talk about hope, talk about change, talk … talk … talk – but do nothing to effect the change they claim to want.

If the black community, which is far from monolithic, wants to support a presidential candidate, let them put forth the name of Colin Powell. A man whose background and achievements make Barack Obama look like an empty suit. A man whose capability for leadership is undisputed and whose capacity for learning and understanding both foreign and domestic affairs mark him a candidate who I would support – no matter what party he may be affiliated. A man who makes John McCain look like an aging politician seeking that last hurrah. I will dust off my Colin Powell for President pins and wear them proudly.

But make no mistake about it, I will vote for John McCain over Barack Obama because, no matter what McCain’s past voting record tells us, I know he is a patriot and willing to defend the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. 

What can YOU do?

Study the two major candidates and their record of accomplishment. Overlook the style and ferret out the substance. The United States is at a historic crossroads where foreign and domestic policies over the next four years can either relieve or intensify the pain being felt by ordinary Americans just trying to go about their every-day lives.

Ignore the rah-rah glitz and glamour of staged events and realize that those who are endorsing a political candidate are doing it out of their own enlightened self-interest.

Ignore the surrogates. If the politician does not have the raw guts to state their position directly to the American people without using “disavowable” surrogates to float trial balloons, they do not deserve the Office of the Presidency.

Consider the fact that the democrats have done more to weaken this nation, militarily and domestically with their far-left “the planet over people” policies, that they cannot be trusted on matters of national defense, energy independence or any other critical area.

Vote for those who are willing to rationally study the issue of global warming on a scientific basis rather than engaging in a specious Enron-style “cap and trade” system to increase the size of government, to enhance government’s power, to raise taxes and to make the mega-rich even richer.

Vote for those who will enforce the sovereignty of the United States and change the immigration policy to insure that newborns assume the nationality of their parents and that we do not continue to dilute the American culture with poor and illiterate people who refuse to assimilate to the point where they can vote us out of our own homes.

Do not vote for a political party. Both parties have plundered the United States treasury while pandering to the special interests. They have ignored energy independent for at least 50 years and watched while our country became dependent on foreign oil. It is time to elect ethical politicians (if there is such an animal) who put America before party, prestige, power and personal profits.

Do not vote for any candidate or current politician who is willing to subvert the safety, security, sovereignty and economic strength of the United States or limit an individual's right of self-defense for their personal philosophy, power, prestige or profits.

-- steve

Quote of the day: “Do not condemn the judgement of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong.” - Dandemis

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