Posted on 06/12/2008 3:47:31 AM PDT by Kaslin
For Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, the stars certainly seem aligned.
Seventy percent of Americans consider the economy in a recession. Two-thirds consider the war in Iraq a bad idea. A new Gallup Poll shows Obama leading presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain 46 to 44 percent. And the ratings for "American Idol" fell 10 percent. Given all this, plus a swooning, pro-Obama media, what's a Republican to do?
Guess it's time to look on the bright side, and find something positive about the possibility of a President Barack Obama.
I called Margaret, a Republican friend who lives in Chicago. Do me a favor, I asked her, and attend a prayer service at St. Sabina -- the church led by Father Michael Pfleger. YouTube star Pfleger, as a guest of Trinity United Church of Christ, called Sen. Hillary Clinton a white supremacist, resentful of the ascension of Barack Obama. Pfleger yelled that Clinton felt entitled because she felt, as he put it, "I'm white!" He also preached that any white person with a "401(k)" or a "trust fund" needs to surrender it -- presumably to blacks -- or consider themselves part of the problem. Rumor had it, I told Margaret, that Rev. Jeremiah Wright was expected to attend St. Sabina's upcoming prayer service.
She agreed to go. Take a Bible with you, I suggested, so no one will think you're a reporter. And should security refuse to let you in, scream, "I'm black!" Now, she's white, but still
At St. Sabina a security team did, indeed, stand in front of the church, warily eyeballing newcomers. They stopped Margaret, despite the Bible in hand. She was about to scream as security shooed her away, "I'm black! I'm black!" But, she admitted, she was afraid that they would think she was deranged and call the authorities.
"Mission aborted," she dejectedly e-mailed me. But she did go back to the church after-hours, and sent an attachment of photos of her dog with the church in the background. Cute dog.
Don't feel too bad, I told her, because I find myself warming up to Obama's message of change and hope. To lift her spirits, I offered a few examples.
Obama rejects the Bush my-way-or-the-highway "cowboy" foreign policy. Obama repeatedly said he wishes to meet with enemy/thug leaders without preconditions. But wait!
He now says only if he decides to meet in the first place. And if he decides -- to which he may not -- he'll do so without preconditions. And if he decides not to, his decision will have been made without preconditions, unless, of course, he decides to meet after all -- but only without preconditions. And if he decides not to meet, he'll make that decision without any preconditions, just as he would make the decision to meet without the precondition of no preconditions. But if he decides to meet, without preconditions, he'll do so solely when, where and if he decides to -- without preconditions.
That's change.
Unlike President Bush, who "neglected" the Israeli/Palestinian peace process until the waning days of his administration, Obama intends to immediately get on it. Last week, he told America's Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) -- America's leading pro-Israel lobby -- that he supports a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the sole, undivided capital of Israel. (The Bush administration, currently in negotiations with the Israelis and Palestinians, hasn't taken a position on this thorny issue, preferring the parties to negotiate between themselves.) After Obama's statement, the Palestinians immediately cried, "Foul!" and said there would be no discussions with that stipulation! Hamas, the Palestinian terror group, called him no different from Bush. Thus, with this demand, a President Obama threatens to derail talks from the very beginning. But wait!
The next day, Obama said that, well, "obviously" the issue of Jerusalem should be decided by the Israelis and Palestinians -- adopting the same position as "cowboy" Bush.
That's hope.
On deterring Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, Obama accused the Bush administration of "saber rattling." Obama's Web site calls for aggressive diplomacy, but mentions nothing about a military option. But wait!
He told AIPAC, "Let there be no doubt: I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel."
What about Iran's Revolutionary Guard? When Sen. Clinton voted to declare the Revolutionary Guard a terror organization, Obama criticized her, and deemed the vote irresponsibly militant. But wait!
He told AIPAC that Iran's Revolutionary Guard is, indeed, a terror organization. So why did he vote otherwise, and attack Clinton? Well, said Obama at the time, it was an unnecessarily belligerent move. But apparently, now they are terrorists because, well, it isn't as belligerent to say so today as it was to say so yesterday.
That's more hope and more change. So, I told Margaret, here's hoping you find this hopeful. If not, I'll change it.
This Uber leftist “magic negro” can kiss my Reagan conservative rear.
I’ll never warm to his socialist unAmerican agenda.
But wait! What about the American-Israel flag pin Barry wore during his speech? Such a small thing, but the devil is in the details. That phony pin bugs me no end.
Larry Elder is good. He’s on H & C often.
Don’t think I ever heard of church that turns people away before. Quite telling.
It just goes to show you how wilfully, incredibly dense people really are for thinking Obama is an oratory genius.
Especially a Catholic church
An Empty shirt.
It just goes to show you how wilfully, incredibly dense people really are for thinking Obama is an oratory genius.
When are the people going to wake up and see what he really is, a charlatan?
He's a master of this like he's a master at giving speeches. You're right; he's not a master of either. In the case of the speeches, this fulsome praise is given by people who are so relieved he sounds like Dan Rather rather than Jesse Jackson. In the case of the "bait and switch" and taking advantage of people's gullibility, he's on the level of a junior high con artist taking advantage of four-year-olds. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. In other words, if one is trying to sell magic beans, one must find a group of people who are so simple-minded that they'd believe in magic beans to begin with. But if, after having found such a group of people and having found enthusiastic takers and having told them that they'll be able to grow Peruvians by planting the magic lima beans they'll get if they just turn everything in their lives over to him, you have to laugh your butt off if you're told by one of the lima bean rubes that the hoaxter is a master salesman.
They never will. DBM/dem want to stay willfully stupid because it's all about power/selfishness to them. They want Obama to give them something, Hope and Change becasuse they're too ignorant to go get it themselves.
barack mcgovern started the week with a plus 8 which is now a plus 2. I know that in ratspeak plus two is an “insurmountable lead”, but for the rest of the world it is the beginning of the natural correction that will end with a crushing defeat in November.
This should be a big story in and of itself. These churches need to be investigated. A Democratic administration would investigate a church with so called “right wing hate speech” in a New York Times minute. If they blocked this woman, surely something was being said that day that they didn’t want reporters to hear.
Every Christian in the country ought to be horrified knowing there are now two churches in Chicago claiming to preach the gospel of Christ who have security outside turning people away. Even “lima bean rubes” (love that!) ought to be able to see there is something very wrong with that. Pastors and the Christian community ought to be shouting from the rooftops “Not in our name!” If there is any group of people you really want INSIDE a church it’s journalists! Can I get an AMEN?
If there is any group of people you really want INSIDE a church its journalists!
Not to mention there's a lot of journalist who NEED inside a church.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.