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The Descent of St. Barack
Townhall.com ^ | June 25, 2008 | Paul Greenberg

Posted on 06/25/2008 9:16:37 AM PDT by Kaslin

The Hon. Barack Obama hasn't yet reached Clintonesque levels of slickness, but this presidential campaign is still young and a whole summer of broken promises and general disenchantment with the Saint of Hyde Park has begun to set in.

For all its smooth, Internetted aspects, the Obama campaign begins to develop overtones of George McGovern's crack-up in the summer of 1972. Sen. McGovern was the beneficiary that year of the Democrats' newly rigged nominating system, which remains much the same. This year it allowed Barack Obama to cinch his party's nomination even as his rival was sweeping the popular vote in the big states.

George McGovern required only a few torrid weeks back in '72 to go from shining hope to utter incompetent. And now Barack Obama, the Different Kind of Presidential Candidate, has begun his metamorphosis into the same old kind of presidential candidate by backing away from his earlier promise to accept public financing.

Naturally, he claims it wasn't a promise at all but just a possibility, depending on whether John McCain would agree to accept public financing, too, which Sen. McCain did, and on various other escape clauses. We all know the drill by now: When caught in an obvious contradiction, obfuscate.

Another embarrassment: It seems that one of the political mavens Sen. Obama had scouting for a running mate enjoyed some fishy ties to Countrywide Credit, a key player in the subprime collapse.

But who didn't? By now both Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd, those two ethical paragons of the U.S. Senate, turn out to have gotten sweetheart deals from the kind of lenders the Democrats' class warriors usually tend to denounce. (John Edwards, D-Hypocrisy, is no longer in this presidential campaign but his spirit goes marching, or at least slinking, on.)

Naturally the country's New Hope waved off his veep-hunting scandal, explaining that he couldn't be expected to investigate his advisers' real estate deals. Of course not, especially since he didn't even investigate his own with Tony Rezko, that fellow pillar of the Daley machine in Chicago. Well, we can't say we weren't warned. Sen. Obama told us he was the candidate of Audacity.

It's all enough to remind some of us that poor George McGovern had problems finding a running mate, too. Back in the confusing year 1972, the McGovern-Eagleton ticket didn't even last till Election Day. Missouri's Tom Eagleton had to be dropped for lack of candor about some electric shock treatments he'd once received. Sen. Obama hasn't even made his vice-presidential pick yet and his veep problems have begun. When a trusted adviser who was going to vet his choice for vice president isn't adequately vetted himself, that says something less than assuring about what an Obama administration would be like.

Oh, tell it not at the Lyric Opera, publish it not in the Sun-Times, but how the mighty of Hyde Park have fallen. Some of us can remember when that leafy neighborhood wasn't a wholly protected subsidiary of the University of Chicago - the kind of effectively gated community and game preserve for Progressive Thinkers that it's become - but the home of giants like The Hon. and honorable Paul Douglas.

A forgotten figure who doesn't deserve to be, Sen. Douglas was a fighting Marine, true liberal and unwavering voice in the U.S. Senate for justice at home and freedom abroad, a fit companion for Scoop Jackson of cherished memory. In short, he was a more robust version of today's Lonely Joe Lieberman, that voice in the Democratic wilderness.

Sen. Obama's reversal when it comes to accepting public financing for his campaign was announced in the true spirit of our new Bobo - i.e., Bourgeois Bohemian - elite. (Thank you, David Brooks, for coining that now inescapable term when it comes to diagnosing the soft underside of the country's upper crust.) Sen. Obama explained that (a) he wasn't actually breaking his word, (b) it was really all John McCain's fault and, besides, (c) it's the system of public financing that's broken. As if it hadn't been just as broken when he made his pledge.

Skipping past these inconvenient truths, the senator from Upscale, Ill., now has issued a self-righteous statement taking the high ground while he himself opts for the low. Perfect. Perfect, self-serving hypocrisy. I can just see the look on old Paul Douglas' rugged face if he'd been asked to swallow a line that slick.

Some of us can hardly wait for St. Barack's next sly descent to the nether regions of politics, which of course will be described as but the next phase in his Holy Ascension.

If this is change and hope in American presidential politics, what, pray tell, would be steady disillusion? The country may find out soon enough. The long, slow McGovern summer of B. Obama could be just beginning.


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; blueturban; obama; obamamessiah; paulgreenberg
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1 posted on 06/25/2008 9:16:37 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

To paraphrase the British military while making toasts during the Napoleonic Wars: “Here’s to his confusion”.


2 posted on 06/25/2008 9:22:25 AM PDT by unkus
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To: Kaslin

And his wife is being shielded now by the mainstream media. When this campaigning gets in full force mode, she will be exposed for the goof and bitter hag she is and BO will be tip toeing around alot of “mis-truths”.
McCain wins very handily.


3 posted on 06/25/2008 9:23:47 AM PDT by oust the louse (Terrorists are salivating over an Obama White House.)
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To: Kaslin
Folks, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there isn't any "descent" going on out there. I have yet to see in a single poll any movement whatsoever that suggests he is beatable, let alone being beaten. Yes, I know about the make-up of the Newsweek Poll; yes, I know that in previous elections Kerry and other Dems have had big leads this time of the campaign.

There is a world of difference.

*Bush v. Kerry: There were two candidates of roughly the same age, neither with significant oratorical skills. There were important, even glaring policy differences between the two. Bush had a fantastic "ground game" and grass-roots organization, an energized base, and a high approval rating from Republicans.

*Reagan v. Carter: There was an age difference, made up for by Reagan's high name recognition, much superior communication skills, and high dissatisfaction with Carter. The ground game was close to equal, but there were significant differences in policies, and Carter suffered from, well, his own policies.

*McCain v. Obama: There is a significant age difference, and for the first time since RFK, you have a candidate of "the younger generation." Whether this results in the constantly harped-on "turnout of younger voters" remains to be seen---but cannot be ruled out. Despite his penchant for flubs and gaffes, Obama has developed a reputation for stirring speeches and 15-second sound bites, while McCain looks like he's a veterinarian trying to explain kidney stones in Schnauzers. In a television age, this difference is profound. On issues, there is little difference. True, McCain has gone out of his way to distance himself from Obama on energy---but this is too little, too late. Reputations are made over a lifetime, not a few convenient campaign speeches.

In short, Obama is being touted as the "messiah" without anyone reading---or if they have read, caring about---his actual policies. He has a "young" image of "new ideas" and says nothing very well.

I think McCain could easily be in for a Dem landslide.

4 posted on 06/25/2008 9:29:42 AM PDT by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of News)
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To: oust the louse

She looks like she is on some serious meds.


5 posted on 06/25/2008 9:33:22 AM PDT by junta (It's Poltical Correctness stupid! Hold liberals accountable for their actions, a new idea.)
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To: Kaslin

None of Obama’s negatives will matter if the Republicans don’t get out there and MAKE THEIR CASE!

WHERE THE H*LL ARE THEY? I should be hearing much more from McCain and the entire leadership. I know some are doing their part, but not nearly enough.

And I thought Bush was poor at comminucating the party platform . . .


6 posted on 06/25/2008 9:35:21 AM PDT by cvq3842
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To: Kaslin
The problem is, that DemocRATS don't care. As long as they're taken care of after the election, the stench of corrupt politics doesn't concern them one iota. Just look at how many people voted for John Kerry. And let's not even get into how uninspiring John McCain is.
7 posted on 06/25/2008 9:44:18 AM PDT by AlaskaErik (I served and protected my country for 31 years. Democrats spent that time trying to destroy it.)
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To: LS

You are right that McCain is a weak candidate. But once everything about Obama is revealed to the public, he will be unelectable. It would be surprising if he carries more than a few states.


8 posted on 06/25/2008 9:44:38 AM PDT by FFranco
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To: cvq3842
Also, none of Obama’s negatives will matter if they're not reported by the MSM. If McCain (or any other Republican) had made they 57 state gaff, they would be done already.
9 posted on 06/25/2008 9:45:39 AM PDT by Red Dog #1 (Up is down and down is up...)
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To: LS
but there isn't any “descent” going on out there

If you expect a lib rag paper to create or announce any kind of ‘descent’ about Osama bin Obama and his b!tch Michelle, I hold you're not holding your breathe. The lib toilet papers will never talk bad about their ‘boy’. Of course their polls will never show McCain or any other Republican in the lead. Like the Nazi's did almost 70 years ago, tell a lie enough times and people will believe it, or something to the sort. As much as I hate to see a rhino, McCain, become president, at least we know the damage he will he do to the country. As far as Obama, he won't be leading us, Soros and other DMC leaders will be making the rules for us.

10 posted on 06/25/2008 9:46:01 AM PDT by antiunion person (President McCain, what a disgusting phrase.)
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To: FFranco

“It would be surprising if he carries more than a few states.”

I have to agree with you...
Most polling I’ve seen has been HEAVILY biased, undercounting seniors and hispanics.

And NATIONAL POLLS don’t get electoral votes.

With his “Demographics” problems, and the BRADLEY EFFECT, the left is going to be looking for excuses for failure again, by mid-october.


11 posted on 06/25/2008 9:52:16 AM PDT by tcrlaf (I Refuse To Inject Myself With The "Hopium" Obama Is Selling)
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To: Kaslin

WARD CONNERLY:

“....So as a result, as long as Senator Obama keeps his voice mild, doesn’t get upset, is not flappable, he can skate right through with questions never being asked — “Do you really believe that stuff?

Tell me, do you believe in institutional racism?”

That’s the only — you ask that one question alone, and that will tell you a lot about Senator Obama, just that one question. “Do you believe in institutional racism?” I have yet to hear it asked.

Institutional racism? It’s a belief that American society is basically racist, that there are policies that apply that may not be deliberate — deliberately racist, but they’re racist in their effect.

The Artful Dodger
By Ward Connerly
FrontPageMagazine.com | 6/25/2008
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.aspx?GUID=07E81CC6-B020-4B28-83DE-FBD8EA6D9588


12 posted on 06/25/2008 9:53:51 AM PDT by Matchett-PI (Driving a Phase Two Operation Chaos Hybrid that burns both gas AND rubber.)
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To: unkus

“Here’s to his confusion” ~ unkus

Is he merely “confused” here?:

Problem with Barack Obama’s First General Election Ad
Fox News, by Brit Hume (political grapevine) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,371161,00.html

Barack Obama’s first general election ad says about 46 seconds in that the Illinois senator passed laws that “extended health care for wounded troops who’d been neglected.” The ad “Country I Love”, which was released Friday, provides a citation at the bottom of the screen which reads “Public Law 110 - 181.” The problem is Senator Obama never voted for that legislation. (Snip) a vote of 91 to three with six senators not voting. Barack Obama was among those six absent senators.


13 posted on 06/25/2008 9:57:43 AM PDT by Matchett-PI (Driving a Phase Two Operation Chaos Hybrid that burns both gas AND rubber.)
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To: Red Dog #1

Yup.


14 posted on 06/25/2008 9:59:40 AM PDT by cvq3842
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To: LS
"I think McCain could easily be in for a Dem landslide."

I think "our side" is easily in for a landslide despite the flawed candidate that was forced down our throats. The stumble-bum PC wimps running today's Stupid Party just happen to be in the right place at the right time.

We could have run a porcupine this year.

15 posted on 06/25/2008 10:07:55 AM PDT by Matchett-PI (Driving a Phase Two Operation Chaos Hybrid that burns both gas AND rubber.)
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To: LS

More:

“...By this means, Obama can be cornered. He does not like being cornered. As the last few months make clear, he does not take it well.

Corner him enough times, and his facade will crack, his image as a genial Starbucks and Whole Foods lefty will lie in tatters, and his adherence to the cold and crazed doctrines of the core left will be exposed for what it is. ..”

June 24, 2008
The Obama Left By J.R. Dunn
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/06/the_obama_left.html


16 posted on 06/25/2008 10:12:44 AM PDT by Matchett-PI (Driving a Phase Two Operation Chaos Hybrid that burns both gas AND rubber.)
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To: Matchett-PI

No, Obama is not confused. He has an evil agenda for America. The confusion was /is meant to discombobulate his efforts.


17 posted on 06/25/2008 10:18:19 AM PDT by unkus
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To: unkus

“Confusion to our enemies!”


18 posted on 06/25/2008 10:20:07 AM PDT by agere_contra
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To: Matchett-PI

I think “our side” is easily in for a landslide despite the flawed candidate that was forced down our throats. The stumble-bum PC wimps running today’s Stupid Party just happen to be in the right place at the right time.


I think you might be right. Obama is a scary thought and people are anticipating a worst case scenario.


19 posted on 06/25/2008 10:20:56 AM PDT by unkus
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To: unkus

A major problem is that the MSM, Newsweek, Bloomberg, CNN all have a poll a day showing The Messiah above ole John by 12-15 points nationally. Now I think that is MSM lying but it makes an impression on the ‘unwashed’, because those voters get all their news from the MSM. They will think BO as the inevitable choice in Nov. The MSM still sets the agenda and they know it. Sadly, ole John tries to appease the MSM and always fails as they stab him in the back to support liberal Dems at every race, all the time.


20 posted on 06/25/2008 10:24:19 AM PDT by phillyfanatic
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