Thursday, July 24, 2008

The most laughable part of Obama’s campaign

In the Ottawa Citizen David Warren tells us about it after some smart, beautifully written lead-in. I comment below the star line.

Warren begins - - -

Seriousness is a perception, and I am struck by the tone of American media, even from the conservative side, as they review the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. (John McCain is also running, but they're not covering that.)

The welter of his empty rhetorical gestures and contradictions are analyzed with a gravity to suggest deep thought had gone into each twist of his "evolving" electoral manifesto.

Running for the Democrat nomination, Obama posed as the reliable progressive, free of all Clintonian baggage -- as a kind of "Hillary Clinton you can believe in." He would get out of Iraq, cut a deal with Iran, bomb Pakistan, trash America's free trade agreements, deliver socialist medicine, cool global warming, and "heal" everything that ails you. Shades of John F. Kennedy: at least in his supporters' imagination.

Running now against a Republican, and with the progressive vote safely in the bag, he will stay the course in Iraq, confront Iran, show diplomacy in Pakistan, defend free trade, spend cautiously, ignore global warming, and "heal" everything that ails you. Shades of Ronald Reagan.

The most laughable part of the campaign is the new, first-ever, "I am the world" tour, currently in progress. Obama, realizing he has no credentials in this field, but is even more a rock star abroad than at home, seeks photo ops looking presidential in front of backdrops such as the Brandenburg Gate.

Of course, he cannot get all the backdrops he wants, since his demand for them as a mere candidate for office is unprecedented, and leaves foreign leaders embarrassed that he asked.

The rest of Warren’s column’s here.
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Comments:

Warren goes on to say that, should Sen. Obama be elected, all the “rah-rah” we hear now from Europe won’t last five minutes into Obama’s presidency when he acts in America’s interests.

Warren’s so right.

All Obama will need to say is something like: “Sorry, Europeans, I still want to cool the globe, but I can’t endorse the Kyoto treaty. If you thought I would, then you weren’t listening when I made those campaign stops in some of your countries in July.”

When European’s hear that, the honeymoon will be over.

And it may well be followed by a certain resentment that he let them down.

Hat tip: Realclearpolitics.com

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

- what I heard was "One world government"

No change there.

Anonymous said...

Seeing Saint Obama wearing a Yarmulka and standing at the Wailing Wall, my only thought was "I wonder how fast he'll be deserted by his far-left progressives?" He's between a rock and a hard place for sure: he's got to say all the pro-forma stuff to keep the captive American Jewish vote and still look like someone who adores the Palestinians. Quite a chore, I'd say.
Tarheel Hawkeye

BillyB said...

Obama cancelled his visit to wounded soldiers in Germany, citing that it would be inappropriate to visit them while on the campaign part of his world tour. Didn't he announce in his speech that he was there as a world citizen,,,NOT,,,as a candidate?

He's lying one way or the other.

Anonymous said...

David Warren said:
"Seriousness is a perception, and I am struck by the tone of American media, even from the conservative side, as they review the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. (John McCain is also running, but they're not covering that.)"

Today John McCain visited a German restaurant somewhere in American fly over country. He said the schnitzel was a "WINNER!" and we also hear, McCain almost visited an oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. What more does David Warren expect from the press today on McCain?

Will somebody please quit bellyaching about Obama long enough to tell me what is the substance of the McCain campaign besides "win the war" "fight climate change" "gas tax holiday" and finally, "I'm not Obama." The Hannitized version includes the exclamation "McCain is a hero and a great American!" How much mileage do you expect to get from this - er - campaign?

We know Obama is a rock star. Doesn't it sound kind of hollow to keep beating that drum? Is it enough to say McCain is the anti-Obama? I don't see much difference between them frankly, well, except that Obama is very popular and McCain is not.

So, what is it that McCain can do for us?

Here is a hint:

Mrs. McCain was a drug addict who stole drugs from her own charity, got caught, made a deal with the DOJ, got treatment, and has picked up her life again as a valuable contributing member of society. Why doesn't McCain take this and run with it? Why doesn't he come out and support the medical model, rather than the incarceration of drug abusers (who are not politically connected) ? Why doesn't he address the failed drug war with a proven solution? He remembers prohibition doesn't he? ;-)