I guess I can understand it. You spend a lot of time with a candidate on the campaign trail, watching their every move. Listening to their evey word, fart, burp, and whistle. And it doesn’t hurt is the candidate is young and not so ugly. You can develop a schoolgirl crush on the candidate. It happens. But should it color the way you do your job? I think the answer is a resounding NO!

Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, is at the center of an Obama controversy for the second time in as many months. Last month, during the Jesus Obama World Tour when Obama snubbed the wounded troops in Germany, the McCain campaign ran an ad that said Obama had time to go to the gym for a workout, but didn’t make time for the troops because they would not allow cameras inside the hospital. Mitchell jumped to Obama’s defense on MSNBC saying “Obama had no intention of bringing any cameras with him. I was there. I can vouch for that…..That literally is not true.” Continuing in her defense of her hero, she said ““It just seems inexplicable that this whole thing has been such an issue. But clearly the McCain campaign wants this to be an issue, wants to paint him as someone who’s unfeeling about the troops.” Yet oddly enough, Obama’s campaign has yet to offer a valid reason for the cancellation of the visit. Conventional wisdom says that, if you want to be Commander in Chief, you make the time to visit the wounde troops while you are there. No excuses. While it may not be the camera restriction, it has to be something. Obama did find time to make it to the gym to work out and play basketall, right? I would bet those guys, wounded in the service of their country, would have loved to shoot hoops.

Mitchell continued her love affair this week. After both Obama and McCain made appearances in a non-debate Presidential forum at Pastor Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, the Obama camp accused McCain of cheating. Of somehow hearing the questions being asked of Obama so that McCain could be better prepared to answer them, while McCain was supposed to be in a ‘cone of silence’. Mitchell repeated the vile and unsubstaniated rumor on Sunday’s ‘Meet the Press’.
“The Obama people must feel that he didn’t do quite as well as they might have wanted to in that context, because what they are putting out privately is that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama,” Mitchell said. “He seemed so well-prepared.”

First of all, there is no damn CONE OF SILENCE! It was a goof! Hello? Anyone remember Don Adams or see this year’s remake of “Get Smart”?

Despite assurance by both Warren and the McCain campaign that there was no way McCain could have heard anything going on during Obama’s time on stage, Mitchell propped her hero up once again. Since journalists are supposed to be fair and unbiased, and not support one campaign over another, I can only assume that Mitchell is smitten with Obama and unable to control herself.

The bigger issue at play here is exactly what Obama insiders have been afraid of all along. Obama, a gifted orator, cannot handle himself very well without a prepared speech and a teleprompter. Impromptu conversations about his life, the issues, or his talking points leave Obama looking like a deer in the headlights, and leave the people watching him feeling uncomfortable and squirming in their seats. It is difficult to watch Obama caught off guard – he gets the same look on his face that my six year old gets when I ask her a question she does not know the answer to. You want to give him the answer just to get that look off of his face.

Truth will out in the next two months, as Obama has to face McCain in the debates. How will he fare there with no teleprompter? No doubt that his handlers will drill him like Opec to be sure he does not fumble, but as my dad was wont to say, that dog just won’t bark. Experience will trump, and Mccain will show himself the bette leader, the better speaker, the better candidate. And then Andrea Mitchell can have unfettered access to her love crush, and stare at him to her heart’s content. Obama, as Portier, will not win over the class tough guys. Andrea “Lulu” Mitchell, he may have taken you from crayons to perfume, but that is as far as this ride goes.

Poor Barack. He has enough to do, what with trying to match his flip-flops to the day’s outfit, trying to remember how many U.S. States there are, or offering minority audiences reparations of “…not just words, but deeds”, and offering to solve the energy crisis by inflating our car tires. Now he is suffering from over-exposure, under-preparation, and the return of the 800 pound elephant to the room.
Already a victim of his own ego, Obama has now saturated American ears, eyes, and minds ad nasuem. The most recent Pew Research poll finds that nearly half of all Americans – 48% – say they have been hearing too much about Obama recently. This compares with only 28% for John McCain. After his whirlwind love tour through Europe and the Middle East, Obama came home to find a less-than-welcome reception from the folks that really matter. His obvious snub of wounded U.S. soldiers and his arrogance in acting presidential were a bit much for Americans to handle. He can thank his love affair with the media for that, since every fart, burp, and whistle of that tour was duly recorded and reported. Obama ate it up, and it has obviously caused him some election indigestion.
Back on this side of the pond, Obama continues to stumble with the reality and the magnitude of the position he hopes to hold. His continued lack of positions behind his position statements, his seeming inability to stick to one side of an issue, and his selective use of the race issue have eroded his lead in the polls. Obama has a habit of speaking down to people. A large number of Americans are overweight, yet Obama hopes to garner votes by telling us we eat too much. In the midst of a gasoline price crisis, when people are trying unsuccessfully to downsize their cars, he chastises us that our cars are too big. He agreed to town hall debates with John McCain, after securing the necessary delegates to (maybe) win the Democratic nomination, and now has refused to follow through on that agreement. Perhaps that is because without the Teleprompter, Obama and his handlers are too afraid of what might fall out of his mouth. Extemporaneous speaking is definitely not Obama’s forte. He might impress 250,000 Germans, convincing them that he is a hip, young, and happening guy worthy of the movie star status bestowed on him, but America is a bit of a harder sell. We’ve seen too many movie stars implode before our very eyes.
Then there is the 800 pound elephant in the room. By that, I mean Hellary Clinton, no disrespect to 800 pound elephants. She, like herpes, will just not go away. I can imagine her saying to insiders “Obama is blowing this like Monica blew Bill, but without the satisfaction at the end.” Associates say that in private conversations, Clinton doubts that Obama can win in November. And speculation abounds that this may even be a wish on her part: setting her up for a solid run in 2012, and being able to tell the Dems ‘I told you so’. Speaks volumes about her character, doesn’t it, that she would place herself and her ambitions above those of the party and the country she claims to love so very much? Cry me another crocodile tear, Hellary. How many stitches to close the inside of your cheek after you bit it for that little bit of drama? Now Clinton does not deny that her name will be entered in nomination at the Dem convention later this month. Asked about it, Hellary responded “No decisions have been made”, adding “Delegates can decide to do this on their own. They don’t need permission.”
Will the Dems, fearful that Obama cannot do the job in November, pull a Tonya Harding in Denver? It remains to be seen. If it happens, the Dems should be careful in the future pointing the finger about election stealing. Whatever happens, this rift in the Democratic party will never heal. All the better for the GOP, who have managed to keep their ducks in a bucket. John McCain’s chances in November look better as each day passes, as do the chances for America.

Poor Barack. He has enough to do, what with trying to match his flip-flops to the day’s outfit, trying to remember how many U.S. States there are, or offering minority audiences reparations of “…not just words, but deeds”, and offering to solve the energy crisis by inflating our car tires. Now he is suffering from over-exposure, under-preparation, and the return of the 800 pound elephant to the room.
Already a victim of his own ego, Obama has now saturated American ears, eyes, and minds ad nasuem. The most recent Pew Research poll finds that nearly half of all Americans – 48% – say they have been hearing too much about Obama recently. This compares with only 28% for John McCain. After his whirlwind love tour through Europe and the Middle East, Obama came home to find a less-than-welcome reception from the folks that really matter. His obvious snub of wounded U.S. soldiers and his arrogance in acting presidential were a bit much for Americans to handle. He can thank his love affair with the media for that, since every fart, burp, and whistle of that tour was duly recorded and reported. Obama ate it up, and it has obviously caused him some election indigestion.
Back on this side of the pond, Obama continues to stumble with the reality and the magnitude of the position he hopes to hold. His continued lack of positions behind his position statements, his seeming inability to stick to one side of an issue, and his selective use of the race issue have eroded his lead in the polls. Obama has a habit of speaking down to people. A large number of Americans are overweight, yet Obama hopes to garner votes by telling us we eat too much. In the midst of a gasoline price crisis, when people are trying unsuccessfully to downsize their cars, he chastises us that our cars are too big. He agreed to town hall debates with John McCain, after securing the necessary delegates to (maybe) win the Democratic nomination, and now has refused to follow through on that agreement. Perhaps that is because without the Teleprompter, Obama and his handlers are too afraid of what might fall out of his mouth. Extemporaneous speaking is definitely not Obama’s forte. He might impress 250,000 Germans, convincing them that he is a hip, young, and happening guy worthy of the movie star status bestowed on him, but America is a bit of a harder sell. We’ve seen too many movie stars implode before our very eyes.
Then there is the 800 pound elephant in the room. By that, I mean Hellary Clinton, no disrespect to 800 pound elephants. She, like herpes, will just not go away. I can imagine her saying to insiders “Obama is blowing this like Monica blew Bill, but without the satisfaction at the end.” Associates say that in private conversations, Clinton doubts that Obama can win in November. And speculation abounds that this may even be a wish on her part: setting her up for a solid run in 2012, and being able to tell the Dems ‘I told you so’. Speaks volumes about her character, doesn’t it, that she would place herself and her ambitions above those of the party and the country she claims to love so very much? Cry me another crocodile tear, Hellary. How many stitches to close the inside of your cheek after you bit it for that little bit of drama? Now Clinton does not deny that her name will be entered in nomination at the Dem convention later this month. Asked about it, Hellary responded “No decisions have been made”, adding “Delegates can decide to do this on their own. They don’t need permission.”
Will the Dems, fearful that Obama cannot do the job in November, pull a Tonya Harding in Denver? It remains to be seen. If it happens, the Dems should be careful in the future pointing the finger about election stealing. Whatever happens, this rift in the Democratic party will never heal. All the better for the GOP, who have managed to keep their ducks in a bucket. John McCain’s chances in November look better as each day passes, as do the chances for America.

Ah, those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Bermuda shorts, sunscreen, and most certainly in Barack Obama’s case, flip-flops. No, I am not talking about the rubber beach shoes, I am talking about a presumptive presidential candidate who cannot pick one side of an argument, and then stay on it. Not that the flip-flops are new apparel for Obama this summer, he seems to have worn them throughout his entire campaign. Yet recently, they seem to match whatever outfit he is wearing; a business suit, his basketball cloths, or his casual “I’m a regular guy just like you” clothes. And he is collecting flip-flops like a Hollywood starlet collecting arrests.

First of all, when Hellary Clinton pulled the plug on the life-support that was her campaign, and Obama became the presumptive nominee, Senator John McCain invited, well, CHALLENGED him to face McCain and America in a series of 10 ‘town hall meetings’. Obama agreed. Yet each and every time the McCain campaign has tried to firm up a date, or issued an invitation to the Obama campaign, Obama claims ‘schedule conflict’ and does not show. Now Obama’s campaign announces that the only time the two candidates will meet face to face is in the three debates scheduled by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Sources close to the Obama campaign, speaking of course on the condition of anonymity, say Obama is reluctant to ‘take a chance’ or to ‘give McCain a high-profile stage now that he is the front runner’. Yet oddly enough, the decision to stick to the three main debates only was made on or about August 2nd, when polls show Obama at least neck and neck with McCain among likely voters, if not behind. Obama is behind with women over 40. It would seem to me that he would WANT to have more opportunity to get his message out. Flip-flop. The great orator afraid to speak.

During the last week of July, McCain’s campaign ran an ad that called Obama ‘the world’s biggest celebrity’, and compared him, at least subliminally, with human bobble-heads Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton. In his remarks responding to that ad, Obama said at a rally in Springfield, MO “…McCain wants you to be afraid of me… You know, ‘he’s not patriotic enough, he’s got a funny name,’ you know, ‘he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.” Funny thing is, just an hour after he made those statements, I commented in my blog that Obama was the first in this race to play the race card. An hour after that, the news cycles were picking up on it, and Obama senior advisor Robert Gibbs felt it important enough to deny that there was any racial motivation in the comments. David Axelrod, senior campaign advisor for Obama, was asked about the comments by Chris Cuomo on Good Morning America. Axelrod responded “He’s not from central casting when it comes to presidents of the United States, he’s young, he’s new to Washington, yes, he’s African American.” Yet on Saturday, August 2nd, Obama corrected both of his advisors, saying “I don’t think it’s accurate to say that my comments have nothing to do with race,” Obama said. “Here’s what I was saying and I think this should be undisputed: That I don’t come out of central casting, when it comes to presidential races. For a whole range of reasons. I’m young, I’m new to the national scene, my name is Barack Obama, I am African American, I was born in Hawaii, I spent time in Indonesia. I do not have the typical biography of a presidential candidate. What that means is that I’m sort of unfamiliar and people are still trying to get a fix on who I am, where I come from, what my values are and so forth in a way that might not be true if I seemed more familiar.” Umm, perhaps if you had more that a HALF OF A SENATE TERM, people might be more familiar with you! As far as looking like the Presidents on the dollar bills, hello! We haven’t had a President look like that in at least 100 years. Powdered wigs and stovepipe hats pretty much went the way of wooden teeth, my friend. But Obama bought himself another pair of flip-flops here. And while we are on this topic, Obama also said that McCain wants to make people afraid of him. Damn right, but not for the reasons Obama wants people to think. How about his total lack of experience? 2 years as a U.S. Senator does not qualify one to be President. A one week Europe/Middle East tour where Obama didn’t listen to generals on the ground and snubbed injured soldiers does not qualify for foreign policy and most certainly not for commander in chief. What about his ties to the anti-white Rev. Wright, and the amount of time Obama took to distance himself from Wright? Or his ties to William Ayers? Damn right we should be scared of this man for President.

To complete his summer ensemble, Obama feels the need to add more flip-flops. Now it is offshore drilling. Seeing that 57% of voting Americans favor expanded offshore drilling, Obama on August 2nd said that he felt a shift in his policy was in order to allow the Senate’s ‘Gang of Ten’ to move forward with their energy proposals in Congress. Obama said “What I don’t want is for the best to be the enemy of the good here, and if we can come up with a genuine, bipartisan compromise in which I have to accept some things I don’t like, or the Democrats have to accept some things that they don’t like, in exchange for moving us in the direction of energy independence, then that’s something I’m open to…” ( could someone fluent in doublespeak please translate that for the rest of us?) Yet on Wednesday, July 30th, Obama stated in Missouri “I want to be absolutely clear to everybody about this. If I thought that I could provide you some immediate relief on gas prices by drilling off the shores of California and New Jersey . . . if I thought that by drilling offshore, we could solve our problem, I’d do it.” Wow, a land speed record for a flip-flop to travel from Missouri to Florida.

Barack Obama continues his presumptuous, arrogant, pomposity-filled ways. With each speech, each appearance, each fund-raiser, town hall meeting, basketball game, breakfast, barbecue and press conference, he shows himself trying to appear as an intellectual elitist. All he is achieving is having great words with no ideas to back them up. I realize it has been very hot throughout the Midwest and South for the past week. It must be the heat…..it sure isn’t the humility.

Back in the 1980′s, there was a week end sports anchor at tv station WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio. I won’t mention his name here, but people locally will remember him. His performance on the station had been sub-par for some time, and management reached the decision to terminate him. They notified personnel and payroll, and on Monday morning, they called the man in and told him his services were no longer needed. Well, this man refused to accept his fate. The following weekend, he was back in his chair, giving the weekend sports reports. The woman in personnel saw him, decided that managment had changed their minds, and notified payroll, so he continued to receive his paycheck. Soon after, the station was sold, and management changed. The new station manager had no idea the old manager had fired this sports anchor, and he maintained his job for an incredible long time after. Eventually, the new management got around to reviewing personnel files, and discovered that this sports anchor had indeed been terminated prior to their taking over the station. His time had run out, and this time he was definitively, affirmitively, without a doubt fired. However, he had maintained employment by refusing to accept that he no longer had a job. His arrogance in refusig to recognize his fate had worked for him.

Why do I tell this story? I think that Obama may be taking a page from this sports anchor’s book. Given the way he behaved on his recent whirlwind tour through Europe and the Middle East, he seems to think he already has the job. And he also seems to think that he can fool the American people into believeing the same thing. Perhaps by acting like he already has the position, people will just forget that he was not elected and just let him assume the post of President of the United States. Now, granted, the love affair that the media had with Obama during this tour played into his already over-sized ego. He was given the attention and fawning accolades that are normally reserved for a superstar. But Obama is not a superstar.

I will admit that Obama has been consistent about one thing throughout his campaign. That is his constant cries of CHANGE! Obama has shouted change more often than the backstage coordinator at a fashion show. So, sure, we all know we need change. But what is Obama offering? Yesterday in Springfield, MO, as he has since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee, he again brought up the fact that a vote for Obama is a vote for change, and that a vote for McCain is a vote for four more years of the same old thing. Obama seems quick to point out why McCain’s solutions will not work, without offering any real solutions of his own. He is a candidate of position statements without any actual positions. He stated in Springfield that “…McCain wants you to be afraid of me….”, seemingly trying to play on race and religion issues. Obama said “You know, ‘he’s not patriotic enough, he’s got a funny name,’ you know, ‘he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.” Funny how the first guy to play the race card in this election is the guy who has allegedly had to fight discrimination his whole life, The guy who has been closely linked to Rev. Wright, a blatanly open anti-white preacher. Funny how the guy who complains about being accused of not being patriotic enough has been linked to two self-admitted terrorists, William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. I am afraid of Obama, but not for the reasons he would have you believe. I am afraid of a man who cannot admit that he is wrong, even when he sees the evidence of that wrong with his own eyes. I am afraid of a man who wants to be Commander in Chief, but snubs wounded servicemen because cameras are not allowed to record his visit for the next news cycle. I am afraid of a man who thinks he is qualified for the top job when he has yet to finish his FIRST term as a U.S. Senator. I am afraid of his arrogance, his pomposity, and his lack of substance.

Obama consistently and tirelessly tells us that McCains policies and ideas are ‘a third term of the Bush presidency’ and ‘Karl Rove politics’, and continually tells us why they will not work, but is offering no real alternatives. John McCain has experience, as a four-term Senator and a two-term Congressman prior to that. McCain has proven himself to be a reform Republican, and not afraid to cross party lines to get the job done. He has real solutions to real problems. And while some of those solutions are not always popular, they ARE reality. We need to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, and offshore drilling is a short term solution while our country investigates and develops alternatives. We need to develop a solid soution to our immigration problem, and McCain will address that with fairness and sensibility that puts Americans first. John McCain has promised he will not raise taxes. As far as Iraq, McCain has been very vocal in his criticism of the way the Bush adminstration has handled the war, even going so far as to say Donald Rumsfeld will be remembered as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history. However, McCain, having spent 5 plus years being tortured in a Vietnam POW hell camp will not just abandon our troops or their mission. He will see our commitment fully realized, and then and only then, will he bring our troops home.

John McCain is a man of principal, a man of ideas, and a man of action. Barack Obama is trying to fool America into thinking he is something he is not – that is, already the President. He is pompous, he is arrogrant, and he is suspect. Obama is not about substance, he is all soliloqy. And while soliloquies are beautiful to listen to, they do little to help a nation heal itself and move forward.