The Blog Less Traveled

There’s an old saying that says you can tell a lot about a person by the company that they keep. I don’t know about you, but I think it rings pretty true. I certainly tend to gravitate toward people who share my general beliefs and values. Not 100% of the time mind you, but most of the time. I’m not against hearing and seeing opposing viewpoints. It’s always good to get differing slants on things. However, in the long term and on the really important things in life, you move in the direction of your core values and those who share them. I think it’s a perfectly logical and natural phenomenon.

Having made this observation, it seems perfectly logical to apply this criterion to get a sense for the values and beliefs of the presidential candidates. For the most part, whom has Barack Obama sought out for guidance and associated himself with?

1. William Ayers – a self-proclaimed domestic terrorist who has absolutely no remorse for the death and injury that he caused. He’s spent numerous times with him on boards and committees and launched his Illinois Senate campaign from his home. This is not something you do with someone you only know casually.
2. Rev. Jeremiah Wright – I think everyone has seen and heard enough of the vile and hateful speeches from this man to see his Black Liberation Theology views. Barack Obama has specifically said that he attended almost 500 sermons in this pastor’s church. I can’t think of anyone who could not possibly know the true feelings and beliefs of someone after listening to them and their speeches over a twenty-year period. The guy married him, he baptized his kids and he said that he was his spiritual mentor. He’s been featured alongside him in church literature and speaks highly of him in his book. To say he didn’t really know this side of him is disingenuous at best.
3. Tony Rezko – A convicted felon and slum landlord. He worked at the law firm that provided him legal counsel and wrote letters on his behalf to secure loans for his slum projects. Also, on the very same day that Obama purchased his Chicago-area home, Rezko bought the lot next door for the full purchase price while Obama got a $300,000 price break. This is not something you do with a “casual” acquaintance.
4. Rashid Khalidi – A PLO sympathizer and Anti-Semite. Obama admits that the two had many interactions and conversations over dinner at the Khalidis’ home. He was in attendance and spoke well of him at a farewell dinner in his honor.
5. Acorn – Again, everyone has seen and heard all the factual reports and felony convictions in dozens of states of various personnel in the organization. Obama was a trainer for these people and provided legal counsel for this organization. His campaign gave one of their subsidiaries hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Don’t people see this pattern at all? Are they so blinded by ideology and a general hatred for Bush that it makes no difference at all? These aren’t isolated associations or one or two youthful lapses in judgment. These are the political associations of an educated man brought up in the seedy arena of Chicago politics. These are calculated moves and clearly demonstrate his extreme political views. Only after he secured his left-wing party’s nomination did he start to try to portray himself as more of a centrist.

Don’t get me wrong. Obama is an intelligent, charismatic and well-spoken individual. However, actions speak louder than words and oratory excellence should not be mistaken as a sign of leadership ability. His demonstrated socialistic agenda, his dishonest responses to many questions concerning his personal associations and his attempt to downplay their significance should give pause to any American voter. Does a person who willingly associates himself with the likes of the above individuals deserve to get your vote? Would you trust that individual to have the moral clarity and judgment to make some of the life-and-death decisions that the President of the United States must deal with? Your vote next Tuesday should be an informed decision based on the facts. Don’t be driven purely by ideology or simply a perceived need for “change”. Change is good, but it must be the right change. I hope and pray the American people will choose wisely.

“Y’know” said the Scotsman, “I still prefer the pubs back home. In Glasgow there’s a little bar called McTavish’s. Now the landlord there goes out of his way for the locals so much that when you buy four drinks he will buy the fifth drink for you.”

“Well,” said the Englishman, “at my local, The Red Lion, the barman there will buy you your third drink after you buy the first two.”

“Ahhhhh, that’s nothing,” said the Irishman. “Back home in Dublin there’s Ryan’s Bar. Now the moment you set foot in the place they’ll buy you a drink, then another, and another again – all the drinks you like. Then when you’ve had enough drinks they’ll take you upstairs and see that you get laid. All on the house.”

The Englishman and Scotsman immediately scorn the Irishman’s claims. But he swears every word is true.

“Well,” asked the Englishman, “did this actually happen to you?”

“Not me myself, personally, no,” said the Irishman . . . “But it did happen to me sister….

Democrats, as a whole, are hypocrites. When faced with truth and facts, all they can do is go into their gutter and make personal attacks or play the race card. A perfect case in point is the recent attack on “Joe the Plumber”. When Obama was caught on tape telling Joe Wurzelbacher, “I think that when we spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody”, the Obama campaign and most of the liberal media did everything they could to discredit Joe. Here is Obama, like his running mate Joe Biden, caught on tape demonstrating their clear socialistic mindsets. Spreading the wealth and redistributing one’s income is nothing more than liberal-speak for Socialism. However, does the press have any concern about this? Not at all. What the Obama campaign does do is try to belittle and smear the man. Obama mocks the guy the very next day by saying, “Do you know any plumbers making $250,000?”. Then they try to deflect away from the real story, which are Obama’s political revelations, by smearing Joe and saying he’s not a licensed plumber, he has a small tax lien on his property and his first name isn’t Joe and he’s probably a plant by the Republican Party. How petty and sleazy can you get? Obama was the one that went to his neighborhood and walked by his house. He certainly didn’t ask him to come to his neighborhood. He doesn’t need to have a plumbing license as long as the guy he’s working with does. And he never claimed to be making $250,000. He talked about buying a plumbing business that might make $250,000 or more.

Want more hypocrisy? How about the Democratic representative in Florida, Tim Mahoney? Mahoney replaced Representative Mark Foley after he was caught sending email messages of a sexual nature to a House page. No actual sexual affair mind you, just email messages. The Democrats and the press were so outraged by Foley’s emails. Foley, like most Republicans, did the honorable thing and resigned. So what happens next? Mahoney runs his campaign on a platform of family and moral values. Guess what? Mahoney has now admitted to numerous affairs and paying off at least one of his mistresses. He was even having the affair while he was running for office under his moral values platform. Hypocritical? Not if you’re a DemocRAT!

How about Democratic Representative Jefferson of Louisiana? Jefferson has been indicted on charges of bribery, racketeering, money laundering and obstruction of justice. He was caught with $90,000 stuffed in a freezer. Prosecutors have also charged four other Jefferson family members with pocketing more than $600,000 in state and federal grant money intended for charitable and educational projects. One has already pleaded guilty. Is the press or the Democratic leadership outraged by all of this? Gosh, he’s still a House member and running for reelection. If this were a Republican, he’d be headlining all the papers and TV shows until he resigned.

I could go on and on with many more examples like Democratic Representative Charlie Rangel, Jesse Jackson, etc. I’ll spare you the pain. However, I’ll leave you with one last one that you probably haven’t heard of. Mrs. Obama’s compensation at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she is a vice president for community affairs, jumped from $121,910 in 2004, just before her husband was elected to the Senate, to $316,962 in 2005, just after he took office. A better than 250% pay raise in one year – not bad. The following year, 2006, Obama requests an earmark in Congress for $1 million for her hospital. Federal funds to help your wife’s employer. Nothing wrong with that if you’re a Democrat running for president, right?

In a few hours, the final presidential debate will take place. McCain has to do better than a draw if he expects to win this election. If he fails to attack Obama on several critical issues, his chance of winning in November is slim. So, what does McCain need to do specifically during this debate and in the final three weeks?

1. Confront Obama on all the associations with questionable people (Ayers, Wright, Rezko, Raines, etc.). He tries to say they are all casual or nonexistent, but records indicate otherwise.
2. Confront Obama on his association with ACORN (his legal representation in the 1990’s and his use of campaign funds to pay ACORN).
3. Confront Obama on why he won’t admit he was wrong on the “Surge” strategy in Iraq.
4. Confront Obama on his being the second highest recipient of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac contributions after being in the Senate less than four years.
5. Confront Obama on his liberal voting record (the highest of any Senator).
6. Confront Obama on his 97% voting record along Democratic Party lines.

If Obama isn’t confronted on these issues in a nationally televised venue, people will never see the true liberal, left-wing person that he really is. Ever since winning his party’s nomination, he’s tried to portray himself as a more moderate candidate. However, his record in the Illinois State Senate and the U.S. Senate show otherwise. Actions speak louder than words and his actions over the years are clearly and unequivocally liberal and strongly socialistic. He’s trying to paint himself as the moderate in all his speeches and ads. If people don’t see him confronted directly on these issues, he’ll get away with it.

A vote for Obama is a vote for a socialist America. The “Change We Can Believe In” is a hard left turn to Socialism and one that we won’t be able to recover from. Do you really trust the government to make the best decisions with your money based on what has happened over the past several years? Do you want them deciding what is best for you medically? Have they made the best use of your tax dollars in running all the social entitlement programs? If you truly want the government to take over most other aspects of your life, then vote for Obama.