Barack Blows It

Once upon a time Barack Obama seemed like a nice guy who might be a refreshing change of fresh air for a Democratic politician -- someone who could politely disagree to disagree with Republicans, someone who could "reach across the aisle."

Bit by bit, however, we're getting a look at the man behind the curtain, and it's not a pretty sight.

Senator Obama and his wife have revealed themselves to be arrogant, condescending elitists who are deeply bitter and project that bitterness onto our nation's citizens. Morever, they make clear they really don't think much of our country.

When you factor in Obama's level of comfort hanging out with and seeking the approval of terrorists (William Ayers and his wife), his comfort with hate speech (over two decades of listening to and honoring Jeremiah Wright), and his refusal to take the simplest of moral stands (condemning Jimmy Carter for his plans to meet with the terrorist organization Hamas), an increasingly disturbing picture is painted.

Obama's views on babies as punishment and his wife receiving what appears to be a kickback after he earmarked money for her employer don't do anything to make him look better. He can't even take a consistent stance on the 2nd Amendment because he doesn't want to tick off voters by making clear his true position, which as recently as 1996 was to ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns.

I cannot believe I'm saying this, but of the two Democratic candidates, I'm starting to wonder if we'd be better off with the devils we know -- meaning, of course, the Clintons -- than the one who seems to be hiding anti-American and possibly anti-Semitic points of view.

Today Obama handed Clinton some ammo for the case she'll make to the Democratic superdelegates that Obama can't win the election, and all his backtracking isn't going to make the words sound any better. On the chance you haven't heard about his speech yet, here's the relevant section:

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Yep, anyone who's religious or believes in the 2nd Amendment or securing our nation's borders is just an unthinking, emotional dimwit yahoo clinging to silly stuff like religion. His disdain for religion is all the more fascinating given his alliance with Reverend Wright, of "God !@#$ America" notoriety.

Ed Morrissey says this shows rookies shouldn't run for President, but here's a scary thought -- if Obama were a more polished, seasoned politician he might have gotten away with the pretty exterior covering up the ugly opinions inside.

I increasingly have the feeling an Obama Presidency would not be an administration of "hope," but a return to the morose Carter years, when we were lectured and hectored and told to wear sweaters. Anyone who lived through those years, even if you were a teen as I was, remembers what a delight it was when Ronald Reagan became President and it was Morning in America again.

What's scarier than that prospect is how Obama would handle the ongoing War on Terror. If he can't condemn Jimmy Carter for consorting with terrorists, and indeed, is personally comfortable interacting with terrorists on a friendly basis, how will he stand up to terrorism and protect our nation?

Based on his past connections, it begs the question as to whether or not Senator Obama might have more sympathy with terrorists than with this country which he and his wife have made clear they aren't "really proud" of and don't respect.