The Barack & Bill Dance

There has been an interesting dance going on between Barack Obama and both Bill and Hillary Clinton. Hillary has publicly warmed to Obama, supporting his bid for President by campaigning and urging her supporters to jump on the Obama bandwagon. She has appeared with him, laughing, hugging and joining hands to cement that image that she has become a team player.

For Bill Clinton, things are still pretty frosty and it will likely take a bit more effort to warm him up. Still stinging by the criticisms Barack Obama made during the primary which seemed to question Bill's accomplishments as President as well as accusations that he engaged in race baiting, Bill seems very reluctant to hoop and holler at the next Obama rally.

I can only imagine how Bill Clinton must be seething. Like most former presidents, the slogan is, "It's all about the legacy, stupid!" To listen to his reputation tarnished by this young upstart must be galling indeed, despite Obama's post primary effort to make amends. Even Obama's slogans were once the domain of Bill Clinton. Before Obama marketed himself as the Change Agent, Bill Clinton had been viewed as the young, bright Democrat that was all about change. Remember, "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow...?" Before Obama penned, The Audacity of Hope, Clinton was the Man From Hope.

Political pundit, Dick Morris, has recently opined another explanation for Bill Clinton's cool attitude. Money. Hillary's personal financial investment in her presidential campaign reached somewhere between 14 and 20 million. Though the Clintons are outrageously wealthy, that kind of chunk is hard to recoup. According to Morris, Hillary is doing everything necessary to make sure she has not alienated Obama supporters in New York and possibly jeopardizing her Senate Seat. Bill, on the other hand, is minding the checkbook. It will take more that the $2,300 Barack contributed to Hillary's campaign debt, for Bill to stop playing coy.

Twenty million in debt? I am no political campaign manager but I think there must have been some ways the Clinton campaign could have cut a few corners. Obviously they never heard of VistaPrint, where I have ordered business cards and all kind of printed materials for years at great savings. Twenty million could have purchased a lot of car and custom magnets, as well as brochures and mailers.

It will be interesting to see how this dance continues by the time of the Democratic convention. Obama may well decide he doesn't need to haul Bill onto the dance floor, but may leave him to sulk.

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Dobson Claims Obama Distorts The Bible

John McCain isn't the only presidential candidate with whom James Dobson has some problems. In an airing on Tuesday of Focus On The Family, Dr. Dobson will take Barack Obama to task for distorting the Bible and pushing a "fruitcake interpretation" of the Constitution.

Focus On The Family provided The Associated Press with an advance copy of the pre-taped radio segment, which runs 18 minutes and highlights excerpts of a speech Obama gave in June 2006 to the liberal Christian group Call to Renewal. Obama mentions Dobson in the speech.

"Even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools?" Obama said. "Would we go with James Dobson's or Al Sharpton's?" referring to the civil rights leader.

Dobson took aim at examples Obama cited in asking which Biblical passages should guide public policy — chapters like Leviticus, which Obama said suggests slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination, or Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, "a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application."

"Folks haven't been reading their Bibles," Obama said.

Dobson accused Obama of wrongly equating Old Testament texts and dietary codes that no longer apply to Jesus' teachings in the New Testament.

"I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology," Dobson said.

"... He is dragging biblical understanding through the gutter."

Dobson will also criticize Obama for his views on abortion, which Dobson and his listener base have long condemned as the taking of innocent life. Obama claimed that the religiously motivated must frame debates over issues like abortion not just in their own religion's terms but in arguments accessible to all people.

Dobson says Obama is trying to govern by the "lowest common denominator of morality," labeling it "a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution."

"Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?" Dobson said. "What he's trying to say here is unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe."

It appears that Dobson has run out of presidential candidates whom he could support. If the Libertarians can get Bob Barr on the ballot in Colorado, that will give Dobson one last (though unlikely) option.

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Newsweek Poll Shows Presidency Might Be 'Mission Impossible' For McCain

Since Barack Obama managed to wrestle the Democratic nomination from Hillary Clinton, there has been much speculation as to why the presidential race remained so tight. After all, this is an election year that everyone agrees should favor the Democrats. President Bush's approval ratings are in the tank and a majority of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is going, giving the opposing party a definite edge. Yet for weeks Obama and McCain have remained within about three points of one another.

Until now. Newsweek came out with a new poll that shows Obama has a substantial double-digit lead, 51 percent to 36 percent, over McCain among registered voters nationwide. Ouch! Of course this is only one poll and the coming weeks will surely render more polls to determine if this is an accurate reflection of the country's mood. But for the time being, it appears that Obama is stepping on the gas and leaving McCain coughing in the dust.

So what can John McCain do? According to many political pundits, there is not a whole lot he can do. As Matthew Dowd and many others have commented, this is an election that John McCain can't win but Obama can lose. In other words, this year it's all about Obama. To the extent that Obama can quell the fears that voters have regarding his candidacy - his lack of experience, his suspicious circle of friends, and especially questions relating to national security - then he will win in a landslide. If he fails to lay aside those concerns, then McCain still has a fighting chance.

The key word here is fighting chance. I diverge somewhat from the pundits because I think there is a lot McCain can do. I think he needs to become a scrapper. We know he has it in him, looking not just at his record as a senator but going back to his time as a POW. He needs to go back to the well and draw from that source of strength, courage and spunk that helped him survive and ultimately get out of that cage in Vietnam.

McCain needs to take a NO FEAR attitude. You've surely seen the popular sports clothing line with the catchy slogans. No Fear is passionate about sports and the lessons and values they instill in the people who live for them, celebrating the human and competitive spirit. This isn't to say McCain has to show up at his next townhall wearing muscle t-shirts, hats, or Motocross gear. But he would do well to adopt the No Fear attitude, to set the tone henceforth that he is out to WIN.

McCain must show he is not going to be pushed around by some punk, greenhorn senator who is practiced at reading a teleprompter. The courage and accomplishments of someone who suffered and put his life on the line repeatedly for his country and has served as a senator for over two decades trumps someone who touts his accomplishment as a 'community organizer'.

Yes, in many ways this is Obama's election to lose. On the other hand, McCain has been given his assignment and chosen to accept it. If he practices a No Fear attitude, it doesn't have to be 'Mission Impossible'. If he wimps out, he will self-destruct.

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Politicians: They Know, The Just Don't Care

Friend #1: "How can Democrat politicians NOT know that deep-water oil exploration is the right thing to do. It will take the speculators out of the market resulting in an immediate 25% drop in gas prices, and the money will be going to American companies to reinvest in American jobs and in new energy technologies, AND the money won't be going to some Middle East country where it can be used to support terrorism. How can Democrat politicians NOT know this?"

Me: "They know, they just don't care."

Friend #2: "How can all of these people NOT know that Barack Obama is an empty suit. He has no experience and surrounds himself with terrorists, racists, and crooks. He hasn't a clue when it comes to policy; he was for unconditional talks with dictators and tyrants before he was against it, he was for public funding for elections before he was against it, he was for his pastor before he was against him, he was for all kinds of things before he was against them. He is as much a waffler as John Kerry. How can Obama supporters NOT know this?"

Me: "They know, they just don't care."

I have never been able to understand the way some people can ignore what they know to be true, simply because it doesn't match up with what they want to be true. And, it is not limited to the realm of politics either. Consider this example taken from the book Casanova Was A Book Lover;

The Beardstown Ladies, celebrated for their putatively brilliant investment club, sold eight hundred thousand copies of their first book, success that led to other books. Nothing much changed when a mean-spirited little whippersnapper in Chicago reported that their investments really weren't that good and neither was their math. The little old ladies had not known the right way to calculate annualized returns; the proper calculations showed their returns fell far below the market annual averages. They were sorry. "We're saddened by the people who judged us guilty and suggested we were in it for the money," said Betty Sinnock, the lady who can't add. "I feel like [the reporter] really didn't related what the Beardstown Ladies were all about." Accepting the apology, the public keep buying the books, in which the publisher didn't work too hard at inserting corrections slips. Sinnock remained on the individual investors committee to the New York Stock Exchanges. The reporter attended a speech for which Sinnock received a standing ovation. "The got away with it, and more power to them," of of the members of the audience told him. "Look at how many books they've sold."

In other words, for this member of the audience the popularity of the Beardstown Ladies excused the lack of substance. Sounds familiar doesn't it.

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Al Gore Campaigns For John McCain

Al Gore convinced me. I am a convert. And, no, my newly found convictions have nothing at all to do with humanity's contribution to the "global warming crisis." Allow me to explain.

During the Republican primaries I documented on Politics & Christianity no fewer than 21 lies offered up by Mitt Romney, the honest Mormon candidate. I stated, and meant it, that if he was the Republican candidate I would remain home rather than vote for such an unabashed liar. Recently, there has been talk about Romney being a possible VP running mate for John McCain. I responded by signing a petition asking John McCain "not to go there" and vowing that I would not vote for John McCain if he would stoop so low as to select Romney. John McCain made it clear during the primaries that he had little respect for Romney and his shenanigans. To invite Romney on to the Republican ticket would show McCain to be a man without integrity. That was my thinking.

I say that it was my thinking because Al Gore convinced me otherwise. Al Gore, speaking before a crowd packed into the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Monday night, intoned the following, "Take it from me: Elections matter. If you think the next appointments to our Supreme Court are important, you know that elections matter."

Al Gore hit the just the right note, this election is going to have a huge impact on the shape of the judiciary. If you want the most liberal Justices to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court then it is fine to vote for Obama or, as I had previously posited, stay home. However, if one believes it important to to have Supreme Court Justices after the pattern of Sam Alito and John Roberts then, as Al Gore proclaimed, this election matters.

Yes, Al Gore convinced me. I will vote for John McCain even if he shows political cowardice and invites a slimeball like Mitt Romney to ride along on the Straight-Balk Express.

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Step Into My Parlor Says McCain To Obama

"Step into my parlor", says the spider to the fly. At this juncture in the presidential campaign, John McCain is the proverbial spider trying to lure Barack (the fly) Obama into his web. The web is otherwise known as the Townhall Meeting.

McCain excels in the townhall format where his straight talk style allows him to shine. He is able to demonstrate a commanding knowledge of the issues. The spontaneity of the questions highlights his ability to think quickly on his feet. His vast experience proves to be a well from which he can instantly draw.

Obama, on the other hand, prefers the carefully controlled forums where he can appear before massive (sometimes even swooning) crowds that come to hear his soaring rhetoric. His speeches are prepared and practiced ahead of time, his pitch and inflections are perfect.

McCain invited Obama to a series of ten townhall meetings leading up to the election and at first Obama indicated he would be agreeable. Evidently, Obama's advisers warned him that the format might prove to be a rather sticky web, one from which he could not easily extricate himself. The reply from the campaign was that Obama might be willing to do only one townhall meeting, stipulating that it be done on July the 4th.

The McCain expressed disappointment and claimed the reason Obama was insistent on July 4th was because it would receive less attention as many Americans are away on holiday. So basically they called him a 'scaredy cat' - if Obama flubbed it up big time at least most voters would be too busy eating hot dogs by the pool or watching fireworks to notice.

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Obama Running For President or King?

There has been a particular tone I have found troubling about Barack Obama as he has campaigned across the country. His rhetoric often has a certain arrogance, as if he seeks to exert a type of royal prerogative or issue a royal edict. Take for example a speech he made several months ago in which he goes down the laundry list of what he intends to do for the peasants of his future realm. When he comes to teachers, he says, "...And I will reward you for your faithfulness."

And I will reward you for your faithfulness? That sounds eerily similar to, ..."And I shall anoint you, thy good and loyal subject." One can almost picture Obama whipping out a scepter and start touching people on the top of the head. Just who exactly does this guy think he is?

The same I-am-all-powerful-itis afflicted Obama again the other day as he addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). He boldly stated “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided,” he said to loud applause. Of course he backed off from this statement within hours when facing pressure and criticism from Arab and other foreign policy commentators. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared, “This statement is totally rejected,” he announced to the world press. “We will not accept a Palestinian state without having Jerusalem as its capital.” Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qeri sounded a similar note. “No Jerusalem, no agreement,” he said.

Obama hedged about, replying, “Well, obviously it’s going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues,” he said – clearly waffling on the “must remain undivided” declaration of the day before. He told CNN that he still supported a unified Israeli Jerusalem but suddenly acknowledged that this might prove an unattainable goal. “My belief is that, as a practical matter, it would be very difficult to execute,” he said.

In response, his eager audience from AIPAC expressed dissappointment. Morton A. Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) remarked, “With Barack Obama and his campaign watering down his statement for an undivided Jerusalem, one must question whether his initial remark was simply meant to mislead Jewish voters and Israel supporters by not stating his true beliefs on this issue.”

What Obama's true beliefs are on this subject is anyone's guess. The real problem is that Obama doesn't just merely tell eager audiences what they want to hear at the moment, only to flounder and retract on the promises later. That is typical politician fare. Obama seems to really believe that he himself is invested with some sort of royal authority he does not possess. Who is he to dictate what will or will not happen in Israel? Are not the leaders and the people of Israel the ones who should determine Israel's future?

Radio talk show host Michael Medved also makes a good point in a recent article:

The appalling aspect of this latest Barack gaffe involves his apparent ignorance that the question of an “undivided” Jerusalem remains intensely controversial within Israel itself --with virtually all the Israeli left committed to some mechanism for splitting or sharing the city with the Palestinian Authority. For instance, former Prime Minister (and current Defense Minister) Ehud Barak agreed in 2000 to give the Palestinians control of all of East Jerusalem, including the Old City (containing sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Moslems). Had Yasser Arafat agreed to the deal, the Clinton administration and the Israelis appeared not only willing – but eager – to divide the city.

Like most other right-wingers in Israel and the United States, I view such eagerness as a form of madness – but not so mad or menacing in the long run as Obama’s suggestion that the American government gets to make life or death decisions for Israel.


I believe that Obama's willingness to sit down with all sorts of dictators also stem from his sense of self-importance, confidence in his own power of persuasion, and inherent authority. How could Ahmadinejad not shrink and bend the knee at the authority of King Obama?

Barack Obama has not even been elected yet and already his crown is slipping.

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Style Over Substance?

Political analysts have been chattering away, or rather criticizing away at John McCain's wanting oratory skill. The contrast was most apparent the other night when Obama addressed a huge crowd of thousands and read effortlessly from his teleprompter, a skill he has honed especially well thanks in part to his better than 20/20 vision. He used just the right cadence, the right inflections and spoke as if he was not reading, but rather speaking from the heart. The enthusiastic crowd clamored with cheers and applause.

McCain, on the other hand, spoke his words slowly as if he were addressing a group of kindergartners sitting in a circle on the carpet for 'story time'. His demeanor lacked passion. However, before judging McCain too harshly for not having a way with words we should remember that McCain is not running for the President of Toastmasters but of the United States. Delivery is important but the words themselves are more so. By most accounts, McCain's speech in and of itself was quite good and substantive even if the delivery was weak.

Consider the apostle Paul, a man who claimed to have a rather important message, when he addressed the believers at Corinth:

"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Cor. 2:1-5)

Paul did not consider himself to be a man of great oratory skill, nor did Moses, yet they knew the message they conveyed carried great weight.

We should be very wary of over-enchantment with anyone based on rhetorical talent alone. What is the real content of their message? What is the content of Obama's message? Does it carry any weight? Those questions should be scrutinized at least as carefully as McCain's oratory style.

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Image Enhancement For Politicians

As the primaries come to an end, and we all settle in for the push to the general election in November, I have some advice for John McCain and Barack Obama. During the primaries some of those seeking the nomination tried to prove that they were "just common folk" by downing booze with the locals. Drinking whiskey in Tennessee might be better than Cosmopolitans, but it still plays into the general stereotype of politicians, -- "Were they drunk when they passed that bill?"

Instead of going for the "drunk" vote, how about the working man vote? Get yourself a good pair of work boots. I mean, really, rather than hearing people say "I see he is boozing it up on the campaign trail, -- I'd have to be boozing it up to vote for him" wouldn't you prefer to hear them say something like the following. "Cool work boots. He almost looks as if he has put in day or two of real work in his life."

So head on over to Work Boots USA and select from their assortment of 511 Tactical Footwear, Bates Boots, Belleville Boots, Caterpillar Work Boots, Converse Footwear, Corcoran Footwear, Danner Boots, Hi-Tec Outdoor Footwear, Magnum Footwear, Matterhorn Footwear, Rocky Footwear, Thorogood Boots, and Wolverine Footwear.

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The IceWoman Cometh

Rumors are floating far and wide about a videotape of Michelle Obama that shows the hopeful future First Lady in an unfavorable light. Supposedly the tape was shot at the now infamous Trinity United Church of Christ and Michelle takes to the stage along with Louis Farrakhan. That in and of itself would be harmful for the Obama campaign, as the vast majority of American voters are not exactly Farrakhan groupies. However, the real indictment is when Michelle (according to the rumor mill) begins to rant and rave about "whitey".

I realize that "whitey" doesn't carry as much of a negative connotation as the "n" word does for African Americans, still such a term thrown around by a presidential candidate's wife will do little to help her husband's prospects as Commander In Chief.

Does such a tape actually exist? Are Republicans holding on to it until after the Democratic convention, when Barack has the nomination in the bag for good? Is this the reason Hillary is not yet ready to concede, in the hopes that this tape surfaces sooner, giving her a chance to make an even stronger case to the super delegates that Obama is not electable?

Time will tell.

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Barack Obama - The Golden Compass Candidate

Last night my family watched the movie, "The Golden Compass" on DVD. I wasn't very impressed with the film but I can't really say I was disappointed. To have a sense of disappointment, means you already had certain expectations that were not met. In this case, I didn't have any expectations because I really didn't know anything about the movie and had not read the book. I did know it was of the 'fantasy' genre, but I had not paid much attention to the reviews when the film first came to theaters.

I can critique "The Golden Compass" from a general framework by which we critique all movies. I can fault the film for lack of character development, problems with pacing, plot structure or a weak script, however, I can't really go beyond general criticisms to specifics of why "The Golden Compass" didn't work. Because I knew so little about the movie beforehand, I really didn't know what the objective was and what it was seeking to achieve. I knew nothing about the 'vision' of the filmmakers or the author, so it is difficult to explain why I believe the film fell short. Because I had no expectations, I wasn't particularly disappointed. I simply became bored and started folding laundry midway through, so as not to completely waste my time.

If Barack Obama should become our next president, what will be our critique of him after a year or two, or four? I suspect that many people will not be particularly impressed by his performance but won't really be able to say they are disappointed. There is at present a great deal of enthusiasm about his campaign but very little specifics on what Obama plans to do. We hear the endless mantra of 'hope' with little content to what his vision for the country actually entails. We know his philosophy is of the 'liberal' genre but thats about it.

What are the expectations for an Obama presidency? Hopefully that will be clarified in the coming months as he goes head to head with John McCain. As citizens of this great country, we should know the goals of a potential president so that later, we can rightly deduce if he achieved them. Will we stand up and cheer, feel deep disappointment, or simply be unimpressed?

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Obama Cuts And Runs

Today, Barack Obama submitted his resignation from membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ. The political burden of Jeremiah Wright and Michael Pfleger became too much for him.

My question is this, if it is right for him to withdraw from membership now, why was it not the right thing to do for the last twenty years when the same anti-American, anti-white vision has been cast from the pulpit?

I think it was the "Wright" thing for him to do now, but he still must answer questions about why he has chosen to remain in that environment and raise his children in it. Without answering questions about his twenty year membership he leaves the impression that his withdrawal at this time is not a principled decision but an act of political expediency.

If Obama was deeply disappointed by Michael Pfleger's "divisive, backward-looking rhetoric," then why has he not expressed that concern in the past. Michael Pfleger is acting and speaking as he has always acted and spoken. And, in the past, Obama has embraced Pfleger and Wright. What has changed? The only thing that has changed is that Barack Obama is running to become President of the United States and it doesn't set well with the American voter for a candidate to spend all his time hanging out with those who are terrorists, slum lords, racists, and anti-American.

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Missing The Humor In The Campaign

What is the one trait that always appears on lists of "things I want in a spouse" but rarely if ever appears on lists of "things I want in a President?"

You got it; a sense of humor.

And its a good thing, too, because ever since Mike Huckabee got out of the race the candidates have shocked us, cried, pandered, drank whiskey, and just about everything other than show any evidence of a sense of humor. Smirking doesn't count.

If you can want humor is a spouse, if you can want humor in a buddy, if you can want humor in a pastor (dare we go there?), then what is wrong with wanting your Presidential candidates to show a little humor.

For those of you who like me are finding much to make you aghast but little to bring a smile to your face, the following video might be a little shot in the arm.

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Obama Sinks In More Pastor Quicksand

The more that Barack Obama tries to extricate himself from the rantings and rhetoric of race baiting, counterfeit-gospel spewing pastors, the more he seems to sink. In response to Pastor Michael Pfleger's recent tirade at Obama's own church, Trinity United Church of Christ, the Obama campaign removed from the website, testimonials by Pfleger who has represented the presidential candidate's campaign at faith gatherings.

Obama also stated, "As I have traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that that unites us. That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause," Obama said.

Exactly what is Obama trying to get at here? Is he saying that in his many years of association with Father Pfleger, this friendly priest has always expounded a united, forward-looking rhetoric? Not very likely, considering Pfleger's track record.

Pfleger, an early supporter of Obama who leads a mostly black Chicago parish, has hosted Farrakhan a number of times, drawing the ire of the Catholic Church. The June/July 2007 issue of Wright's Trumpet magazine describes Pfleger as "Afrocentric to the core."

As with the case of Pastor Wright, Obama's reaction to Pfleger leads to one of three explanations and their obvious conclusions.

1. Obama really didn't understand the basic theology that drives these men or those in their churches. He really didn't know they have been spewing such hatred for decades.
Conclusion: Obama is guilty not only of not doing his homework, but of badly judging the characters and motives of others. His hopeless naivete disqualifies his as President.

2. Obama undrstood these men very well and though he did not agree with their views, he used them and was used by them (as a state legislator Obama directed at least $225,000 towards social programs at Pfleger's church) because their influence would help his career.
Conclusion: His raw lust for political power at the expense of his personal integrity disqualifies him as President.

3. Obama has had a close relationship with these men because he is in basic agreement with their theology and worldview. He has enjoyed both political perks and spiritual/philosophic mentorship.
Conclusion: Obama is double-minded in all he does, denouncing longtime friends for views he himself holds while misrepresenting himself and his vision to the American people. His duplicitous nature disqualifies him as President.

Which of the three conclusions do you find most likely?

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More Obama Spiritual Advisors On The Loose

Barack Obama's spiritual advisors keep getting curiouser and curiouser. This past Sunday at Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ, guest speaker Micahel Pfleger implied Clinton was a white supremacist who believed she would win the nomination because of "white entitlement."

Pfleger, a Chicago Catholic pastor who practices black liberation theology, is a regular guest speaker at Trinity church. He was introduced at Sunday's sermon by Obama's new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss III, who called Pfleger a "brother beloved, he is a preacher par-excellence, he is a prophetic powerful pulpiteer."

After Pfleger's remarks about Clinton, Moss thanked Pfleger repeatedly.

Pfleger told the Trinity congregation, "We must be honest enough to expose white entitlement and supremacy wherever it raises its head."

He continued: "Reverand Moss, when Hillary was crying, and people said that was put on, I really don't believe it was put on. I really believe that she just always thought, 'This is mine. I'm Bill's wife. I'm white. And this is mine. I just got to get up and step into the plate.'

"And then out of nowhere came, hey, I'm Barack Obama. And she said, 'Oh damn, where did you come from? I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black man stealing my show.'"

Pfleger then mimicked Clinton crying as the audience erupted into applause and gave Pfleger's remarks a standing ovation. Clinton has become emotional during several interviews this year, and some media commentators have questioned her sincerity.

In his sermon, Pfleger added, "She wasn't the only one crying. There was a whole lot of white people cryin'."

Obama is a longtime associate of Pfleger, even referring to him in a 2004 Chicago Sun-Times article as a key source of spiritual guidance.

I can't imagine that the Hillary supporters out there will be jumping up and down with excitement over this mockery of their number one gal. In fact, the Hillary fans who are unsure of Obama might very well be pushed into the McCain camp in droves.

This comes at the worst possible time for Barack, just when he is seeking to woo those independents and wavering Democrats into the Obama hypnotic euphoria. He would do well to keep his ragtag team of 'spiritual advisors' tied up in an attic somewhere until after November.

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Politicians' Vivid Imaginations

Apparently this is the year of politicians with vivid imaginations. Mitt Romney claimed he saw his father march with Martin Luther King. Hillary claimed she was under sniper fire in Bosnia. Now Barack Obama claimed his uncle regaled the family with the story of helping to liberate the Jews at Auschwitz. As it has been pointed out, Auschwitz is in southern Poland, which was occupied by troops from neighboring Russia in 1945. It was the Russians who liberated the Nazi death camp.

Perhaps it is not Obama but his uncle who had the faulty memory. Most likely his uncle was at the Ohrduf camp, part of Buchenwald,in Germany. Of course Obama did have a memory lapse when he forgot that it was not his uncle, but his great uncle who was in World War II.

I don't quite buy the argument that he was "lying about the Holocaust for political gain." Sure, he should have done his homework but the larger point about making help available for returning veterans was important. Besides, I would have a tough time keeping straight every detail of the stories my extended family has told through the years.

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Oprah's Viewership Drops

Recent celebrity news has been buzzing that Oprah is losing viewers, an estimated seven percent drop in recent months. There is speculation that many viewers are turned off by the ever more strident New Age tone she has taken, not only in her book club selections and guests but in the general philosophy she interjects on a variety of topics. Many of the non new-age, stay at home moms who have been faithfully watching Oprah for years and propelled her to the top of the talk show heap have finally said enough is enough. After listening to a barrage of pseudo-spiritual advice Oprah style, many have gone from the attitude of, "Well, I'll take that with a grain of salt" to "I'll just pass on it altogether."

Another troublesome area that may account in her viewership decline is her foray into politics with her support and public campaigning for Senator Barack Obama. Hollywood celebrities and politicians have always made strange bedfellows. However for Oprah Winfrey the dynamic might even be stranger. Her celebrity status depends not on other characters she plays in films but simply on herself - what she thinks, believes and how she connects on a personal level with her audience.

Actors and actresses may have a political philosophy with which you disagree, but you tend to forget about that while you are watching them in a movie. Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon are no longer liberal activists, they have become the characters they are portraying on the screen. Of course there are cases where an actor's political leanings will impact box office revenue. Too many Hollywood celebrity photos where they appear arm in arm with foreign dictators can put the brakes on their career. I remember my dad would never watch a Jane Fonda film after her ride on the tank in Hanoi.

Of course it is no crime for Oprah to support a particular candidate for president. In fact there is much to admire in that she is supporting the causes and the person she truly believes in. However, given that probably half of her audience has more conservative leanings, a continued drop in her ratings may prove that she would have been wiser to stay neutral when it comes to the political sphere.

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Separated At Birth?

Barack Obama & Ron Howard

Separated at birth? I am probably the only person in the world who sees a similarity between Presidential nominee Barack Obama and Director/Actor Ron Howard. I have never seen it mentioned anywhere else.

But seriously, take a look. Something about Obama has always screamed 'Opie' to me. Or Richie Cunningham. Perhaps it is the ears that stick out, the similar jawline, the nose, the receding hairline (though now Howard's is WAY receded) or the smile. If only Barack had a gap between his two front teeth, the picture would be complete.

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Clinton Regrets Assassination Remark

Hillary Clinton says she was simply making the point that there have been Democratic primary contests have that gone into June. Clinton has apologized for referencing the assassination of Robert Kennedy.

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Barack Obama Assassination?

Much is being said about Hillary Clinton's comment that she is staying in the presidential race because there is a chance Barack Obama could be assassinated. That was a really stupid thing for her to say. But are such thoughts completely out of left field?

Just a few weeks ago there were several international news articles addressing this possibility. Here is an excerpt from Mideast Youth:

A lead op-ed in the New York Times today by Edward N. Luttwak draws attention to Obama’s irtidad, his decision to leave the Muslim faith he was born into. According to Islam, which defines the children of any Muslim father as Muslim themselves, Obama’s conversion to Christianity is an act of apostasy. “Indeed,” writes Luttwak, “it is the worst of all crimes that a Muslim can commit, worse than murder…”

Blogs from The Daily Howler to the San Francisco Sentinel are abuzz with this “new” finding–that Obama as president would be at risk of assassination. Luttwak notes that Muslim law “prohibits punishment for any Muslim who kills any apostate, and effectively prohibits interference with such a killing.” The security ramifications are huge, Luttwak claims:

At the very least, that would complicate the security planning of state visits by President Obama to Muslim countries, because the very act of protecting him would be sinful for Islamic security guards. More broadly, most citizens of the Islamic world would be horrified by the fact of Senator Obama’s conversion to Christianity once it became widely known — as it would, no doubt, should he win the White House. This would compromise the ability of governments in Muslim nations to cooperate with the United States in the fight against terrorism, as well as American efforts to export democracy and human rights abroad.

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