Stupid Reasons To Fear Obama

There’s a lot of talk about how Obama could be perceived as a scary individual, and therefore is not trustworthy of running our country. There is also a doubt as to whether or not he would offer our soldiers the respect they deserve, seeing as how he has never served in combat. But I don’t think just because he has never seen action on the battlefield is enough to say that he doesn’t value our troops. I would think that everybody in America supports our troops.

Then there’s that word play. Barack Hussein Obama. Hussein! “Barack sounds like Iraq!” “Obama is like Osama!” “You can’t say of abomination without Obama!” “The only difference between Obama and Osama is the BS!” “Obama Biden is just a few letters away from Osama bin Laden!”

But none of that really matters. If you watched the presidential debates, and many haven’t apparently, you can see that both Obama and McCain have a clear understanding of our current situation, what happened to get us here, and how we can improve our state going forward. But, there are key differences between McCain and Obama that make it obvious that Obama has an edge, in more ways than one. McCain tends to repeat himself, and when searching for new things to say, has more difficulty than Obama. Indeed, Obama seems to be knowledgeable on pretty much every political subject. When McCain tried to throw him a curveball, pointing out that Obama hadn’t mentioned the situation with vouchers in Washington, DC, Obama immediately replied and made it clear that he knew exactly what was going on there, and that he’d taken that into account in his previous statement.

Obama seems quicker on his feet, more knowledgeable, and less prone to using force to win an argument. There was a debate in which McCain had forcefully interrupted Obama, and talked over him. Obama acted calmly and rationally, and allowed McCain to proceed. So McCain may have “won” that moment by speaking loudly and continually, but when you weigh the ideas that each is expressing, it seems that Obama comes out on top. Perhaps this is evidence of a major difference between the two. Obama did interrupt McCain, or tried to interject rather, when McCain said things that Obama considered to be false. But Obama didn’t continue to speak and try to drown out McCain, whereas McCain had done that at one point to Obama. What if this means that McCain is more likely to use force to resolve a situation than ideas or diplomacy? And wouldn’t that mean that Obama is more for diplomacy and smart thinking, and less for unnecessary war? But what do I know.

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Obama, JFK for the 21st Century

I read a report a while ago speculating that if the economy were to take the center stage, a Democrat would likely win the Presidential election. On the other hand, if war and military concerns became more prevalent, the Republicans would likely win.

A few months ago McCain was doing great. Military concerns were of great importance. But now the economy is really hurting. Looks like Obama’s got a major chance.

Just this morning I was reading that the $700 billion bailout will apparently take a little while before it produces any helpful results. That delay by itself caused widespread doubt and other negative feelings that led to a drop in the stock market of around 500 to 600 points. The last time I looked at it, it was under 10,000. Around 9,800 or 9,700. Crazy.

I’ve also heard that there are fears America’s economic woes will lead to a cascade effect that affects many nations. So obviously Obama has his work cut out for him.

He certainly does seem a little bit like what I have heard of JFK, in that he is a highly inspirational leader. I hope he can live up to his image, and do everything he says he can.

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It's All Up In The Air

I hope the bailout works. I hope our stopgap solutions are enough. I hope they don't make things worse.

I'd read a while back that if the economy takes center stage, Obama would be likely to win. If war took the spotlight, however, McCain would be the stronger candidate.

Lately the news has been shifting quite quickly from huge story to huge story. From hurricanes, to Russia's aggressiveness, to Sarah Palin's experience, to the economy. Whew!

Let's see, what to worry about today... Nuclear War with Russia? Nah. Let's go with money.

I saw a story citing a guy's change in mental attitude based on the negative economic news we've been getting lately. This guy went out and bought a lottery ticket. "If I win, I won't have to worry..."

I'll bet everyone is concerned to some degree. Even lottery winners.

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McCain Shot Down 5 Times - Daily Show

I used to really enjoy "The Daily Show," but ever since "The Best F****** News Team" made its debut, the show's fun level has decreased for me. I know they're trying to be funny, but a lot of what they do seems awkward. It's neat when someone like Anderson Cooper is shown laughing and then saying, "I'm sorry," because he just ruined a bit in which one of the members of The Daily Show "pretends" to insult him. But I don't think it's nearly as funny when the actors go to a convention and bully regular people, who don't appear aware that it's just a gag.

I still think John Stewart's good, though.

Anyway, according to "The Daily Show," John McCain was shot out of the sky five separate times. The show used that information in a segment that seemed to be emphasizing how McCain wasn't/isn't really all he's supposed to be.

But I think if you can get shot down five times, and keep staying alive, you've got to be doing something right.

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"Obama's VP Highlights Weaknesses, Not Strengths" - Duh

I saw a headline in Yahoo! News about how Obama's choice of Biden for his running mate only emphasizes Obama's own weaknesses, and does nothing to highlight his strengths.

I thought that was a pretty lame idea for an article.

Obama is the candidate for change because he's new. And being new, he has a much shorter list of experience than the other guys. That means that we don't know what his strengths are.

If Obama were an economic expert, then Biden would emphasize Obama's financial prowess by providing contrast with his own military background.

In fact, anything that Obama has a strength in, that Biden doesn't, would automatically be highlighted by choosing Biden. People would say, "Obama chose Biden because Biden's good at X, and we all know Obama's good at Y."

It makes perfect sense to balance out the team's strengths. The only reason taking that action would ever highlight weakness is when the team captain doesn't have any strengths to be contrasted with.

So then, any new expert teammate just highlights how Obama isn't an expert in that teammate's specialty.

The point is, Obama could have chosen pretty much anyone, and that headline about "highlighting his weaknesses" would still have applied.

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Obama in Afghanistan: The Real Story

I got this email forwarded from the wife of a soldier:

From: Shapiro, Bonnie A Civ USAF ACC 23 WG/SEA
Date: 7/25/2008 7:45:35 AM
Subject: FW: Obama in Afghanistan

Hello everyone,
As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass
along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on
his visit to 'The War Zone'. I wanted to share with you what happened.
He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the
area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here
at Bagram.

As the Soldiers where lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and
didn't say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the
General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty
much a big top tent that military personnel can play basketball or work
out in with weights) so he could take his publicity pictures playing
basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to
thank them for their service.

So really he was just here to make a showing for the American's back
home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are
going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank
those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you.
I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the
Dallas Cowboy Cheer leaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to
be the President of the United States. I just don't understand how
anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that
he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and
our great country.

If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to
know what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news
is all fake.

In service,
CPT Jeffrey S. Porter
Battle Captain
TF Wasatch
American Soldier

---

That message was provocative. But it's so easy to check online to see if it's accurate.

After quick search I found that CPT Jeffrey S. Porter later retracted his email, saying, "After checking my sources some of the information that was put out in my e-mail was wrong."

Snopes.com features accounts of other service men and women who met Obama and can attest to his friendly behavior. There are pictures backing them up.

There is also a "Department of Defense video [which] shows Senator Obama meeting, talking, and eating breakfast with U.S. troops in Afghanistan":




Wikipedia and the Army Times say pretty much the same.

According to Snopes, "Tales of prominent Democrats snubbing or acting rudely towards military and security personnel ... have been a common form of political rumor over the last few decades."

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Globetrotter Candidates

I think Obama has set a precedent that future Presidential candidates will seek to repeat. In traveling abroad, and apparently campaigning internationally, Obama has opened up a new era encompassing all nations in the consideration of America's next President.

I believe that after most mentions of Obama's trip in the media, the reporter or anchorman would add that McCain had done something similar a few months ago. And yet Obama got major coverage for it! It makes him seem like the hero of the world. But some people still believe McCain knows more about leading the country.

Last night while channel surfing, I saw Obama's face on at least 7 different networks. Pretty much within a five-minute period. Maybe he said something really important. But it struck me as possibly evident of a polarized media. ...Nah.

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