Obama Should Come Clean On Ayers, Rezko And the Iraqi Billionaire

Obama Should Come Clean On Ayers, Rezko And the Iraqi Billionaire - WSJ.com

Even as Barack Obama gave his soaring speech Thursday night, his campaign was playing hardball with its critics.

Team Obama has launched an offensive against WGN, the Chicago Tribune's radio station, for interviewing Stanley Kurtz. Mr. Kurtz is a conservative writer who this week forced the University of Illinois to finally open its records on Sen. Obama's association with William Ayers, the unrepentant 1970s Weather Underground terrorist. - more-

These stories will not go away until Obama is completely honest about them. I don't think Obama is a terrorist. Nor do I think he approves of Mr. Ayers' actions. But until he stops lying about how much they worked with each other - it will not go away.

It's sort of like the John Edwards story. He John had come clean and admitted to everything, he would have been left alone like yesterday's news. But now the tabloids still have information on him and he won't come clean.

Tony Rezko and Nadhmi Auchi are different stories. There is only a wisp of smoke right now but there is definitely fire here.

New Orleans Tells Residents to Leave or Face Storm Alone

New Orleans tells residents to leave or face storm alone

Isn't it amazing that Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, and the city government can tell people "you are on your own"? Here's the quote from the story:

Those among New Orleans' estimated 310,000 to 340,000 residents who ignore orders to leave accept "all responsibility for themselves and their loved ones," the city's emergency preparedness director, Jerry Sneed, has warned.

Imagine if President Bush said this. There would be calls for public hanging - nevermind impeachment.

I expect Barack Obama to be on this any second now since his speech on Thursday made it perfectly clear that this is unacceptable. And I quote:

" We are more compassionate than a government...that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes...
...For over two decades, he's (McCcain) subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy...Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own."

Yeah, I expect to see Obama condemn the New Orleans mayor's office anytime now...

My Comments on Obama's Speech

Well, folks. I don’t know what to say. After watching Obama’s speech last night (I guess it was two nights ago now), I have to say that I understand why people adore him so much. Hell, I may even vote for him myself. The laundry list of things he’s willing to ‘give me’ is just about everything I need and it’s hard to argue with that.

In all seriousness, his speech was the most eloquent, well-delivered, gigantic piece of fireworks-fueled liberal bull crap I’ve ever seen! For those that didn’t watch it –here’s a rundown of the main points I gathered from the speech. Just click on the title of this post above to view. Obama comments are in bold and mine are in italic.

I've taken the liberty if shifting the order of some things around to make it easier to stay on topic. If you want to read the speech as it was given, please the the post directly below this one.

Full Text of Obama Acceptance Speech

For anyone that wants to reach the whole thing, click here

More thoughts on Sarah Palin

Pro-Gun Rights
Pro ANWR drilling
Pro-Life
Pro-God
Pro-War on Terror
Pro-Small Government
Pro-Ethics
Pro-Death Penalty
Pro-Marriage

That makes me - Pro-Palin!

Some quick info about Sarah Palin

Excerpts from wikipedia.com
(It’s Wikipedia folks, take it all with a grain of salt. As far as I know, this is all accurate)

Palin served two terms on the Wasilla City Council from 1992 to 1996.
According to my basic math, this means she’s been in ‘public service’ for 16 years. Obama began his political career in 1997.

In 1996, she challenged and defeated the incumbent mayor, criticizing wasteful spending and high taxes.[3]

Palin kept her campaign promises by reducing her own salary, as well as reducing property taxes by 60%.[3]

She ran for reelection against the former mayor in 1999, winning by an even larger margin.[3][5]

Palin was also elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.[6]

Governor Murkowski appointed Palin Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission,[7] where she served from 2003 to 2004 until resigning in protest over what she called the "lack of ethics" of fellow Alaskan Republican leaders, who ignored her whistle blowing complaints of legal violations and conflicts of interest.[8][3]

After she resigned, she exposed the state Republican Party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, one of her fellow Oil & Gas commissioners, who was accused of doing work for the party on public time, and supplying a lobbyist with a sensitive e-mail.[9] Palin filed formal complaints against both Ruedrich and former Alaska Attorney General Gregg Renkes, who both resigned; Ruedrich paid a record $12,000 fine.[3]

In 2006, Palin, running on a clean-government campaign, executed an upset victory over then-Gov. Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary.[3]

Despite the lack of support from party leaders and being outspent by her Democratic opponent, she went on to win the general election in November 2006, defeating former Governor Tony Knowles.[3] Palin said in 2006 that education, public safety, and transportation would be three cornerstones of her administration.[10]

When elected, Palin became the first woman to be Alaska's governor, and the youngest governor in Alaskan history at 42 years of age upon taking office.

3. Johnson, Kaylene (2008). "Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down". Epicenter Press.
6. Commentary: Palin is brilliant, but risky, VP choice". CNN (2008-08-29).
7. Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission – Homepage (Redirect)
8. Kizzia, Tom (October 24, 2006). "Part 2: Rebel status has fueled front-runner's success". Anchorage Daily News.
9. adn.com front : Palin explains her actions in Ruedrich case
10.Hopkins, Kyle (August 6, 2006). "Same-sex unions, drugs get little play", Anchorage Daily News.

McCain Picks Alaska Governor as Running Mate. - Yahoo! News

McCain picks Alaska Governor as Running Mate. - Yahoo! News

I'll have plenty to say about Obama's speech later (I was not impressed with anything other than his oratorical skills...) but right now I can't focus on that.

I can't even BEGIN to tell you how thrilled I am at McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate!!

More later. I have to go watch the official announcement.

Cuyahoga board probes ACORN voter registration drive

from Cleveland.com/Metro by Joe Guillen

A national organization that conducts voter registration drives for low-income people has curtailed its push in Cuyahoga County after the Board of Elections accused its workers of submitting fraudulent registration cards...Board employees are unsure how many of the cards are fraudulent. But the voter registration department received so many suspicious cards that it began compiling a binder with evidence. The binder grew to be an inch-thick...more

ACORN is well known for its voter fraud efforts...umm...I mean 'inexperienced workers making honest mistakes'.

The really scary thing is how good they are at it and how often they get away with it. Remember, Ohio was the 'Florida' of the 2004 presidential election. Kerry's folks tried like hell to get the story going that votes weren't counted there. Now there are upwards of 85,000 "new" registered voters in Cleveland. I wonder what party they are?

Good News for the Economy - Bad news for the Democrats

from the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States --increased at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in the second quarter of 2008...according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. - more -

I'm a little confused about how the Democrats differentiate between a good economy and a bad economy.

It seems that their definition of "recession" is 'two consecutive quarters with a Republican in the White House'.

It's a shame that people like Phil Gramm have to resign from the McCain campaign for speaking the truth.

Quick!!! Someone help me out here!!!

I ask each and every person that visits this site today to take one minute and post something - anything - that Barack Obama has done in his life that would count as "experience".

Ok, maybe I'm being too tough...how about something he's done that qualifies him to be Commander in Chief?

Still stuck??

Ok...how about something he's done to show he would know how to lead this country's economy???

Come on, work with me here, people!!!

How about naming one piece of legislation he's introduced and gotten passed to help the American people??

Maybe a time when he showed his ability to "reach across the aisle" to get something done??
No? ok, let's see...

He was President of the Harvard Law Review for two semesters. Maybe there's something he wrote that would give us a clue as to the great leader Mr. Obama would be?
What? Really? Nothing but one paper that argues that unborn children have no rights.

Well...now I understand why everyone is so excited.

People, I'm going to say this as clearly as I can: Never has this country had a major party candidate for President that was less qualified for the job than Barack Obama. It has NOTHING to do with race (although once he loses, that is all you will hear). It has everything to do with poor judgement, lack of experience too much confidence.

OK, now that I've got that out of my system - feel free to post and prove me wrong.

ABC Reporter Arrested in Denver Taking Pictures of Senators, Big Donors

from The Blotter from Brian Ross at ABC News By BRIAN ROSS

DENVER--Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer today as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic Senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel. - more -

Click here to watch video of the arrest.

I wonder why the Senators didn't want their picture taken with VIP donors. It's almost like they feel they were doing something wrong...

Michelle Obama's Sad Transformation

from the Washington Post by Richard Cohen

The transformation of Michelle Obama from a bracingly proud contemporary woman -- mother, wife, career woman -- into a prime time Betty Crocker was sad to see. more

Richard Cohen is far from one of my favorite columnists. In fact, he and I have exchanged a few e-mails disagreeing vehemently (although in a civil tone :) ) on topics in the past. However, he touches on something here that makes sense (even if he didn't mean to).

Democrats spend a lot of time trying to convince people that they are something they are not in order to win elections. They know that their ideas and policies won't hold up to scrutiny so they need to fool people into voting for them.

Think about what Michelle Obama talked about on Monday night: personal responsibility, hard work paying off, your word is your bond, etc. Do those sounds like the values of a liberal community activist or would it be more like: government handouts, tax the rich, racial preferences, etc.

I think this helps explain why Hollywood celebrities and Democratic politicians like each other so much...

They both make a better living by being really good at pretending to be someone else.

Joe Biden talks about the "surge" on Meet the Press

Please watch the whole thing. This is the guy that Obama's people think gives him the foreign policy experience necessary to form an effective adminstration.
If this guy's short-sighted view of how to conduct a war passes for foreign policy experience - I'll pass on his foreign policy experience.

American Thinker: A Brief History of Bush's Time

from the American Thinker web site By Randall Hoven

...Despite being handed one of the worst situations in history from President Clinton, and being fought tooth and nail by his opponents in government and the media, literally from the day of his election, President George W. Bush persevered to restore prosperity at home and to make the US and the world more free and secure...more

This piece is an awesome roundup of the reasons why 'historians' should be left to discuss things that happened long ago instead of trying to determine what history will be...

Throw the flag against: Michelle Obama. Call: Illegal shift

from the McClatchy Washington Bureau By Steven Thomma

What happened: In her Monday night speech to the Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama's wife said she gave up what sounded like a lucrative career for public service.

"In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much," she said. "See, that's why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities."

Why that's wrong: more

I'm not sure what's going on but even McClatchy is getting into the act. Is this really a turn in mainstream media bias or... could it be that Mrs. Clinton would like to run again and it would be a lot better for her if it was in four years rather than eight?

Dean: Obama will change message for general election

from TheHill.com by By Albert Eisele

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Tuesday that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will unveil “a different message for a different audience” in the general election campaign, as opposed to the one he used to capture the Democratic presidential nomination.

This article is the perfect example of why the Democrats are wrong. They spend too much of their time trying to figure out how to win elections and not enough time figuring out what to stand for. Changing the message to suit the audience shows a stunning lack of conviction.

Do You Know Enough to Elect Barack Obama?

A very effective ad from one of issues groups, American Issues Project. Apparently, the Obama camp felt this ad was impressive enough to issue an immediate response ad that, many now say, only highlights the issue with the electorate.

Gallup Daily: No Bounce for Obama in Post Biden Tracking

from Gallup

McCain creeps ahead, 46% to 44%

Gallup Poll Daily tracking interviewing from Saturday, Sunday, and Monday indicates that Barack Obama has received no bounce in voter support from his selection of Sen. Joe Biden to be his vice presidential running mate. The race remains virtually tied with John McCain now slightly ahead 46%-44%. More ...

Anyone that knows me knows how I feel about polls. I think any one particular poll is completely useless because of bias in the questions, the size of the samples and the variations between organizations.

However, I do believe that major trends can be uncovered by looking at many polls from several organizations over time. This poll from Gallup is released every day and is a rolling, three-day poll. Rasmussen reports is my other favorite of these 3-day rolling polls.

This is the first time that McCain has been ahead in the Gallup poll since he and Obama became their parties presumptive nominees and it represents an 8-point swing in the last couple of weeks.

Getting no bounce from naming Biden does not bode well for Obama. If there isn't a significant bounce following his acceptance speech at the Democratic convention - this race is over.

You read it right, this race will be over.

I'll be posting some additional polls and comparisons to 2004 to support this claim in the near future.

Obama Dogged by Links to 1960s Radical

from USA Today

Conservatives are stepping up efforts to turn 1960s radical Bill Ayers into a political liability for Barack Obama.

This spring, Obama's links to Ayers briefly became a campaign controversy. Now American Issues Project is spending $2.8 million to air a TV ad highlighting links between Obama and Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground Organization, which opposed the Vietnam War and was responsible for several bombings.

This issue has finally gone mainstream and it will not go away. The Obama campaign wants to pretend this is about what Ayers did in the 60's - that Ayers is a changed man that regrets his actions. Nothing could be further from the truth.

3 AM - New McCain ad

You couldn't pay an advertising firm enough money to create what McCain is getting for free from the Democrats.

Please Visit Coleman's Corner at KUSI-TV in San Diego

Jack Coleman is one of the world's most experienced meteorologists and is the man that started The Weather Channel in 1982.

So why haven't you heard his opinions on the "Global Warming Crisis"? Because Jack doesn't agree with the alarmists pushing the environmental whackos' agenda.

Visit his 'corner' here and see what he's had to say and to whom he's said it.

ABC News: Money Trail: Lobbyists Gone Wild as Obama Remains Silent

from The Blotter from Brian Ross at ABC News

By BRIAN ROSS, RHONDA SCHWARTZ, and AVNI PATEL

Despite a campaign that attacked corporate and special interest lobbyists as evil and banned their money and participation, Sen. Barack Obama has done little, if anything, about their pervasive, free-spending presence at the Democratic convention in Denver, ethics watchdog groups say.

I love the part where Obama's campaign simply claims they didn't have enough time to clean up all the lobbyist money before the convention. Sort of reminds me of "I had been drinking a lot of iced tea and must have been in the bathroom"...

Rendell: 'MSNBC Official Network of the Obama Campaign'

By Noel Sheppard at Newsbusters.org

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell had some harsh words for members of the media today, especially those associated with the cable network MSNBC. Speaking at a discussion put together by the Joan Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy, he called the coverage of Barack Obama "embarrassing," and accused MSNBC of being "the official network of the Obama campaign."

This isn't some Republican politician speaking here. This is the Democrat governor of Pennsylvania and the former head of the Democratic National Committee.

Lou Dobbs: 'My Colleagues in the Media Are Absolutely Biased'

By Noel Sheppard at Newsbusters.org

LOU DOBBS, HOST: You know, it's really not working because the fact is we have a tied race here. You know, with all the national media, as I've been saying here for months, in the tanks. My colleagues in the national media are absolutely biased, in the tank supporting the Obama candidacy while claiming the mantle of objectivity. Whether they're in the front page of "The Washington Post," "The New York Times," whether it's any one of the news casts, I mean, it's ridiculous.

This isn't FoxNews folks. This is CNN.

Who Lied About Iraq? by Randall Hoven

from the American Thinker web site

Do not believe that post-invasion intelligence invalidates our justification for using military force against Saddam's Iraq. The truth is the exact opposite.

Notes from poster: This is a great article refuting many of the lies about what Saddam had for weapons programs during the lead-up to the liberation of Iraq. It's a long read but well worth it if you are willing to learn something other than "Bush Lied"...

Biden on Meet the Press 2008 - Was Saddam Hussein a threat?

Watch this video one time - and then go back and listen to it again, imagining that George W. Bush is speaking.
Now try to imagine the different reaction from the Democrats if this was Bush instead of Biden.

How many States are There???

And they pick on President Bush...

Obama Without a Teleprompter

And they say President Bush doesn't speak well...

Joe Biden On Barack Obama

I'm sure you won't have to look very hard to find this ad but I couldn't resist posting it.
I'll have plenty to say about this ticket a little later but, for now, have fun.

The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand

Ever wonder why so many people seem to agree with Barack Obama? It's simple really.
You just take every position possible on an issue and pretend that the current trend is the position you've held all along.
Take a look...