Barack is not Qualified
By Larry Johnson on June 24, 2008 at 8:54 PM in Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Black Liberation Theology, Campaigns & Campaign Financing, FISA, Father Michael Pfleger, John McCain, Muslim, NAFTA, Qualifications, Race Card, Rev. James Meeks, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., Rev. Michael Pfleger
Ah, it is “feel the love” day. American Prospect put up a piece by David Weigle with the catchy title, Larry Johnson’s Strange Trip that strongly suggests nobody likes me. The rightwingers hate me (Rush called me a “leftwing hack”) and the “progressives?” They are in full meltdown.
And then I got this email from Cathy in Michigan:
Larry,
I was a big Hillary supporter, but I just don’t understand why the negative stuff about Obama is coming from Dem Hillary supporters:
#1) Obama is ten times better than McCain
#2 The GOP will and is playing the race card (come on you got to face reality)
#3) I still think Obama and Hillary should run together
So where are you coming from? Do you really want McCain to win?
Cathy B.
Lincoln Park, Michigan
Fair questions Cathy, so here’s my answer.
I prefer that neither win. McCain, by virtue of temperament and his decision to put neo-cons in key foreign policy positions in his campaign, worries me. I cannot support him. But compared to Obama, McCain comes across as King Solomon. McCain at least has a history of legislative accomplishment and has demonstrated he can work with the most progressive of Democrats (McCain/Feingold anyone?).
Obama? He has no significant legislative accomplishments. He has claimed credit for things he did not do, but he has not actually put together the coalitions that he talks about in his stump speeches. The man, attractive and articulate, is an empty suit and a lightweight.
The color of Barack’s skin is irrelevant to the question of his qualification. People should not vote for him or against him because he is black. Doing either is racist. Similarly, you should not vote for or against Hillary because she is a woman. Her sex is equally irrelevant. Character and competence ought to be the issue and on both Obama is found wanting.
Consider how he has distanced himself from the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the Reverend James Meeks, and the Reverend Michael Pfleger. [PHOTO: Father Pfleger, Rev. Wright, and Barack Obama.] We know now that these gentlemen espouse the most vile racist and homophobic messages.
Barack now claims he knew nothing about the views of these men. That is bullshit! Here is what Barack told Cathleen Falsani about his religious buddies in a 2004 interview:
GG:
Do you have people in your life that you look to for guidance?OBAMA:
Well, my pastor is certainly someone who I have an enormous amount of respect for.
I have a number of friends who are ministers. Reverend Meeks is a close friend and colleague of mine in the state Senate. Father Michael Pfleger is a dear friend, and somebody I interact with closely.GG:
Those two will keep you on your toes.OBAMA:
And theyr’e good friends. Because both of them are in the public eye, there are ways we can all reflect on what’s happening to each of us in ways that are useful.I think they can help me, they can appreciate certain specific challenges that I go through as a public figure.
And do you remember when Barack had trouble remembering whether he had heard Wright damn America or say any of the other outrageous crap that he spewed? In fact, Wright denounced the United States in 2001 after the 9-11 attacks. Barack now says he doesn’t remember being at Church when Wright spoke those words. Well guess what? That is not what he told Falsani in 2004:
GG:
Do you still attend Trinity?OBAMA:
Yep. Every week. 11 oclock service.Ever been there? Good service.
I actually wrote a book called Dreams from My Father, it’s kind of a meditation on race. There’s a whole chapter on the church in that, and my first visits to Trinity.
But it is not just on matters of faith that he lies and dissembles. As we have documented in this blog over the last two weeks he has changed his tune about his position on FISA, about public financing for presidential campaigns, and about NAFTA.
If Barack had simply taken time to chair a hearing on NATO’s role in Afghanistan or had traveled to Europe to fulfill his duties as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee with responsibility for NATO then I would give him the benefit of the doubt that he was trying to prepare himself. But he did not? Why? His words, not mine–he was too busy running for President.
And when it comes to playing the race card, Barack displays the gift of chutzpah. He recently told that Congressional Black Caucus that Hillary Clinton folks spread the rumor that he was a muslim. According to the Telegraph:
He reminded the congressmen and women that he had held his tongue even when Clinton allies had falsely suggested he was a Muslim and when the candidate herself had said he was not ready to be commander-in-chief.
It was not Hillary or her supporters. If anything, it was Barack himself who opened the door to the questions about Islam. He told Falsani:
As I said, we moved to Indonesia. She remarried an Indonesian who wasn’t particularly, he wasn’t a practicing Muslim. I went to a Catholic school in a Muslim country. So I was studying the Bible and catechisms by day, and at night you’d hear the prayer call.
We now know this was a flat out lie. He went to a Muslim school where he learned to recite the Muslim call to prayer. Nicholas Kristoff noted back in March of 2007:
Sorry to give offense to Alabama, but the reality is that Obama’s Muslim connections — his Muslim grandfather, his childhood in Indonesia, his middle name (Hussein), and, yes, his ability to recite the call to prayer — will turn off many voters in red states.
At the CIA we called that “no Shit” analysis. It is Obama’s own comments that raised the issue of his status as a Muslim (or not). That was not Hillary or her supporters. It was Barack himself. Like Nick Kristoff, I could care less if Barack is or was a muslim (I take him at his word that he was not affiliated formally with any religion until he signed up on the Jeremiah Wright Hate Train). What bothers me is he refuses to fully admit that Islam was a part of his life when he lived in Indonesia. He learned the call to prayer but nothing else? Yeah, that is change you can believe in.
Let me close with a terrific video, originating from New England Cable News (NECN), featuring Darragh Murphy. It is worth your time.
by Ronald Scott
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