Is This UnPrecedented?
By Larry Johnson on July 13, 2008 at 1:09 PM in Current Affairs
The beauty of blogging is our ability to access the intellect and creativity of folks in the United States and around the world. So, we need your help.
I am 53 years old. I can remember the Goldwater/Johnson campaign. I was only 8 but that is my first political memory. I do not recall an instance in the last 44 years in which the presumptive candidate of either party completed the primary campaign and headed to the nominating convention having the kinds of trouble Barack Obama is now experiencing. These problems include:
Anemic fundraising (the trend for him over the last three months is down).
Dramatic reversals on at least four policy positions before the convention.
No significant bump in the poll. In fact, Barack’s negatives are growing and he is in a virtual tie with John McCain.
Is this unprecedented? I think so but I am not sure.
Under normal circumstances the Democrat should be looking at a slam dunk blow out over McCain aka McCranky. The Republicans have raped the economy, our military, and the Constitution. There is little enthusiasm for trusting them to do the right thing.
We have not been shy about documenting Barack’s flip floppery and stumbles. Most of the media studiously ignores the Obama buffoonery but, average Americans are starting to question Barack’s character (or lack thereof).
McCain comes with his own baggage and political back flips. He spent most of his political career as a maverick who worked easily with liberal Democrats (e.g., McCain/Feingold) and was a pioneer in decrying special interests and lobbyists while quietly taking their money. You could make the case that Barack is trying to imitate McCain on this front.
McCain’s primary season flip flops have him doing a mad dash to align himself with George Bush and conservative principles. He’ll get hammered on these as the fall campaign heats up. Unfortunately for the Democrats, Barack’s own flip flops have caused a political version of erectile dysfunction. If Barack had held the line on public financing of elections, Iraq, FISA, NAFTA, gun control, or abortion (just to mention a few issues) he would have had the high ground in blasting McCain as the flip flopper. Of course he would have been attacked as a leftist but also would have earned respect for sticking with his principles.
America is hungry for leadership that will speak hard truths and avoid pandering. So this is my question–is Barack Obama the biggest political panderer in recent electoral history? Let’s have facts, not opinion on this.
by Ronald Scott
* More novels by 
* 
(
)
- You'll have access to 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books, as well as ultra-fast Web browsing with Amazon Silk -- faster than iPad. Full e-mail and document access and a keyboard. Fire can transmit what is on your screen onto a connected TV or monitor without an accessory. It runs Flash (iPad doesn't). 
