My Problem With Obama

Okay, so I've watched the conventions (the parts I could stay awake for), I've read Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope" (all of it!) and I've stayed pretty up to date on the election through Google News and my print subscription to the Wall Street Journal. So here a few of my thoughts on Obama and McCain:

My first issue: Obama's terrible friends.

Obama has responded to his relationship with Rev. Wright. You can read it here.

That's a good response. This was the most important part of his article: "He has never been my political advisor; he's been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn."

I think I remember McCain even saying that he took Obama at his word that his pastor's political views were inconsistent with Obama's political views.

The thing is that Wright isn't the only problem. Obama has a long list of friends that put a new definition on the word "shady." The long list includes: Rev. Wright (we know what he did), Louis Farrakhan (a loud anti-semite), Bill Ayers (proud domestic terrorist who participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, the Capitol building in 1971, and the Pentagon in 1972), Tony Rezko (Obama's friend who through an illegal deal helped Obama get a huge discount on his Chicago house), Kwame Kilpatrick (corrupt Detroit mayor who had an affair, lied, and used taxpayer money to fund vacations and wild parties), and others. If anybody hasn't already, do some research on these men, their beliefs and actions are alarming. And that Obama has held very close relationships with each of them (excepting maybe Kilpatrick) is equally alarming.

I think the old saying that you can tell a lot about a man by who his friends are is still true. With Obama, there are huge personal character questions that remain a profound mystery. There is no excuse for being closely associated with an admitted terrorist. The fundamental problem, and the reason I am still skeptical of Obama, is because his actions do not align with his words. He can give a wonderful speech about patriotism and love for country (and he can write a nice book about it too - "The Audacity of Hope"), but after a critical analysis of his actions, all his words become empty and meaningless.

With McCain, even if you disagree with him, you know exactly who he is and what he stands for. Even though he may not sound as pretty as Obama when giving a speech on his love for this country, you can critically examine his record and notice immediately that his actions show clear as day that he loves this country to the core and that he has the personal characteristics of an outstanding leader.

McCain Hit A Home Run!

Sarah Palin is the absolute perfect choice for McCain. She's better than Romney in that she's not flip-flopped and yet has had executive, turn-around experience. She's going to get a lot of Hillary Democrats because she's a woman. She's so conservative to the core it's not even funny (she's a total pure conservative, not a "conservative" that lets spending get out of control and allows the government to balloon in size at astronomical rates).

The Democrats are afraid, very afraid. They have absolutely NOTHING to use against the McCain-Palin ticket. Biden is a joke, Obama is an even bigger joke and the only thing they can do is continue running their tired old whiny messages about businesses being bad and the government being the answer to everything. They'll also try to push their hallow garbage about "change" without ever clearly defining the changes they intend to make.

I cannot justify supporting a "community organizer" (what the heck is a "community organizer?!!") and a senator who's mouth won't stop flapping, whether it's productive or not.

I am honored to support a war hero and a governor with impeccable integrity for President. I am excited about this election and believe that we have what it takes to win big!

The Democrat's Dilemma

Ever since Obama clinched the nomination, I haven't been very optimistic about McCain's chances in the general election. People have become disgusted with Republicans mostly thanks to the Bush administration and many Republicans have practically abandoned core conservative values. A democrat win in November seemed all but clinched - until John McCain.

The Democrats dilemma in this election is that they like John McCain! Obviously that's not what they're saying now, but, as McCain ads are pointing out, Democrats have always liked John McCain. It was the Republicans that have had problems with McCain! Democrats always saw him as a stark departure from the Bush administration and always praised him for it. Well, that's now coming back to bite them. John McCain has a ginormous archive of footage of Democrats praising him, his patriotism and his skill at working across the aisle.

Thanks to Mitt Romney, the Republicans are united and are fully in line behind McCain. The Democrats, however, have all but splintered off into Hillary Democrats and Obama Democrats. And now the Hillary Democrats are defecting to McCain! Isn't it wonderful!

McCain's chances are good and Obama has a hard road ahead of him.

While studying PR, I've had the opportunity to analyze (both in and out of class) the PR campaigns of each candidate and the two parties. Putting it lightly, the Republicans are vastly more united, competent and sophisticated at public relations (in all its forms, from message framing to overall communications strategy) than the Democrats. From Frank Luntz to Karl Rove, the Republicans understand extremely well how to craft messages that appeal to voters. The Democrats on the other hand struggle to find unity and an effective way to convey their ideas. And it doesn't help that their ideas stink. I mean, how can any person frame the practice of abortion or higher taxes in a positive light?

The Democrats have a big dilemma and I doubt their situation will improve much going into November. I'm not totally counting Obama out though, if he successfully ties McCain to the Bush administration, he'll win. But I doubt McCain will allow that to happen.