Obama’s World? ... Not So Much With Hillary Here!

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama's former bitter rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, is his nominee for secretary of state. President-elect Obama and Mrs. Clinton fought perhaps the most polarizing nomination battle in decades, but in recruiting her for his cabinet, Mr. Obama has chosen to turn a rival into a partner. Image Credit: Chris Keane/Reuters

Obama’s World?, Not So Much With Hillary Here!

Most people who voted for Barack Obama preferred his approach to the world view than first, Hillary Clinton, and second, John McCain.

Many felt that with the direction that George Bush had taken our international relations was damaging to our standing in the world and that Barack Obama would signal a new approach and uplift our standing.

Well folks, guess again, Hillary Clinton is not standing still and waiting to be plugged in as a “pop-bead” into the necklace of a Barack Obama world view when January 20th, 2009 arrives.

Basically, Hillary Clinton is planning a different kind of State Department … kinda’ a Bill Clinton State Department on steroids!

This excerpted and edited from the New York Times -

Clinton Moves to Widen Role of State Dept.
By MARK LANDLER and HELENE COOPER – New York Times - Published: December 22, 2008

Even before taking office, Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking to build a more powerful State Department, with a bigger budget, high-profile special envoys to trouble spots and an expanded role in dealing with global economic issues at a time of crisis.

Mrs. Clinton is recruiting Jacob J. Lew, the budget director under President Bill Clinton, as one of two deputies, according to people close to the Obama transition team. Mr. Lew’s focus, they said, will be on increasing the share of financing that goes to the diplomatic corps. He and James B. Steinberg, a deputy national security adviser in the Clinton administration, are to be Mrs. Clinton’s chief lieutenants (nominations of deputy secretaries, like Mrs. Clinton’s, would be subject to confirmation by the Senate).

The incoming administration is also likely to name several envoys, officials said, reviving a practice of the Clinton administration, when Richard C. Holbrooke, Dennis Ross and other diplomats played a central role in mediating disputes in the Balkans and the Middle East.

As Mrs. Clinton puts together her senior team, officials said, she is also trying to carve out a bigger role for the State Department in economic affairs, where the Treasury has dominated during the Bush years. She has sought advice from Laura D’Andrea Tyson, an economist who headed Mr. Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers.
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Given Mrs. Clinton’s prominence, expanding the department’s portfolio could bring on conflict with other powerful cabinet members.
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The Bush administration has made relatively little use of special envoys. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has personally handled most peacemaking initiatives, which has meant a punishing schedule of Middle East missions, often with meager results.

“There’s no question that there is a reinvention of the wheel here,” said Aaron David
Miller, a public policy analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “But it’s geared not so much as a reaction to Bush as to a fairly astute analysis of what’s going to work in foreign policy.”

With so many problems, including Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, Mr. Miller said it made sense for the White House to farm out some of the diplomatic heavy lifting.
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The recruitment of Mr. Lew — for a position that was not filled in the Bush administration — suggests that Mrs. Clinton is determined to win a larger share of financial resources for the department.
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Mrs. Clinton was being supported in her push for more resources by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Mr. Obama’s incoming national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones Jr.
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Mrs. Clinton’s push for a more vigorous economic team, one of her advisers said, stems from her conviction that the State Department needs to play a part in the recovery from the global financial crisis. Economic issues also underpin some of the most important diplomatic relationships, notably with China.
Reference Here>>

In a Barack Obama presidency (aka - Carter’s Second Term), it is always the best policy to follow the money.

As we can see in this report, money is expected to flow into the power pocketbook of a State Department headed by Hillary Clinton if she has her way in this building power grab.

If over these next couple of years, Hillary Clinton is able to pull off what is suggested in the New York Times report, the State Department may make this presidency - NOT an extension of the troubled policies of a Carter Administration, but an extension of a Clinton Administration … where attention to detail was farmed out and terrorism was allowed to flourish.

Congressional Motors Introduces 2012 Top of the Line

The New Detroit - An aerial view of the Capitol Building in Washington, where the Democrat Party-controlled House of Representatives conduct the public’s business. If the actions of Congress pass the proposed $14 billion bailout package for GM, Chrysler, and Ford, this is where the American automobile industry decisions will be made. Image Credit: U.S. Department of the Interior

Congressional Motors Introduces 2012 Top of the Line

This was found in my email inbox written by an unknown author about the kind of car Congress would make … and better, how they might sell it (assuming they could actually make something … anything).

The note describes a commercial the Federal Government would make in order to inform the citizenry of the kind of car they will be allowed to purchase (if they had any money) if they would like a car over the Federal Government preferred option for transportation – Public Transportation – Subway, Bus, or using sidewalks provided for your convenience.

This excerpted and edited from my email inbox -

Congressional Motors Announces The First Car for 2012, The Pelosi

It's in the way you dress … The way you boogie down … The way you sign your unemployment check!

You're a man who likes to do things your own way. And on those special odd-numbered Saturdays when driving is permitted, you want it in your car - It's in that special feeling of a zero-emissions wind at your back and a road ahead meandering with possibilities.

The kind of feeling you get behind the wheel of the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition from Congressional Motors.

All new for 2012, the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition is the mandatory American car so advanced it took $100 billion and an entire Congress to design it.

We started with same reliable 7-way hybrid ethanol-biodiesel-electric-clean coal-wind-solar-pedal power plant behind the base model Pelosi, but packed it with extra oomph and the sassy styling pizzazz that tells the world that 1974 Detroit is back again -- with a vengeance.

We've subsidized the features you want and taxed away the rest.

Powered with its advanced Al Gore-designed V-3 under the hood pumping out 22.5 thumping, carbon-neutral ponies of Detroit muscle, you'll never be late for the Disco or the Day Labor Shelter.

Engage the pedal drive or strap on the optional jumbo mizzenmast, and the GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition easily exceeds 2016 CAFE mileage standards. At an estimated 268 MPG, that's a savings of nearly $1800 per week in fuel cost over the 2011 Pelosi.

Even with increased performance we didn't skimp on safety. Eleven-point passenger racing harnesses, fifteen-way airbags, and mandatory hockey helmet -- you'll have the security knowing that you could survive a 45 MPH collision even if the GTxi SS/Rt were capable of that kind of mind numbing, illegal speed.

But the changes don't stop there.

Sporty mag-style hubcaps and an all-new aggressive wedge shape designed by CM's Chief Stylist Ted Kennedy slices through the wind like an omnibus spending bill. It even features an airtight undercarriage to keep you and a passenger afloat up to 15 minutes -- even in the choppy waters of a Cape Cod inlet.

Available a rainbow of color choices to match any wardrobe, from Harvest Avocado to French Mustard.

Inside, a luxurious all-velour interior designed by Barney Frank (AKA: "Lollipop") features thoughtful appointments like an in-dash condom dispenser -- perfect for any social engagement or school training exercise.

A special high capacity hatchback holds up to 300 aluminum cans, meaning fewer trips to the redemption center, and the standard 3 speaker Fairness ActoPhonic FM low-band sound system means you'll never miss a segment of NPR again (assuming they will still have staff even with Government subsidies).

Best of all, the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt is made right here in the U.S.A. by fully card-checked unionized workers and Detroit 's famous visionary jet-set managers.

Even if you don't own one, you can enjoy the patriotic satisfaction that you're supporting the high wages, good benefits, and generous political donations that are once again making the American car industry the envy of the world.

But why not buy one anyway? With an MSRP starting at only $629,999.99, it's affordable too. Don't forget to ask about dealer incentives, rebates, tax credits, and wealth redistribution plans for customers from dozens of qualifying special interest groups. Plus easy-pay financing programs from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

So take the Metro rail, bus, or walk to your local CM dealer today and find out why the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition is the only car endorsed by President Barack Obama.

One test drive will convince you that you'd choose it over the import brands, even if they were still legal.

Personal transportation insights for a Carter's Second Term!

Obama’s Empty Suit Filled With Clinton Brain Trust

Six members of President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team for government operations worked in the Clinton administration, and one of them runs a consulting firm that has listed Freddie Mac as a client. Image Credit: AP

Obama’s Empty Suit Filled With Clinton Brain Trust

What happens when a junior Senator from Illinois campaigns on the themes of Hope and Change, with the thinnest of resume’s and record of accomplishment has to fill a branch, the Executive Branch of government and its’ staff, assumes the highest office in the land?

Why one fills the positions with the staff appointed during the previous presidency held by the political party you come from … in this case, the Bill Clinton 42nd Presidency.

Where is the Hope? Where is the Change?

Of the names being placed for the 47 top positions of the executive branch, 31 of the names were people who served with Bill Clinton whose eight year presidency ended eight years ago.

Where is the shiny? Where is the new? Where is the fresh?

This excerpted and edited from Politico –

The Clinton band is back together
By BEN SMITH & CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN | 11/14/08 4:48 AM EST

As one Clinton loyalist noted with some satisfaction (if anonymously) on Thursday, Podesta’s role in the transition, and the new prominence of Clinton administration officials, suggests that Obama has absorbed one of Hillary Clinton's talking points: That it takes experience to make change happen.

Thirty-one of the 47 people so far named to transition or staff posts have ties to the Clinton administration, including all but one of the members of his 12-person Transition Advisory Board and both of his White House staff choices.
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The highest-ranking member of the group with deep ties to both Clinton and Obama is [Rahm] Emanuel, a Chicagoan who is very close to Obama and his chief strategist, David Axelrod.

Though the transition is still young, former Clintonites say they feel a change in the atmosphere.

"It's heartening to see that that was just primary rhetoric," said a former Clinton aide of Obama's criticism of Clinton's administration.
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Soon after the primary, top Clinton policy aides, such as economic adviser Gene Sperling, were quietly integrated into Obama's campaign. The only member of Clinton's inner circle to join Obama's campaign staff was her policy director, Neera Tanden.

A campaign's policy shop feeds the bulk of a new administration's appointments: Most of the key positions on White House staff and in executive agencies are policy posts.

But while the Clinton policy shop may feel like the gang is getting back together, the political team has yet to be invited in.

Said one former Clinton campaign aide, "Obama has clearly made a distinction between the small group of Clinton campaign staff, who clearly aren't much welcome, and the large number of Clinton White House personnel who are."
Reference Here>>

With the announcement of Eric Holder being considered for the position of Attorney General, apparently expediency over judgment is the dividing hallmark of which former Clinton White House personnel are welcome (see Marc Rich pardon at end of the Clinton Presidency).

This is the reason why placing someone with previous executive experience (ideally within a construct of civic or state politics) is preferred to bringing a fresh approach to Washington politics than a Senator, any Senator, because the candidate who wins the election for president would staff the “new” executive branch with people who are competent in the workings of an executive effort but from OUTSIDE Washington without the legacy to the way thing were done before.

Where is the shiny? Where is the new? Where is the fresh? Where is the Hope? Where is the Change?

With Barack Obama and the personnel he is picking … it’s SAME-O, SAME-O!

It's going to be a real fun Carter's Second Term with a heavy spice of Clinton thrown in for good measure.

"Obama Is Going To Pay For My Gas And Mortgage!!!"

I Voted - And I voted in a way that my vote was not purchased through income re-distribution by the federal government or through a four to one commercial buy on television. The Main Stream Media did not suppress my vote or depress this voter even though I live in a bankrupt Blue State that is 18 Billion dollars in debt. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2008)

"Obama Is Going To Pay For My Gas And Mortgage!!!"

This IS the “Obama Effect” most people are looking for.

Yep! An Obama win will signal the end to self-determination, self-reliance, and the uniqueness that has made our country the envy of the rest of the world for the better part of 100 years.

What is wrong with this homemade political fence sign (photographed while standing in line at the polling station)? ... well, the sign is placed over 100 feet from the polling station so that not it ... Oh!, that is a Mercedes-Benz logo placed inside the Obama "O" ... NO, it's NOT a peace sign! We need high retention, better educated voters out here. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2008)

Opportunity will forever spelled with a small “O” because the big “O” will have been taken up with the tax-giveaway space that a Barack Obama presidency occupies.

People, as teenagers, really never rebelled against their parent’s control over their lives in earnest … they could not have been serious, because if they were, they would NEVER vote for an agenda that the Democrats and a Brarck Obama will bring to their lives.

Operation Enduring Freedom - The proven path toward peace. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2008)

The amount of control the federal government will expect if one has a dissenting voice while receiving a handout will become unstoppable.

Rashid Khalidi Unmasked

Rashid Khalidi sees perils for the U.S. in empire building while ignoring its own professional Middle East experts and the history of the region. Khalidi is Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies and director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University. He formerly taught at the University of Chicago. His talk [at UCLA] was in part to promote his new book, Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East. Caption and Image Credit: UCLA

Rashid Khalidi Unmasked

For some people, the process of judging ones character and the validity of ones judgment must begin with the calculation of affiliation and association.

The Los Angeles Times finds it more important to withhold information to a consuming and curious public at a time when their receipts are way down … subscriptions dropping like a rock, because they understand how important the calculation of affiliation and association really is.

The following article might give a some insight as to why the LA Times will not release the video they have with Barack Obama sharing dinner with Rashid Khalidi. The post carries a link to a shocking video from a Rashid Khalidi lecture and may give insight as to why the Los Angeles Times is running interference for Barack Obama.

Columbia University Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies, Rashid Khalidi's keynote address at the "Palestine: 40 Years of Occupation, 60 Years of Dispossession" conference in Portland, Oregon, on June 23, 2007.

This excerpted and edited from Pajamas Media -

This Is the Khalidi, Obama Embraced
October 31, 2008 - by Jennifer Rubin

Many others have surmised that the Los Angeles Times is running interference for Barack Obama, declining not just to provide the tape of the Rashid Khalidi goodbye event which Obama attended in 2003, but a complete transcript [assumed, because that is what we are told].

It is reasonable to ask - what could have been so bad about the event ... what could possibly have been so objectionable about the speeches or proceedings that might concern voters at this late date?

Well, the original Times report gives us only the sketchiest account. But now we have a video of a complete Khalidi lecture from June 2007. It is quite an eye-opener.

Viewers curious about the views of the man whom in 2003 Obama gave a “warm embrace” (physically or verbally?) should skip to the fifty-minute mark on the video tape.

You see, Khalidi tells us, the U.S. is repeating the same error of the Cold War in pursuing its war against Islamic terrorists. According to Khalidi it is the same “blind, foolish, reductionism.” And the U.S. policy is designed according to Khalidi to “get Palestinians to destroy one another.” And on it goes.

His view of Israel?

It is worse than “apartheid.” Continue to the end of the tape when he is asked about the massive Israeli media conspiracy headed by none other than Mortimer Zuckerman.

He doesn’t quite buy into that, but his description of American Jews who control the money and votes to manipulate Congress sounds an awful lot like Mearsheimer and Walt’s “The Israeli Lobby.” Or General Tony McPeak for that matter.

So it would be very interesting to see precisely what Khalidi said in Obama’s presence four years earlier. Was the rhetoric above the sort of language which preceded the warm words of praise from Barack Obama? The specifics matter, the context is crucial.

Obama claims he was never present for the anti-American and anti-Israeli rants of Reverend Wright. But he was there for a tribute to Khalidi, and voters should have the right to know if he sat impassively when Israel was vilified or if he seemed concerned when, as the Times tells us, “a young Palestinian American recited a poem accusing the Israeli government of terrorism in its treatment of Palestinians and sharply criticizing U.S. support of Israel.” (According to the Times, “If Palestinians cannot secure their own land, she said, “then you will never see a day of peace.”).

Did he seem concerned when “One speaker likened ‘Zionist settlers on the West Bank’ to Osama bin Laden, saying both had been ‘blinded by ideology’”? We don’t know. The Times won’t tell us.

But we should know. Obama has presented a certain face to the voters and we should see if it matches up to the face he showed others before he imagined anyone outside his circle of like-minded comrades might take particular notice.
Reference Here>>

In a Carter's Second Term (if Barack Obama becomes president) ... What role will this association of President Obama's play - would this guy become our chief adviser to the Middle East ... or just the ambassador to the Palestinians?

The Obama-Infomercial - The Shortcut To Everything

A Barack Obama quote from a 2001 NPR radio interview given to WBEZ Chicago 91.5 FM – “One of the I think tragedies of the civil rights movement was because the civil rights movement became so court focused, I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributed change and in some ways we still suffer from that.” Image Credit: Rachel Nixon - NowPublic

The Obama-Infomercial - The Shortcut To Everything

What do ShamWOW, DermaWand, AB Rocket, Oreck, HeadOn, Awesome Auger, and the Barack Obama*Joe Biden campaign for president of the United States have in common? All have infomercials running on the television last night.

Shamwow! cloths wash, dry and polish any surface. They are like a towel, chamois and sponge all in one--except they're extremely absorbent and can be used over and over. Shamwow! towels are machine washable and bleachable, will not scratch surfaces, and will last for more than 10 years! Image Credit: ShamWOW

The problem these type of selling productions have comes down to getting the balance of repetitiveness, emotion, production value, and the sense of real information imparted to the witness of this type of show. Other than truthfulness, the Barack Obama*Joe Biden edition of infomercial wins on all counts.

Derma Wand uses incredible new technology that sends a gentle stream of impulses to your skin to temporarily renew dull, tired, aged looking skin, firming and toning, giving you a youthful lifted appearance! Image Credit: South Jersey Expo

I was left waiting for the line … “And if you call in right now, you will receive TWO Barack Obamas and TWO Joe Bidens when you sign on to this ONE political party solution (without the messy Checks and Balances) to your problems – This is your shortcut to everything!”

When Barack Obama states that he will go through government programs on a line-by-line basis and eliminate programs that are not working, does anyone believe that he has the judgment and background experience to actually pull this off (after all, this was promised by Al Gore both when he was running for his succesful bid as Vice-President and his unsuccesful bid as President)? Will ACORN and its practices ever be brought into question? Is this a time to increase taxes on anyone for any reason when business receipts are down due to the Mortgage Crisis created through the Social Engineering agendas put forth through Democrat Party federal government programs initiated during the Bill Clinton presidency? ... that he will actually give us a military that will protect us in a “21st Century” world when he plans to restructure our armed forces?

The Awesome Auger takes the hard work out of yard work! Its patented spiral design with laser sharp edge, gives you the muscle to blast through hard rock and clay, or cut through the thickest roots, and easily power out rocks and stubborn stumps! It also works great for digging post holes, removing weeds and dandelions or planting trees, shrubs, and bushes. Image Credit Awesome Auger

Does anyone think our safety would be in peril when he says, “Americans are tightening their belts, and Washington should be leading the way. Cutbacks are needed, Iraq funding should be first to go - this money could to go schools, hospitals, scholarships - back into America.”?

Can anyone believe Barack Obama is telling a truth when he stated, “No Liberal America, No Conservative America, just the United States of America.”, especially if he is successful in becoming the head of the Executive Branch in this country thus forming a one party Super Majority over the processes of a government that currently enjoys a single digit approval rating from the American public?

When Barack Obama had a chance to speak directly to the American people through this medium of infomercial, he chose to speak only to the people who would support him the most … when he could have captured a nation with a realistic message in a John F. Kennedy moment; he played it safe and promised all things to everyone.

The Ab Rocket is a revolutionary way to work your lower, upper, middle abs and even your sides, giving you the body that you’ve always wanted. In just 5 minutes a day, the Ab Rocket will rocket your abs from flab to fab! Image Credit: tryabrocket.com

Politics via Oprah, Spelberg, Geffen, or just a slick BIG MONEY infomercial, is not what these challenging times require. Growing government so that one can grow the economy has been done and it has failed (the last time was during the Carter presidency).

If throwing tax money at poverty was a succesful strategy then why havn't the billions and billions of dollars that we have already spent over the last forty years of Democrat Party led programs made the war on povety less daunting? - this is because big government manged solutions do not work.

For those who have a differing opinion and vision to Barack Obama's big government view of America, if he wins … at least we will have a free and unregulated press to watch after our collective interests to fall back on - OUCH.

Barack Obama Wants SCOTUS To “Break-Free” From Constitution

Barack Obama articulates his socialist vision for the United States. He muses about a rational for bringing about economic change through the courts (Ctrl-Click Image to hear interview). Image Credit: NakedEmperorNews

Barack Obama Wants SCOTUS To “Break-Free” From Constitution

In a radio interview given in 2001, Barack Obama finally articulates his philosophy on how social engineering (socialism) should come and be established here in the United States.

What the junior Senator from Illinois would like to see is a Supreme Court that would legislate (from the bench) transfer of earned monies from citizens that work to the citizens who do not.

The more one reads these statements of philosophy, one is left to wonder … exactly what about this country and its constitution does Barack Obama like? Judging by the proposed projection of action he had wished the Warren court missed at taking on … not much. He called the Constitution a deeply flawed document – this IS the document that allowed this country to become the most productive and powerful on Earth – how flawed can this document be?

Personal freedom and the right to one’s earned wealth are two items that Barack Obama would like to have in the total control of the federal government – ALL BRANCHES.

This excerpted and edited from Morningstar –

Obama on redistribution (transcript of 2001 interview)
Beliavsky - Morningstar - 10-26-2008

Here is a transcript of a 2001 radio interview of Barack Obama where he advocates redistribution as reparations for slavery and other injustices towards "previously disposessed peoples".

MODERATOR:
Good morning and welcome to Odyssey on WBEZ Chicago 91.5 FM and we’re joined by Barack Obama who is Illinois State Senator from the 13th district and senior lecturer in the law school at the University of Chicago.

OBAMA:
If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court, I think where it succeeded was to vest formal rights in previously dispossessed peoples. So that I would now have the right to vote, I would now be able to sit at the lunch counter and order and as long as I could pay for it I’d be okay.

But the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and sort of more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society. And to that extent as radical as people tried to characterize the Warren court, it wasn’t that radical.

It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as it’s been interpreted, and the Warren court interpreted it in the same way that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. It says what the states can’t do to you, it says what the federal government can’t do to you, but it doesn’t say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf. And that hasn’t shifted.

One of the I think tragedies of the civil rights movement was because the civil rights movement became so court focused, I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributed change and in some ways we still suffer from that.

MODERATOR:
Let’s talk with Karen. Good morning, Karen, you’re on Chicago Public Radio.

KAREN:
Hi. The gentleman made the point that the Warren court wasn’t terribly radical with economic changes. My question is, is it too late for that kind of reparative work economically and is that that the appropriate place for reparative economic work to take place – the court – or would it be legislation at this point?

OBAMA:
Maybe I’m showing my bias here as a legislator as well as a law professor, but I’m not optimistic about bringing about major redistributive change through the courts. The institution just isn’t structured that way.
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So I think that although you can craft theoretical justifications for it legally. Any three of us sitting here could come up with a rational for bringing about economic change through the courts.
Reference Here>>

So, does anyone here think that Barack Obama would restructure the Supreme Court system so that they can legislate changes on how much money we earn can be confiscated for redistribution purposes without the opportunity for a vote by the people in this democracy?

“General WMD” Powell Endorses “Senator Speech” Obama

Colin Powell hailed the Sen. Obama as a "transformational figure" and expressed disappointment in the negative tone of Sen. John McCain's campaign, as well as his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as running mate. Image Credit: Meet The Press – NBC

“General WMD” Powell Endorses “Senator Speech” Obama

Nobody can make this stuff up!

At this very moment with a little more than two weeks before the election, Senator Barack Obama had spent a total of 143 days on the floor of the United States Senate before declaring his intention to become the candidate nominee of the Democrat Party for the office of President of the United States. During the primary process before he was able to secure his political party’s nomination, he had to compete against Senator Hillary Clinton who characterized her opponent as a person who’s only accomplishment was a speech given stating a position as being against the war in Iraq.

Colin Powell is a Free Enterprise citizen making money from speeches he gives on behalf of his long list of accomplishments which include directing and winning the first Gulf War (an action opposed by then Senator and current Vice-Presidential candidate, Joe Biden) under George Bush, President #41, and being the Secretary of State and selling the invasion of Iraq by the United States to the United Nations for George Bush, President #43.

Step back in time with me for a moment and have your brain fire off in a synapse cluster.

After September 11, 2001, our Government was looking to respond and hunt down the forces that were aligned to attack the United States and thereby the free world.

In the run up to our impending invasion of Iraq, Barack Obama and Colin Powell were leading distinctly different lives.

This excerpted and edited from The White House website -

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Addresses the U.N. Security Council
This transcript includes the slides that were displayed during the remarks. They are placed in the text approximately where they were displayed in the address. To view the slides, click on the graphic (a pop-up window will appear).
February 5, 2003

For more than 20 years, by word and by deed Saddam Hussein has pursued his ambition to dominate Iraq and the broader Middle East using the only means he knows, intimidation, coercion and annihilation of all those who might stand in his way. For Saddam Hussein, possession of the world's most deadly weapons is the ultimate trump card, the one he most hold to fulfill his ambition.

We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction; he's determined to make more. Given Saddam Hussein's history of aggression, given what we know of his grandiose plans, given what we know of his terrorist associations and given his determination to exact revenge on those who oppose him, should we take the risk that he will not some day use these weapons at a time and the place and in the manner of his choosing at a time when the world is in a much weaker position to respond?

The United States will not and cannot run that risk to the American people. Leaving Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option, not in a post-September 11th world.
Reference Here>>

Colin Powell said this with having all of his “skin-in-the-game” as Secretary Of State of the United States and delivered his presentation in front of the world representatives gathered at the United Nations.

At this very time of Colin Powell’s presentation to the United Nations, Barack Obama was gearing up his (eventually unopposed) run for the office of United States Senator from the state of Illinois.

This edited and excerpted from The Black Commentator -

The Black Commentator
Issue Number 45 - June 5, 2003

Barack Obama, [an ACORN community organizer,] a constitutional law professor and state senator from the south side of Chicago, is a leading candidate for the US Senate in the March 2004 Illinois Democratic primary. It's an open seat with no incumbent. In a crowded field that includes three well-known and better-funded opponents, Obama is definitely a contender. But who is Barack Obama?
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At an antiwar meeting last October, 2002, Obama was certainly pitching to that Democratic base in the progressive and African American community:

"I don't oppose all wars ... What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.
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"That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics .... "
Reference Here>>

Barack Obama said this without having any “skin-in-the-game” to a small crowd of like minded people gathered at an antiwar meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

This weekend with a little more than two weeks left before the election, Free Market citizen and professed Republican (speaking fees estimated at $100,000 per appearance), Colin Powell announced his endorsement for Barack Obama.

This edited and excerpted from Meet The Press, October 19, 2008 –

'Meet the Press' transcript for Oct. 19, 2008
Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.), Chuck Todd, David Brooks, Jon Meacham, Andrea Mitchell, Joe Scarborough

[Colin Powell]

I know both of these individuals very well now. I've known John for 25 years as your setup said. And I've gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past two years. Both of them are distinguished Americans who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country. Either one of them, I think, would be a good president. I have said to Mr. McCain that I admire all he has done. I have some concerns about the direction that the party has taken in recent years. It has moved more to the right than I would like to see it, but that's a choice the party makes. And I've said to Mr. Obama, "You have to pass a test of do you have enough experience, and do you bring the judgment to the table that would give us confidence that you would be a good president."
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So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.
Reference Here>>

So there you have it, former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell endorses junior Senator fom Illinois, Barack Obama for President of the United States. He does so by sighting Style and Substance and not one word about his life accomplishments, and possible philosophical ideals that would be good for all of America to embrace.

OUCH!

This is a Republican who sold the world on the fact that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD’s) and was heralded for his prowess as a successful chief warrior when our country was called on by the world to move the invasion army of Iraq out of Kuwait in the first Gulf War.

This is also a Republican who opposes the right to life for the unborn, opposes the appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States; Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito. Does he also disapprove of his appointments to being a Four-Star General in the Army (President Ronald Reagan, #40), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Military (President George H.W. Bush, #41), and Secretary of State of the United States (President George W. Bush, #43)?

With a Republican like this ... who needs Democrats?

We can only imagine what type of position a Colin Powell has negotiated for himself in a Barack Obama/Carter's Second Term administration. Oh, and do not forget ... this endorsement isn't about race.

Trickle Down Growth Or Trickle Across Poverty

Casting the tax debate as a “values” issue Saturday, Barack Obama said John McCain was "out-of-touch" for equating the Illinois senator's plan to cut taxes for middle class families with welfare. /// “It comes down to values – in America, do we simply value wealth, or do we value the work that creates it?” Obama said at a rally under the Gateway Arch. “I’m not giving tax cuts to folks who don’t work. I’m giving tax cuts to folks who do work. That’s right, Missouri – John McCain is so out of touch with the struggles you are facing that he must be the first politician in history to call a tax cut for working people ‘welfare.’ – Barack Obama in St. Louis Oct. 18, 2008 – Image Credit: Ethiopian Review

Trickle Down Growth Or Trickle Across Poverty

“Joe The Plumber” has really struck a cord with the average American that does not want to loose their hard fought freedoms.

The truth is that most Americans are not opposed to paying taxes to a Government that creates and maintains roads and infrastructure, creates and maintains laws that secure our sovereignty, and gives us protection from forces that want to take over our freedoms that our forefathers envisioned us having here in the United States – Religion, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit Of Happiness!

What most Americans do not want to do is pay taxes for WELFARE knowing full well that this is the cancer that attacks our productivity, creativity, economic health, and the wide variety of choices we have come to expect in our "7-11 society" (access to almost anything at anytime of the day).

One measure of how well people connect with a vision of America that “Joe The Plumber” articulates and its effect on our election process for President ... expect a machine generated “robocall” from the Democrat Party featuring “Bob The Plumber” - That’s right, BOB … THE PLUMBER! The inventive “Bob” is the main character in a phone call people get while they are eating dinner, espousing the virtues of a Barack Obama economic vision that invests in the middleclass.

This Reference (edited) found at The Huffington Post –

Obama Launches Own 'Joe The Plumber' Robocall
Sam Stein – The Huffington Post, October 18, 2008

Barack Obama's campaign is trotting out its own "Joe the Plumber" to counteract efforts by John McCain to make inroads on the white working class vote.

A reader in Colorado sends over word that the state Democratic Party and the Obama camp are blasting out robocalls from "Joe Martinez," a plumber in Colorado who vouches for the Illinois Democrat's tax plan.

A spokesman for the Colorado Democratic Party confirmed the robocall and said he would try to track down audio. The rough script goes like this:

"...During this week's debate, Barack Obama talked about cutting taxes for
middle class families like mine, lowering health care costs for everyone and
bringing the change we need in Washington. John McCain ignored the issues and
used the debate to launch false attacks against Barack Obama. In fact, McCain -
for the third debate in a row - didn't even say the words 'middle class'. So,
take it from Joe the plumber, if you want a president who will put middle class
families first - join me in voting for Barack Obama. Paid for by the Colorado
Democratic Party...."

Reference Here>>

What "Barack The Socialist" says is that 95% of all working taxpayers will receive a tax cut – only about 60% of all Americans actually pay taxes so this means the rest of the taxpayers will receive a “tax credit” in the mail. If a taxpayer did not pay money into a tax system, a tax credit is wealth redistribution, which is WELFARE … or socialism.

This excerpted and edited from the Los Angeles Times -

McCain Compares Obama's Policies To Socialism
By BOB DROGIN and MARK Z. BARABAK Los Angeles Times - October 19, 2008

John McCain sharpened his attack on presidential rival Barack Obama's economic proposals Saturday, accusing the Democrat of seeking to turn the United States into a socialist country and convert the IRS into a giant "welfare agency" that would dole out cash at Washington, D.C.,'s discretion.

----

In recent days, McCain has seized on a comment that Obama made in defending his tax policies to Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, an Ohio man now better known as "Joe the Plumber." Obama, who was canvassing Wurzelbacher's neighborhood last weekend, told him: "When you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

Delivering a national radio address before setting out for stops Saturday in North Carolina and Virginia, McCain said Obama's approach "sounded a lot like socialism."

"At least in Europe, the Socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives," the Republican nominee said. "They use real numbers and honest language. And we should demand equal candor from Sen. Obama. Raising taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut. It's just another government giveaway."

Obama has said that his plan would cut taxes for 95 percent of working Americans, including Wurzelbacher. McCain has said 40 percent of Americans don't pay income taxes, either because they are elderly or don't make enough money."

In other words, Barack Obama's tax plan would convert the IRS into a giant welfare agency, redistributing massive amounts of wealth at the direction of politicians in Washington," McCain said in his radio remarks.

----

For decades, Republicans have portrayed Democrats as acolytes of big government, top-down solutions. But socialist theory is more radical and arguably more sinister-sounding. It calls for collective ownership of most private enterprise and the creation of an egalitarian society. Karl Marx said that socialism was a transitional phase between capitalism and communism.

Reference Here>>

If one studies the economies of the countries that have embraced socialism as a component of their economic and governmental structure, what one finds with this practice is an average standard of living that becomes reduced. Socialism reduces incentive, investment, growth, and empowerment - the tenants of "Trickle Down Growth."

What Barack Obama aims to achieve with his tax plan besides having the Government be able to make more decisions over how one leads his or her life, is a wealth redistribution which amounts to an economic plan that can be termed as - "Trickle Across Poverty!"

NEWS FLASH – Palin Reads New York Times. Finds Ayers

Gov. Palin and Katie Couric get real and adorable in this Saturday Night Live skit featuring Tina Fey as Palin and Amy Pouler as Couric (Ctrl/Click to launch video). Image Credit: NBC/ Saturday Night Live (screenshot from video)

NEWS FLASH – Palin Reads New York Times. Finds Ayers

Yesterday, on the campaign stump, Gov. Sarah Palin answers her critics on several fronts.

Last week Palin was interviewed by CBS News Anchor Katie Couric and Katie asked Sarah if she read newspapers and/or magazines (yes) and what were the names of some of the newspapers and/or magazines – Sarah did not mention any specific newspaper or magazine feeling that this line of questioning was a trap.

Saturday Night Live and Tina Fey have made a lot of hay from this incident, lampooning Palin’s responses in her televised interview with Couric and gaining ratings points along the way.

Sarah Palin is beginning to gain a few rating points of her own and she is doing it by admitting that she reads the New York Times.

At a campaign rally scheduled for Monday, October 6, 2008, Coachman Park in Clearwater, Florida, the Vice Presidential running mate to Senator John McCain admitted to actually reading the New York Times.

"And according to The New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and the US Capitol.' Wow," she said.

She said Obama was "someone who sees America as 'imperfect enough' to work with a former domestic terrorist who targeted his own country."

Obama, she said, was "palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."

No wonder Sarah did not want to tell Katie Couric what resource newspapers she reads to inform her; it turns out that by reading the New York Times, she would find out that a candidate running for President of the United States is a person who worked along side of and was appointed by William Ayers to become the Chairman of an educational grant fund that promoted the political radicalization of children through the handing out millions of dollars. As Chairman, Barack Obama directed where the monies were to go with the shoulder-to-shoulder collaboration of William Ayers.

"From now and until Election Day, hang onto your hats because, you know, it may get kinda rough here," Sarah Palin said with her signature sass. "Campaigns have to step up and kinda take the gloves off and start telling the truth."

Funny thing … that the truth can sometimes be found through reading the New York Times!

Just The Facts, Ma’am! – 2008 Debate #1

Image Credit: NPR

Just The Facts, Ma’am! – 2008 Debate #1

In this day and age of twenty-four hour, seven day a week communications, one would think that what politicians say while campaigning would be 100% accurate.

In the first time that the candidates from our two major political parties stood side-by-side, Senator’s Barack Obama and John McCain delivered answers in a debate format that allowed for responses beyond snippets from a typical stump speech. When answers to questions involve responses from a person’s memory, inaccuracies in the facts can … and will occur.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania has a website designed specifically to sweep the floor and scrub down the answers from both gentleman to define the facts behind the statements these candidates make.

Image Credit: NPR

This excerpted and edited from Fact Check dot Org –

FactChecking Debate No. 1
Facts muddled in Mississippi McCain-Obama meeting
September 27, 2008 - University of Mississippi at Oxford

Summary

McCain and Obama contradicted each other repeatedly during their first debate, and each volunteered some factual misstatements as well.
----
Analysis

The first of three scheduled debates between Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama took place Sept. 26 on the campus of the University of Mississippi at Oxford. It was sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. It was carried live on national television networks and was moderated by Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of the PBS "NewsHour" program. We noted these factual misstatements:
Did Kissinger Back Obama?

McCain attacked Obama for his declaration that he would meet with leaders of Iran and other hostile nations "without preconditions." To do so with Iran, McCain said, "isn't just naive; it's dangerous." Obama countered by saying former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger – a McCain adviser – agreed with him:

Obama: Senator McCain mentioned Henry Kissinger, who's one of his advisers, who, along with five recent secretaries of state, just said that we should meet with Iran – guess what – without precondition. This is one of your own advisers.

McCain rejected Obama's claim:

McCain: By the way, my friend, Dr. Kissinger, who's been my friend for 35 years, would be interested to hear this conversation and Senator Obama's depiction of his -- of his positions on the issue. I've known him for 35 years.Obama: We will take a look.McCain: And I guarantee you he would not -- he would not say that presidential top level.Obama: Nobody's talking about that.

So who's right? Kissinger did in fact say a few days earlier at a forum of former secretaries of state that he favors very high-level talks with Iran – without conditions:

Kissinger Sept. 20: Well, I am in favor of negotiating with Iran. And one utility of negotiation is to put before Iran our vision of a Middle East, of a stable Middle East, and our notion on nuclear proliferation at a high enough level so that they have to study it. And, therefore, I actually have preferred doing it at the secretary of state level so that we -- we know we're dealing with authentic...CNN's Frank Sesno: Put at a very high level right out of the box?Kissinger: Initially, yes.But I do not believe that we can make conditions for the opening of negotiations.

Later, McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, was asked about this by CBS News anchor Katie Couric, and Palin said, "I’ve never heard Henry Kissinger say, ‘Yeah, I’ll meet with these leaders without preconditions being met.'" Afterward Couric said, "We confirmed Henry Kissinger’s position following our interview."After the McCain-Obama debate, however, Kissinger issued a statement saying he doesn't favor a presidential meeting:

Kissinger: Senator McCain is right. I would not recommend the next President of the United States engage in talks with Iran at the Presidential level. My views on this issue are entirely compatible with the views of my friend Senator John McCain.
----
Image Credit: NPR

Other responses handled in the above detailed manner are summarized as follows:

Obama denied voting for a bill that called for increased taxes on “people” making as little as $42,000 a year, as McCain accused him of doing. McCain was right, though only for single taxpayers. A married couple would have had to make $83,000 to be affected by the vote, and anyway no such increase is in Obama’s tax plan.

McCain and Obama contradicted each other on what Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said about troop withdrawals. Mullen said a time line for withdrawal could be “very dangerous” but was not talking specifically about “Obama’s plan,” as McCain maintained.

McCain tripped up on one of his signature issues – special appropriation “earmarks.” He said they had “tripled in the last five years,” when in fact they have decreased sharply.

Obama claimed Iraq “has” a $79 billion surplus. It once was projected to be as high as that. It’s now down to less than $60 billion.

McCain repeated his overstated claim that the U.S. pays $700 billion a year for oil to hostile nations. Imports are running at about $536 billion this year, and a third of it comes from Canada, Mexico and the U.K.

Obama said 95 percent of “the American people” would see a tax cut under his proposal. The actual figure is 81 percent of households.

Obama mischaracterized an aspect of McCain’s health care plan, saying “employers” would be taxed on the value of health benefits provided to workers. Employers wouldn’t, but the workers would. McCain also would grant workers up to a $5,000 tax credit per family to cover health insurance.
Reference Here>>

9-11 Tribute: The Price Of Freedom

An Iraq Veteran (Joe Cook) has a personal message for Barack Obama.
(Ctrl-Click to launch YouTube video)

Here at Carter's Second Term, we believe this is the best way to recognize this anniversary of the day Islamic terrorist, in an attempt to reduce the freedoms we enjoy in this country, hijacked passenger jet airplanes, full of innocent people intending on getting to their destination city, and intentionally flew them into the two World Trade Center buildings, the Pentagon, and into the ground in an open field in Pennsylvania (one intended for the White House in Washington D.C. but foiled and retaken by passengers).

Over 3,000 innocent souls were taken that day and our effort to right the wrongs that were created by this act perpetrated on September 11, 2001 are embodied in this video about the price of freedom by Iraqi theater veteran Joe Cook.

Obama - Really Does Put A Different Twist On "Lipstick"

Obama - Really Does Put A Different Twist On "Lipstick"

With the Obama*Biden campaign in full meltdown (some polls are showing a 20 percentage point swing in some key demographics since the beginning of the political convention season), Barack Obama is beginning to smell like Bob Dole.

Talk about a classless and unimaginative approach on an issue less political attack ... we have a totally ill-advised comment. He was calling the candidate for Vice-President of the United States on the Republican ticket, Sarah Palin, a pig.

How classy, intelligent, progressive, and totally Soros Wing-Daily Cos Democrat Political Party like was the junior Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama.

With this statement as an exhibit as a standard of political discourse ... the Democrat Party can forget seeing the Executive Branch of government for at least the next four years!

This act by Barack Obama shows us all a different "twist" on sexism.

This excerpted and edited from the Wall Street Journal -

Obama Puts Different Twist on Lipstick
Amy Chozick, WSJ - September 9, 2008, 6:23 pm

Lebanon, Virginia - What’s the difference between a more hopeful kind of politics and old-fashioned attacks? Lipstick.

Barack Obama says the John McCain-Sarah Palin policies don’t represent change, they’re “just calling the same thing something different.”

“You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig,” Obama said during a town-hall style event here Tuesday night.

The comment played on Republican vice presidential candidate Palin’s joke during the Republican National Convention that the only difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom was lipstick.
----
“You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called ‘change,’ it’s still going to stink,” Obama said. “After eight years, we’ve had enough of the same old thing. It’s time to bring about real change to Washington and that’s the choice you’ve got in this election.”

This isn’t the first time in a 24-hour period that lipstick has become an issue. As he was introducing Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, Missouri Rep. Russ Carnahan said Palin had “zero experience in national government, zero experience in foreign affairs. There’s no way you can dress up that record, even with a lot of lipstick.”

Republicans struck back, calling the attacks on Palin old-style Washington attacks that run counter to Obama’s promise of change. “Sarah Palin’s maverick record of reform doesn’t need any ‘dressing up,’ but the Obama campaign’s condescending commentary deserves some dressing down,” says RNC spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson.
Reference Here>>

I heard the audio ... Trent Lott got clobbered for less!

As soon as I heard it,, I said to myself - "That's gonna' leave a mark!"

... and the mark will not be left on PALIN!

Jumping the "Pig" may just become a new reference when an event, performance, show, and, yes ... a political campaign is OVER!

Barack Obama just "Jumped The Pig!"

Just maybe, this signals the end of a run to install a Carter's Second Term.

Obama - No Conflicts? … So, No Military … “that’s the ticket”

Barack Obama struggling to answer a question that was asked by a viewer (who wrote in) of ABC News, 'This Week' on the Sunday interview show (Ctrl-Click to launch video). Image Credit: ABC News website

Obama - No Conflicts? … So, No Military … “that’s the ticket”

The neat thing about listening to Barack Obama speak when he is off-prompter (where a speech is written out for him to read directly from an image projected on to a reflective glass surface), is that it is really easy to tell when he is unprepared to respond to a particular issue or question that is asked – just listen.

He, the junior Senator from Illinois, is usually very smooth in his speaking style – clear, succinct, and directly to the point – especially on subjects he is well versed on and/or he is reading from a Teleprompter. When Barack has to answer a question he hasn’t thought about … and has to come up with an answer that he thinks will “sell” his “everyman” image, he puts a lot of unnecessary I’s, and’s, and ah’s which usually NEVER make it into a transcript of the answer that he gives.

On the Sunday political interview program aired on ABC-TV, ‘This Week’ with George Stephanopoulos, a question came up that illustrates the point quite clearly. The answer is so labored that it almost causes one to think back on the comedy sketch routinely played by Jon Lovitz where he floats an obvious bogus answer to a question posed --- and then mutters to himself, “Ahhh, that’s the ticket!”

This found at ABC News -

Obama’s Full ‘This Week’ Interview
Presidential hopeful chats with George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview.
09/07/2008

Watch FULL Video Here>>
-01:25 from the end

George Stephanopoulos asks, “One of our viewers wrote in, you talk about “Service”, and asks - Brenda Gottfried Bryant - Murietta, Georgia, “Did you ever consider joining our armed services to protect and serve our country, and if not, why?”

“You know, I actually did,” Obama said. “I had to sign up for Selective Service when I graduated from high school. And I was growing up in Hawaii. And I had - (ah) - friends who, whose parents were in the military. There are a lot of Army, (ah) military bases there.

“And (ah) I actually always thought (ah) of the military as (ah) some ennobling (ah) and, and, you know, honorable option. But keep in mind that I (ah) graduated in 1979. (ah) The Vietnam War had come to an end. (ah) We weren't engaged (ah) in an active (ah) (ah) military conflict at that point. (ah) And so, it's not an option that I ever decided to pursue.”

Barack Obama continues to answer on talking points that he has previously thought about and he resumes a smoother delivery in his answer.

We, at MAXINE, wish we could get a dollar for every (ah) that Barack Obama utters on answers to questions that are genuinely out of the socialist/progressive character template that Obama holds.

Just on this last exchange alone, we would get enough money ($13.00) to catch a fish taco lunch at the local Islands café, and have enough left over for a couple of beers!

Add the unecessary "And's" that mostly begin the sentences ($5.00), and one could invite a friend.

Ahhhh, that's the ticket!

Your Guns Will Be Safe In Carter’s Second Term

In an attempt to decrease the amount of drug-related violence plaguing their streets, Mexican police are offering to Xboxes to anyone turning in a gun. The program started Tuesday in Tepito, which police spokesman Ricardo Olayo called "a symbol of crime." Police raided Tepito last month, storming a tenement referred to as "The Fortress," supposedly a major cocaine and marijuana distributor. Scary stuff (pictured). Image Credit: Mohsin Raza/Reuters via WIRED - GAMELIFE

Your Guns Will Be Safe In Carter’s Second Term

So says the nominated leader of the Democrat Party for President of the United States, Barack Obama.

In his first appearance before a hand-picked crowd in a “town hall” setting at SCHOTT North America Inc., a glass factory in Duryea, Pa., Barack Obama spoke off-prompter and “ahhhh-ed” and “you know-ed” his way through a question he was not expecting.

In a response heard on the Hugh Hewitt talkradio program this afternoon, the audio response to the question about guns did not come across with a high level of confidence by the people in attendance … let’s just say most people were skeptical.

Obama was nervous and off the teleprompter, one can tell because he says “and”, “ahhh”, “you know”, and other ticks … a lot. He promised not to take our guns away … really.

This excerpted and edited from The Swamp -

Obama: 'Not going to mess with' guns
by James Oliphant - Posted September 5, 2008 1:49 PM

DURYEA, Pa.--At a campaign event here Friday, Barack Obama ran headlong into the one of the issues that dogs him in this battleground state.

"There are rumors going around that . . . you're going to take away our guns," said Joan O'Neil, a resident of tiny Susquehanna in northeastern Pennsylvania, a big-time area for hunting.

This gun issue that Obama has tried to deftly navigate throughout this long campaign and one that damaged him here in his primary fight with Hillary Clinton. And it's one that could do even him even further harm in the general election, as he is matched against a pro-gun ticket that includes a vice-presidential nominee who has been photographed firing an assault rifle.
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"I believe in the Second Amendment, and if you are a law-abiding gun owner you have nothing to fear from an Obama administration," Obama said. "This has been peddled again and again. Here's what I believe: The Second Amendment is an indvidual right. . . people have the right to bear arms. But I also believe there is nothing wrong with some common-sense gun safety measures."

GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, now likely the most famous moose-hunter in the country, mocked Obama's stance on guns during her nomination speech Wednesday, when she accused him of talking "one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco," -- a reference to Obama's now infamous comment about some people in America who "cling to guns or religion."
----
"That kind of thing is common sense and has nothing to do with the guy who has got his rifle and wants to go hunting," Obama said. "Now the NRA -- I'll be honest and I'm sure there are NRA members here -- their general attitude is that we don't want anything, and if you even breathe the words 'gun control' or 'gun safety' then you must want to take away everybody's guns. Well, that's just not true."
----
At the campaign event Friday, Obama said that there are "two realities about guns" in the United States, one including lawful gun owners, hunters, and sportsmen and a second that involves the flow of illegal handguns and automatic weapons into cities such as Philadelphia, where they are used by "teenage gang-bangers."

"Surely, we can come up with a system that protects lawful gun-owners, but at the same time tries to do something about kids getting shot," he said. "That is, I think, the job of the president is to reconcile this tradition of gun ownership in this country, with some basic public safety concerns.”
Reference Here>>

Obama really steps in it here in that the responsibility of the Executive Branch, the top office Barack Obama is running for, is to uphold the laws that exist … not “to reconcile this tradition of gun ownership in this country, with some basic public safety concerns.” … THAT is the job of the Legislative Branch of our government, the Branch the junior Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, is currently a member of.

And this excerpted and edited from the Wall Street Journal -

Obama: ‘I’m Not Going to Take Your Guns Away’
Christopher Cooper, Wall Street Journal - September 5, 2008

The Obama campaign talks a lot about new ideas and expanding the political map, but in the swing state of Pennsylvania, which the campaign has focused on almost exclusively since the Democratic convention, old-school issues still rise to the fore.
----
A woman in the crowd told Obama she had “heard a rumor” that he might be planning some sort of gun ban upon being elected president. Obama trotted out his standard policy stance, that he had a deep respect for the “traditions of gun ownership” but favored measures in big cities to keep guns out of the hands of “gang bangers and drug dealers’’ in big cities “who already have them and are shooting people.”

“If you’ve got a gun in your house, I’m not taking it,’’ Obama said. But the Illinois senator could still see skeptics in the crowd, particularly on the faces of several men at the back of the room.

So he tried again. “Even if I want to take them away, I don’t have the votes in Congress,’’ he said. “This can’t be the reason not to vote for me. Can everyone hear me in the back? I see a couple of sportsmen back there. I’m not going to take away your guns.’’
Reference Here>>

So, if we are to trust and take a “President Obama" serving his tenure of a President Carter second term at HIS word ... that if he actually HAD enough votes in Congress, he would NOT try “to reconcile this tradition of gun ownership in this country, with some basic public safety concerns.”

Really, do ya’ think?