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Saturday, June 28, 2008

Obama's Support of Affirmative Action in the Face of Success and Logic

ABC News: Obama's Success Fuels Affirmative Action's Foes:
"If Americans make a black person the leading contender for president, as nationwide polls suggest, how can racial prejudice be so prevalent and potent that it justifies special efforts to place minorities in coveted jobs and schools?

"'...So I still believe in affirmative action as a means of overcoming both historic and potentially current discrimination,' Obama said."

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Obama Lie of the Day

Barack Obama's first general election ad says about 46 seconds in that the Illinois senator passed laws that "extended health care for wounded troops who'd been neglected."

The ad "Country I Love", which was released Friday, provides a citation at the bottom of the screen which reads "Public Law 110 - 181."

The problem is Senator Obama never voted for that legislation. Public Law 110 - 181 is part of the defense authorization bill which passed the Senate in January by a vote of 91 to three with six senators not voting. Barack Obama was among those six absent senators.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,371161,00.html

Monday, June 23, 2008

Obama Lie of the Day

Obama Camp Closely Linked With Ethanol - NYTimes.com:
"Mr. Obama is running as a reformer who is seeking to reduce the influence of special interests. But like any other politician, he has powerful constituencies that help shape his views. And when it comes to domestic ethanol, almost all of which is made from corn, he also has advisers and prominent supporters with close ties to the industry at a time when energy policy is a point of sharp contrast between the parties and their presidential candidates."

Sunday, June 22, 2008

The Meaning of Politics

"The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'."

Larry Hardiman

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

June 17, 2008: Obama Lie of the Day

Obama thinks that terrorism on American soil can be fought using our justice system. He thinks that "all those responsible have been prosecuted." Then why does Usama bin laden, the mastermind of the 1993 bombing, still elude capture? Most importantly, because our justice system requires full disclosure (called "discovery"), the terrorists were, and would be, able to find out all means that were used to track them and develop evidence against them. This happened in 1993, and caused the CIA to lose track of Bin laden for about 2 years, because he was being tracked using his cell phone; it was shut off within a week.

So, to anyone who thinks Obama has a clue on foreign policy, read this:

Candidates’ Advisers Accuse Each Other of Weak ‘Mindsets’ on Terror Fight - America’s Election HQ:

John McCain’s advisers accused Barack Obama Tuesday of suffering a ‘September 10th mindset’ for suggesting that the prosecutions of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers were the best approach for dealing with terror suspects.

“Senator Obama is a perfect manifestation of a September 10th mindset. He brings the attitude, the failures of judgment, the weakness and the misunderstanding of the nature of our adversary and the dangers posed by them to a series of policy positions,” said Randy Scheunemann, McCain’s senior foreign policy adviser.

The 1993 car bombing underneath the North Tower failed to cause a collapse of the building but killed six people and injured 1,042. Four of the co-conspirators were convicted in 1994 and two more in 1997.

Speaking to ABC News on Monday night, the Democratic presidential candidate said that he believes it is possible to crack down on terrorists and threats against the U.S. “within the constraints of the Constitution.”

“Let’s take the example of Guantanamo. What we know is that in previous terrorist attacks, for example, the first attack against the World Trade Center, we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial. They are currently in U.S. prisons, incapacitated,” Obama said.

“And the fact that the administration has not tried to do that has created a situation where not only have we never actually put many of these folks on trial, but we have destroyed our credibility when it comes to rule of law all around the world, and given a huge boost to terrorist recruitment in countries that say, ‘Look, this is how the United States treats Muslims.’ So that, I think, is an example of something that was unnecessary. We could have done the exact same thing, but done it in a way that was consistent with our laws,” he added.

Holding a conference call with reporters Tuesday, members of McCain’s foreign and national security policy advisory team said Obama is wrong to treat terrorists like regular criminals.

Former CIA Director James Woolsey, who was head of the spy agency at the time of the 1993 bombings, added that the law enforcement approach doesn’t work because it ignores the fact that Usama bin Laden, for instance, was indicted in 1998, before the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the USS Cole explosion in Yemen.

“The criminal justice — totally criminal justice approach to dealing with international terrorists, particularly when they are suicidal and are able to pull off plots like 9/11, has not worked. … It was a miserable failure,” Woolsey said. “We need an approach that combines law enforcement, where appropriate, with intelligence, with going after terrorists where they are, with an approach toward the war that we are, in fact, in, and not an approach that ignores that we are in a war against Islamist terrorism.”

Former Navy Secretary John Lehman, who also served on the Sept. 11 commission, added that the investigation into the 1993 bombings meant evidence was gathered under grand jury seal, and was not available to federal agents.

Former CIA Director George Tenet, who succeeded Woolsey “did not get to see the evidence, which would have linked some of the perpetrators of the ‘93 bombing to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — in fact, they were relatives — and would have enabled many of the dots to have been connected well before 9/11 and, in my belief, would have given a good chance to have prevented 9/11. But since they were under grand jury seal and no one wanted the evidence and intelligence tainted in order to get a conviction, the CIA was not allowed to see that evidence and neither was President Clinton,” Lehman said, adding that it cost taxpayers $100 million to prosecute seven people.

“The terrorists should have due process but what Obama said that this is the right approach shows a very deep ignorance of the facts and a very dangerous policy,” Lehman said.

The Obama camp responded to the criticism on Tuesday afternoon in a conference call of its own featuring Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. Kerry blasted McCain for embracing an “Iraq war mindset.”

McCain “has fully embraced willfully, openly, fully embraced the failed, tragic policy of the Bush administration over the last seven and a half years. … He’s really defending a policy that is indefensible. He’s proving every day that he doesn’t understand Iraq, or the Middle East or the War on Terrorism,” Kerry said.

McCain “failed to learned the lessons of 9/11. He is the candidate of the Iraq war mindset, a mindset that completely misunderstands and dangerously underestimates the threats of the 21st century.”

Gen. Wesley Clarke joined Kerry, calling the attack on Obama straight out of the “Republican playbook used in every federal election since 2002,” and saying the goal is to paint the Democratic candidate as weak. Clarke acknowledged that the two candidates have ” substantive differences” on national security, but called McCain’s approach “military dominant” while Obama’s is “comprehensive.”

Separately, McCain’s campaign issued a statement from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who said he fears Democrats are taking a step back in how to address the “clear and present danger” of terrorism.

“Barack Obama appears to believe that terrorists should be treated like criminals — a belief that underscores his fundamental lack of judgment regarding our national security. In a post 9/11 world, we need to remain on offense against the terrorist threat which seeks to destroy our very way of life. We need a leader like John McCain who has the experience and judgment necessary to protect the American people,” he said.

FOX News’ Mosheh Oinounou contributed to this report.

Monday, June 16, 2008

June 16, 2008: Obama Lie of the Day

Obama vows to meet with automakers; misspeaks on Bush meeting:
"At a speech in Flint today, the Illinois senator promised to meet with auto executives as a candidate and as president.


'Unlike George Bush, I won't wait until the sixth year of my presidency to sit down with the automakers. I'll meet with them during my campaign, and I'll meet with them as president to talk about how we're going to build the cars of the future right here in Michigan,' Obama said in his speech.

Bush drew heavy criticism for delaying a meeting with automakers for six months in 2006, but he actually met with the top officials of Detroit's Big Three automakers in April 2003 in Dearborn.

The President met with General Motors Corp. chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, then-Ford Motor Co. chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr. and then Chrysler Group president and CEO Dieter Zetsche on April 28, 2003 for half an hour at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in Dearborn.

The White House released a photo of the 2003 meeting that remains on the White House Web site. The three executives spoke to reporters after the meeting, which drew extensive media coverage."

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Obama Heads to Election With Some Weaknesses - WSJ.com

Obama Heads to Election With Some Weaknesses - WSJ.com:

"'For a guy who says he does things the new way, it sure sounds like the old way,' says Republican strategist Glen Bolger."