Courting Change? Really?

Barack Obama has been hawking his "Change" message for awhile now, but one would be hard-pressed to see how he differs not only from other Democrats, but now too from Democratic punching bag and U.S. President George Bush:

Obama courts conservatives with new faith program - Yahoo! News:
"Taking a page from President Bush, Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he wants to expand White House efforts to steer social service dollars to religious groups, risking protests in his own party with his latest aggressive reach for voters who usually vote Republican."

The liberals and Dems nearly had an aneurysm when Bush proposed these initiatives, citing conflicts between church and state. But somehow it's now different, since Bush's plan worked, and Obama finds himself short of votes from the same "bitter" religious folks that he derided just a short time ago. If you don't recall Obama's comment, here you go.

Obama's similarities (and hypocrisy) shared with Democrats also reaches into the mortage crisis being felt in the United States. Obama had been making political hay by using a scythe on Countrywide Loans, one of the largest lenders in the sub-prime flap. But while that was going on, it was reported that several ranking Dems, including none other than the head of the Senate Banking Committee Christopher Dodd, had received special deals from Obama's favorite mortgage-biz whipping boy, Countrywide. Since no good deed goes unpunished, Obama finds himself under that same microscope:

Obama Got Discount on Home Loan - washingtonpost.com:
"Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65 million restored Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood. To finance the purchase, he secured a $1.32 million loan from Northern Trust in Illinois.

The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. The loan was unusually large, known in banker lingo as a 'super super jumbo.' Obama paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers do to reduce their interest rates."

Further, Obama's VP vetter Jim Johnson, former head of Fannie Mae, was also the recipient of this sugar. If there's no corruption here, I'll eat my keyboard. Read this for Countrywide's list of "friends."

And then there's immigration reform:

Obama, McCain hide immigration similarities:
"WASHINGTON — When it comes to immigration, Barack Obama and John McCain generally agree. It's just that they don't want to say so.

Instead, the White House rivals accuse one another of flinching when it mattered most, during and after last year's Senate debate on a bill that would have given millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship."

If Obama is really talking change, especially from "George Bush's failed policies," then why is he not only adopting at least one of them, but why did Obama say this in support of his old positions:

"I get tagged as being on the left and, when I simply describe what has been my position consistently, then suddenly people act surprised," he said. "But there hasn't been substantial shifts there."

Ultimately, this guy wears more hats than a hydra. But, he's more dangerous, because he's just another lying politician; only this time, the ever-naive American public think they've got a hero. Shame on us.