Barack Hussein Obama does have lots and lots of experience. He does! We promise! I mean, he was a senator and a lawyer and was a community organizer after college.
Well, okay, maybe he only served 143 days as a US Senator before he started the presidential process, but still! That’s beside the point! He’s charismatic! He’s a leader! He says the words “change” and “hope” and “difference” much more than McCain does! He’s young (relatively), and he overcame a hard childhood to become what he is today!
Really, if you want to talk about lack of experience, let’s talk about Sarah Palin. I mean, sure, she has more executive experience than McCain, Obama, and Biden put together, but it was just in running a state. Legislative experience is much more useful than executive experience. (Who cares if being the President falls under our Executive branch of government? Details, details.) Sure, Palin’s dealt with the oil industries and pipeline talks with Canada, but Obama dealt with important issues like voter-registration drives.
As the executive office holder (aka governor) of Alaska, Palin had control over the Alaska National Guard.
Obama…had control over….uh….he…says “change” a lot! And he’s charismatic!
And…well…at least Obama admits to his inexperience by saying, “My lack of experience is my greatest asset.” Yeah! Who needs experience learning how to run towns, and cities, and states, and nations!? We don’t! Who needs experience with foreign policy?! We don’t! Who needs experience with managing budgets, and armed forces, and economies?! We don’t! All we need is a guy who believes that he can be the change we need.
But, apparently, Obama doesn’t believe in himself enough. For all his talk about experience not being an issue, he chose a guy with a long history of political experience (and also of plagiarism and exaggerations). For all his talk about a new brand of politics and change we can count on, Obama sure did pick an old-school politician. Maybe he’s not as confident as we thought. Maybe he’s actually a little desperate. How else could the politician of “hope and change” nab a running mate as flat-out dishonest as Biden?
So, Barack “Change We Can Believe In” Obama picked a plagiarizing, dishonest, old-school (but experienced, even though it doesn’t matter that much) running mate. John “I’d rather my President be Old and not Stupid” McCain picked Sarah Palin.
It’s funny that Liberals are screaming about her lack of experience in an election where Obama said himself, “my lack of experience is my greatest asset.” Palin, as the governor of Alaska, has plenty of experience with National Defense. Alaska is the first line of defense of America’s missile interceptor system. This means, if another country (oh, maybe Iran) tries to shoot missiles at us, Alaska better be on its toes. (Interestingly, Alaska is the only state where its National Guard is on permanent duty.) As governor, she’s briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counterterrorism. She’s also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security’s counterterrorism plans.
Obama…uh…Obama is change we can believe in!
I do realize that comparing Obama to Palin seems silly. When, in any other election, has so much focus been placed upon the vice presidential candidates? I’m just sick of hearing the whining about how she’s only a “hairbreadth” away from being the President, and she doesn’t have the experience necessary for the job.
HELLO!? Obama is RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, AND HE HAS ZERO EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE!!!! People! Palin ran an entire state, dealt with issues of counterterrorism, and controlled our NATION’S missile defense system!
Obama was a senator. And he did charity work. And…
…
“My understanding is that Gov. Palin’s town, Wassilla, has I think 50 employees. We’ve got 2500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe 12 million dollars a year – we have a budget of about three times that just for the month,” Obama said when Anderson Cooper asked him about Palin’s experience.
Oh, yeah. There you go. I looked up Alaska’s FY2008 operating budget…which happens to be $11.2 billion dollars. The state also employs about 15,000 people. Why address her mayoral experience and ignore her gubernatorial statistics? Oh, yeah. It’d kind of make your little campaign pale in comparison.
Hey, and you know what else I’m sick of? The vicious attacks on Palin’s personal life. First, accusations arose that Trig, her youngest child, belonged to Bristol, one of her daughters. Once Palin set the record straight by letting the world know that Bristol was actually already five months pregnant, without even pausing for breath, the reporters began screaming about how a parent who promotes abstinence but lets her daughter get pregnant is a hypocrite and unfit for command.
Maybe I’m all by myself out here, but how many of you have faithfully upheld every single ideal your parents believe in? I know I haven’t, but far be it from anyone to say my parents are unfit simply because I’ve made my own (poor) decisions.
At least Bristol’s doing the right thing and keeping the baby, just like her mom kept Trig. If this was one of Obama’s girls, we never would have known. He would have had no problem instructing his daughter to “take care of the problem”. What’s one unborn baby, one human life, when there’s an election to win?
Thank God for someone who is unashamed to stand up for what she believes in. Thank God that we have someone who not only has strong morals, but upholds them. What, Obama? It’s “above your paygrade” to state your views about abortion? Sir, you are campaigning to be the Chief Executive Officer of our entire COUNTRY. I think stating your belief without trying to appease everyone falls very neatly within your job description.
At least Palin has some balls.
In conclusion, I think my man Rudy said it best. He called Palin “one of the most successful governors in the country” saying her experience is “equal” to Barack Obama’s.
“She’s cut the budget 15 to 18 percent. She’s cut taxes. She’s taken on the big oil companies and brought about reform,” Giuliani said. “She has fought corruption in her state from the day she has been mayor, certainly as governor, took on corrupt Republicans and corrupt Democrats and defeated them. That’s a heck of a record.”
“It’s a lot better than Barack Obama’s record,” Giuliani added.
While Giuliani conceded that Palin may the most extensive resume, he insisted that the Republican ticket is “in the right order.”
“We’ve got the person with the most experience on top, we’ve got the new generation at the bottom of the ticket,” the former mayor said. “They’ve got a person with no experience at the top, none, nada, not a single bit of experience as an executive.”
‘Nuff said, Giuliani. ‘nuff said.
(Fun Rant of the Day: Obama was once asked what he’d do with a billion dollars. First he said he’d pay off his mortgage. Then he would give the rest to his wife. Wait. No. He added that he would give most to charities. Then he said he’d put “several hundred million into buying mosquito nets” to prevent malaria in Africa.”
Wow, Obama, if you really cared about malaria in Africa, maybe you could readdress the DDT issue. Wait. No. We couldn’t. DDT might harm birds. And the environment. Sure, malaria has passed AIDS as the number one killer in Africa, but we couldn’t spray DDT and kill all the mosquitoes. Think of the environment! The birds! We all know that the birds and the rivers and the environment are absolutely more important than actual human life.
I mean, that’s just the MO of the Democratic party, though, so why am I complaining? It’s always been that polar bears > human babies any day. )
Spraying DDT? Well, if you want to let the mosquitoes and malaria run rampant, yeah, that would be the thing to do.
On the other hand, Obama was trying to limit malaria, the greatest killer of infants in Africa. Nets are a critical part of any solution. Deployment of free bednets has reduced malaria from 50% to 80% everywhere it was tried. The Bush Administration (and John McCain) assumed the odd stance that bednets would be ineffective unless Africans had to pay a couple days’ wages for them, and refused to finance their distribution. Bush also opposes using DDT for limited, indoor residual spraying that is called for by WHO (and supported by Obama).
So, if you want the most “pro” DDT guy, Obama’s the one. But if you want to fight malaria, DDT can’t do it alone, and there is no hope for controlling malaria in Africa without the bednets. Go checkout the Nothing But Nets campaign of the NBA, and the Gates Foundation campaign against malaria.
And come on by Millard Fillmore’s bathtub, and do a search for DDT — get the facts, help fight malaria.
Obama was the president of the most prestigious legal publication in the country and instead of parlaying that into a 6-figure starting salary he went to chicago to help people on the ground-level…. i really don’t need to hear anything more than that to understand that he cares more about this country and more about its future then someone who flies around in helicopters and shoots moose.
also, Tierney, if you do not understand Obama’s “above my paygrade” comment on abortion you are not a real christian nor a very moral or caring person.
So, Ed, I’m confused about how using DDT would allow malaria to run rampant. DDT is pesticide that eradicates the problem by KILLING the mosquitoes that carry malaria. How would erasing the problem by doing away with the major cause by letting the disease run rampant? That makes no sense.
Let’s look at a real life situation…when DDT was used in South Africa, there were under 10,000 cases of malaria annually. But, in ’96, pressure from environmentalists resulted in the banning of DDT. Four years later, there were 62,000 cases of malaria. That’s a 600% increase in FOUR years. Obviously, the next year, DDT was reintroduced. Malaria infections dropped from 62,000 to less than 30,000 IN ONE YEAR.
I did some research to see if Bush really didn’t support the spraying of insecticides like you said, but I couldn’t find anything along those lines. (If you have information I don’t, I’d be happy to read it.) But, what I did find was a press release from USAID in 2005 outlining President Bush’s plan to combat malaria (http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2005/pr050630.html) using insecticides like DDT (http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results.html?artId=20807).
Where did you find the Bush Administration denying funding for the bednets? Because in February, President Bush and his wife visited the malaria ravaged countries in Africa, handing out insecticide treated bed nets to those who needed them. (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23218791/) The program Bush initiated in 2005 (the above paragraph) is actually a 1.2 BILLION dollar move to help eradicate this disease. I don’t know where you’re getting your information.
Also, you’re absolutely INCORRECT to say that the most “pro-DDT” candidate would be Obama. Al Gore is a very vocal, very influential advocate for the global ban of DDT (which is thought to be harmful to the eggs of birds and cause minor birth problems). And, Obama has stated that if he wins the presidency, there will be a high level position waiting for Mr. Gore. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21474241/) How then, can Obama be pro-DDT when he is in cohorts with the main opponent against it?
I do agree with you that bednets are a great way to help combat malaria. But, I’ve been to Kenya on three occasions, working with kids during the summer. It’s not enough. I’ve used them. For bednets to work, they must be hung and arranged so that no part of the actual net is touching your body. (What’s the point then, if the mosquitoes can still get to you?) Most Kenyans (which are the only people I can speak for) don’t have that kind of room–with whole families living in a corrugated metal hut that’s smaller than your master bathroom. And, what good are bednets when you’re out during the day? These people are waking up while it’s dark to walk to their jobs, and arriving home after the sun’s set. They’re not laying in bed, under the protection of their nets. I certainly got bit during the day…I have the scars from scratching to prove it.
We have to do more for them. Yes, bednets are helpful and useful, but ITS NOT ENOUGH. Why not destroy the problem once and for all by actually handling the insects themselves?
Do the research. Get the facts. And help fight malaria.
And thanks for the comment.
Todd, I’m pasting the direct quote from Obama concerning this issue here.
“Well, uh, you know, I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or, uh, a scientific perspective, uh, answering that question with specificity, uh, you know, is, is, uh, above my pay grade.” – Sen. Barack Obama, on “When does a baby get human rights?”
I’m actually quite confident in both my morals and my Christianity, and I’m very curious how else I’m supposed to take his comment. I’d heard people say that what Obama meant to say (and why didn’t he just say it?) was that a baby having human rights is only for God to judge.
Well, I’m pretty tight with God, Todd, and I have to say that He’s not too keen on killing babies. Life is life, doesn’t matter if it’s several days old or nine months old.
I definitely care about babies. I definitely believe that choosing to end a human life is wrong. I definitely believe what we teach our kids in Sunday School–that the Sixth Commandment is DO NOT MURDER. I definitely think that Obama should grow a pair and not worrying about alienating either side.
He should stick to his guns. (Haha. Like Palin, only she does so both metaphorically AND literally. LOVE it.)
The fact of matter is Obama is running for President. He is using a convenient answer of “God will judge… so I wont.”
This is reminiscent to the statement made by Catholics in the 5th ?? Century: ” “Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoset” or “Kill them all. God will know His own.”
That was during the inquisition, and the circumstances are different. The choice to remain indifferent and “let God be God” remains. I guess not understanding what the Bible says is what happens when you sit under a Pastor for years who preaches false doctrine, and you only break away from it when you start to run for President…
Please don’t say that to not understand the context in which Obama was saying the question of abortion is ‘above his pay grade’ is to not be a moral person or a real christian, its actually quite insulting. Christianity believes life is a life, and if you support pro-choice, according to scripture, doctrine, the catechism and christian teaching you’re not a real christian. It is not a question of my opinion or my stances, it is simply doctrine. Moving on, just look at obama’s voting record (ontheissues.org) and you’ll see how morally debunked of a person he truly is. He is even considered my a significant number of democrats to be ‘too liberal’ and is the most liberal senator in the history of the US. He wants to unite us? unite the country? Under what agenda ? Certainly not one that condones infanticide. Especially not one that condones labor induced abortions and passing laws to not give medical care to babies that survive abortions. That is the problem with this country when abortion is used as birth control and the people who support it and utilize the abortive technologies are the same ones that defend it by saying what about cases of rape or if the mothers life is jeopardy? It is a false guise looking to morally relativize your argument. If you’re a TRUE Christian you would understand even in the cases of rape, there are still two separate entities and the safest place we will ever be, hypothetically speaking of course, is in our mother’s womb. That is no longer the case when, according to obama, unwanted pregnancies are ‘punishments’. If you were a TRUE Christian you would understand that as Christians we have faith, that is a belief in the awesome and the unseen. Faith would put the mothers life in God’s hands. Don’t even say you can’t legislate morality especially when this technology should never have been introduced nor made legal. People who get abortions and their cohorts should be prosecuted just like any other person who commits murder, because by definition that is what it is.