Is Obama an “Honorable” Candidate?

A few nights ago over at Talk Left, Big Tent Democrat, who is an even-handed Obama supporter, made a passing comment to the effect that Obama had acted honorably wih regard to the delegate selection rules:

…when I criticize the delegate selection rules and the outcome of the pledged delegate process and the MI/FL fiasco I am in no way criticizing Barack Obama as he has done exactly what he was supposed to do. I tip my hat to him. He has behaved honorably throughout the process in that he is trying to win the nomination. My critique is of the process and the organization that organized the nomination process and made the disastrous and rule breaking decisions regarding FL/MI.

This comment resulted in an outpouring of comments disagreeing with this characterization of Obama’s actions.

Here are some examples:

Probably the best overall summaries:

Calling his principal opponent divisive and polarizing is not honorable. Trashing previous Democratic administrations is neither honorable nor wise politics. Trashing the occupation of another of his opponents is not honorable. Blatantly introducing the race card is not honorable. Refusing to allow re-votes to facilitate voter participation is not honorable. Flooding caucus sites with goon squads is not honorable. Smiling while his supporters boo his principle opponent is not honorable. Making rude gestures in reference to his principle opponent is not honorable. Boasting that he received more delegates than his opponent after his opponent had a higher popular turnout is not honorable. Refusing an unmoderated debate is not honorable. Removing his name from the ballot to taint a sure victory by his principle opponent is not honorable.Since the McGovern Commission rules changed the method of selecting nominees, Barrack Obama has run the filthiest, tackiest most dishonorable primary campaign of any Democrat in my memory.

or:

It wouldn’t bother as much if he wasn’t running as the champion of the exact opposite of everything he says he is. Time after time after time, he’s said he’s running a clean campaign, a different sort of campaign, when anyone who has half a brain would see that he’s running the usual, Chicago-style dirty campaign. During the debates, when he talked about taking the high road, I just kept thinking, “Harry and Louise mailer, ‘she’s desperate to win’; ‘she’ll say and do anything to win’; etc.”It’s the same hypocritical attitude he takes about his vaunted three years of community service and time in the state senate, living in the shadows of Rezko’s slums. It’s the fact that every time he gets called out on something inconsistent, he blames a staff member, or he pushed the wrong button, or he voted “present” as a strategy even though he was not told to. It’s voting for a bad bill, then going on the record saying he didn’t mean to vote for it, knowing his vote still stands. It’s lying about passing a bill he did not pass. It’s lying outright about the whole NAFTA meetings thing while bashing Clinton for doing something he did (that she did not do). It’s trashing Bill Clinton’s legacy. It’s praising Reagan and Bush. It’s accusing the Clintons of racism. I dunno, I don’t find it honorable to be where you are only because you are standing on the bodies of all those folks you climbed over to get there.

On FL and MI

FL and MI? He has stonewalled at EVERY turn on that. How his people railroaded caucuses??

… Not only did Obama appear on Florida TV campaign ads and not just once ore twice, don’t you know? He also gave a press conference in Florida which is most def. against the rules of not compaigning – AFAIR he shrugged it oh so cutely off his shoulder at the time.

Use of racism

His using the race card…He distorted things that Clinton and her supporter’s said, turning honest racism-hating people into Clinton hater’s.

In order to get the nomination Did the Clinton campaign push Wright early? Or did they push Rezko hard early? Or did they anything like that at all? No. But what did the “honorable” Obama do? He showed the kind of candidate he is when he used racism as a wedge issue in order to get the black voters away from the Clintons. The Obama campaign turned Bill and Hillary Clinton into racists. There was nothing honorable about that. It was a disgrace And I will never forgive him for it…But that alone wasn’t enough for Obama in order to get the nom. He had to make sure the most popular Dem president we have had in decades “disappeared” from his line-up of admirable American presidents as well. And then he trashed Bill Clinton’s legacy. But good. Needless to say, I will never forgive him for that either. And thruout this probess Obama blocked revotes and as of now disenfranchise millions of voters. What is so honorable about that?

On his “different” sort of campaign:

The hypocrisy of trumpeting a “clean campaign,” a different campaign but all the while running the usual Chicago-style campaign.

(Post quoting a McCain adviser) Senior Adviser to McCain last week said about Obama’s campaigning: “We have all become familiar with Senator Obama’s new brand of politics. First, you demand civility from your opponent, then you attack him, distort his record and send out surrogates to question his integrity. It is called hypocrisy, and it is the oldest kind of politics there is.”

Touting his 3 years of community service and time in the IL Senate, while Rezko made money of his slums…

IMHO, one does not have to do dishonorable things directly to be dishonorable. To countenance such conduct in subordinates or turn a blind eye is even worse in my view, than when a person is honest enough to do their own dirty work.

The actions of his followers/his own disrespect:

And he has led many into also being dishonorable — many former friends as well as family who were who were huge fans of Bill Clinton but turned on a dime with the disgusting race-baiting of him by Obama’s campaign. I am shocked that so many people I loved and respected could be so disloyal in an instant.

…his flippant reference to the Bataan death march–comparing the long primary campaign (when was this? in March or April ?!!) was awful and that it shows an appalling lack of sensitivity and judgment when it comes to history. The Bataan death march was a wartime atrocity after all. (See my post on this subject, from where the Memorial March actually happens.)

(At a caucus) The women on the Hillary side were stunned and my poor mother, OMG, she will never go to a caucus again. She loves Hillary so I convinced her to go (despite her being quite ill) to the caucus for Hillary. The Obamabots were so rude to her. She is a senior and every a senior or woman brought up issues that concerned them the were treated with total disrespect.

Controlling outside groups’ money:

It’s not just 527s under discussion. Stoller points out that they’re encouraging non-funding of independent groups including VoteVets–a group focused on helping out vets as they are considered “inside the Beltway” and “Obama has created a number of significant infrastructure pieces through his campaign, displacing traditional groups the way he promised he would by signaling the end of the old politics of division and partisanship,” and therefore to be cut out of the process.

And my own additions:

Snubbing Hillary on the Senate floor.

His condescending comment at the debate when he said she was “likeable enough” as his body language indicated dismissal (head down, wouldn’t look at her.

Giving her the “street” finger and then doing his “brush off” act.

And this final comment, which really hits home:

THIS GUY IS A FIRST CLASS LIAR.

And it’s the LYING that will get him in the end. A must read is The Truth VS. Barack Obama (Full Version)
which details the claims (lies), the evidence, counter claims, rebuttals and and the ultimate failure of those arguments. WITH SOURCES.

A few examples of the lies and false history–see the entire piece to understand the magnitude of what is going on:

CHARGE 1 – “The March on Selma got me born.”

CHARGE 2 – “My father was just a simple, impoverished goat herder.”

CHARGE 3 – “My father believed in the ‘power of the people’. I believe in the ‘power of the people’.”

…

CHARGE 11 – “I lived in Indonesia. I have more foreign experience than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain.”

CHARGE 12 – “My foreign travels and life experience better qualify me to address our nation’s closest Allies.”

…

CHARGE 15 – “I was an underprivileged youth.”

…

CHARGE 20 – Oops, “I ‘misvoted’ a couple times in the Illinois State House.”

AND THE LIST GOES ON…

THE FINAL VERDICT?? No honor here…However, arrogance, ambition, and sleight-of-hand, in great abundance.

John Edwards, MAJOR Disappointment…NARAL/Obama Doesn’t Surprise Me, A Perfect Fit

John Edwards has been making squeaky noises in the last week about change and how Hillary has to be sure she doesn’t “damage” the party.

Well, he’s about to endorse Obama in a moment. Oh, yeah, all the props are there….SENIORS FOR OBAMA, etc., etc.

I don’t know what Elizabeth Edwards thinks, but I know what I think…Edwards is DEAD for me, and I supported him originally. I guess he was faking us out after all. All that business about the poor and the growing divide between rich and poor. A lot of people voting for Clinton fall in that category and, apparently, he’s put away his interest in them.

Reminds me of our Governor Richardson and Sen. Jeff Bingaman here in NM. Hillary wins the state, but they endorse Obama.

My disgust grows by leaps and bounds as every moment goes by….

PS–So NARAL endorsed Obama earlier. Well, that should tell you something. NARAL has already sold us out by endorsing “rape gurney,” “short ride” Joe Lieberman. And poor Kate Michelman, former head of NARAL when it really was for women. She endorsed Edwards…she must be as disgusted as I am.

Especially because Barack calls women reporters “Sweetie.” What a piece of sexist crap!!!

Oh, Edwards is talking about “kids going hungry.” He’s doing his poverty bit. Does Obama even care?? A lot of struggling voters don’t think so…

Williamette, Oregon Weekly’s HILARIOUS/Scary Portrayal of Obama (UPDATED 3x and Now Just Plain SCARY)

UPDATE III (2/28/2009)

Unfortunately, the larger picture that I had created has disappeared. So, I’ve put the smaller picture in it’s place, just above the picture of Jesus.

UPDATE II

Although not as large as the picture I had spread across my screen (which I foolishly didn’t save), this picture does show the cross on both of Obama’s hands and others on his chest….I’m suspecting they are actually showing the wounds on Christ’s body? Can this actually be so? There in an additional chest wound on the Obama image…but extra/out of place, the wound(s) are there and on the hands. And, there is also one indicated on the head, where the crown of thorns would be sitting. (See image of Christ’s Wounds below the Obama image.)

UPDATE

Williamette, Oregon Weekly’s HILARIOUS/Scary Portrayal of Obama

If you enlarge the picture you will see that Obama is carrying on object with what appears to be a “B” on it in his right hand (to the viewers left)…and on the same hand, there is a shining cross ! I kid you not!!! (I somehow had resized it to a full page via WordPress and it’s clear as bell…not so clear if you use another editing program, sad to say.)

Talk about a Messianic message…..EEK!

*******Original Post*******

This has got to be the most over the top portrayal of Obama that I have ever seen. You will either laugh like crazy…or be alarmed at how seriously cultish Obama acolytes have become!!! This makes me want to run FASTER and FURTHER away from this crowd!

Willamette Week offered this up to its readers as part of its endorsement of Obama.

Notice that the editorial, in closing, goes to the “character thing” instead of the issues.

But this isn’t really about specific issues. It’s about character, the ability to motivate, the skill to restore our position overseas and the wisdom to speak to us as adults about the challenges we face as, well, adults. Obama has demonstrated all of these talents during the campaign, and we’re throwing our lot in with him. We hope this state’s Democrats do so as well.

Sad, if the picture that accompanies this drivel weren’t so… funny… scary…both?

****

Hat tip to rodham44 who posted the link to this over at the Taylor Marsh site.

Germany Marks 75th Anniversary of Book Burnings

In 1933 the Nazis conducted book burnings in Berlin. Watch this video from the BBC, then reflect upon the all the pressures in this country aimed at halting the Democratic primary process.

Nazi Book Burnings Remembered

As a former librarian, this video really strikes a chord. (And hats off to all librarians who continue to fight for the freedom of all people who want to borrow a book without their privacy being invaded by the current Administraion.)