Obama

[Shammu]

Political 'godfather' boosted Obama's early career
March 31, 2008

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (AP) -- The president of the Illinois Senate is sitting in his statehouse office, talking in gravelly tones about political strategies and counter-strategies. Out of nowhere, the theme from "The Godfather" begins playing.

It turns out to be the ringtone on his cell phone -- an appropriate song for the man who amounts to Sen. Barack Obama's political godfather.

Emil Jones Jr. helped Obama master the intricacies of the Legislature. When Democrats took control of the state Senate, Jones, though he risked offending colleagues who had toiled futilely on key issues under Republican rule, tapped Obama to take the lead on high-profile legislative initiatives that he now boasts about in his presidential campaign.

And when Obama wanted a promotion to the U.S. Senate, Jones provided critical support that gave the little-known legislator legitimacy, keeping him from being instantly trampled by the front-runners.

"He's been indispensable to Barack's career. He wants to see a black president before he gets called home," said fellow state Sen. Rickey Hendon, a Democrat.

While Obama got vital help from Jones, the two men have sharply different political styles, and Jones may not be a political asset in a White House campaign.

Jones, 72, is an unabashedly old-school politician. A former sewer inspector for the city of Chicago, Jones has relatives on the state payroll, steers state grants to favorite organizations and uses his clout to punish enemies and bury GOP legislation.

Obama supporters see the alliance as an example of Obama's ability to get things done by working with all kinds of people. Critics see it as hypocrisy -- Obama refusing to speak out against the kinds of abuse he claims to oppose.

"His voting record is down-the-line unquestioned support of the Cook County machine," said Steve Rauschenberger, a former Republican state senator.

The two first met in the mid-1980s. Jones was already in the state Senate and Obama was a young community organizer on Chicago's South Side.

Obama apparently didn't think much of Jones. In his memoir "Dreams from My Father," Obama dismisses him as "an old ward heeler" who had little clout left after backing the wrong candidate.

But Jones was impressed by Obama and cooperated with Obama's Developing Communities Project on some issues. Later, Obama was elected to the state Senate, where Jones was then the minority leader and most powerful black member of the Legislature.

"When he first came, we sat down and he said to me, 'You know I like to work hard. Feel free to hand me any tough assignments on legislation,"' Jones recalls. "That was unusual, for a person to say 'I like to work."'

Jones gave him a chance, assigning Obama to a bipartisan task force in charge of drafting ethics legislation.

It was not a glamour job. Obama would be asking legislators to accept new restrictions and asking good-government groups to compromise, leaving no one entirely happy. But legislators ended up passing the state's first major ethics overhaul in years, including limits on gifts to officials.

Jones also let Obama work on establishing a state version of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit and lobby Republicans to soften their legislation adding work requirements to the state welfare system -- an effort that ended with GOP senators praising Obama.

Several senators said Jones and Obama, who represented neighboring Chicago districts, weren't particularly close. They didn't socialize much, and the legislative opportunities he gave to Obama were similar to those available to other promising senators.

But their relationship changed in 2002.

It was clear that Democrats were going to win a majority in the state Senate that fall, making Jones the Senate president. And then the campaign machinery would start cranking again, with a long line of people looking to run for the U.S. Senate in 2004.

Obama approached Jones with an unexpected proposal: Use your new clout to back me for U.S. Senate.

"It clicked and made sense," Jones said.

Obama had the personality and intelligence to succeed, Jones said, but he needed a major political figure in his corner -- someone who could get unions, county chairmen and potential donors to consider the new guy with the strange name instead of quickly endorsing another candidate.

"He needed someone who could give him credibility," Jones said.

An Obama victory would give Jones some of the credibility that other politicians had gained by showing they could put people in office. "President Jones said something to me like, 'Hey, if they can do it, I can do it,"' Hendon recalled.

As Senate president, Jones assigned Obama to handle major, headline-grabbing legislation.

At a time when flaws in the state's death penalty system had created a furor, Obama was picked to negotiate a bill requiring police to record their interrogations in murder cases. He was also put in charge of long-discussed legislation to curb racial profiling in traffic stops and was a key player in a new ethics overhaul.

These were complicated issues and Obama's Senate hopes could have been damaged if he had failed. But he passed them all with overwhelming support and still cites them as evidence of his ability to find common ground among groups with sharp differences.

State Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, laughingly accuses Jones of a little "bill-jacking" -- taking issues that other senators had been working on and giving them to Obama. Trotter, for instance, said he had hoped to be named chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee but the job went to Obama instead.

In an e-mail, Obama described Jones "a powerful advocate for those who need a voice" and someone with "passion for public service."

Critics offer a different picture.

When Jones married a state employee, she suddenly got a 60 percent raise. His son got a state job that wasn't advertised to the public. A nephew and stepson got computer consulting jobs from a college that received a $4.5 million grant for computing needs.

He has blocked bills sponsored by legislators who challenge him, and dug up an obscure Senate rule to reverse the passage of a consumer-friendly measure opposed by electric companies that had donated to his campaign.

Abner Mikva, a longtime Obama friend and former legal counsel to President Bill Clinton, rejects the idea that Obama should shun Jones and other similar politicians.

He argues Obama was smart to learn from Jones and pass important laws with him, while keeping a distance from Jones' ethical problems.

"Purists usually end up dying pure but without many accomplishments," he said. "True reformers learn how to build coalitions."

Political 'godfather' boosted Obama's early career

[nChrist]

Special Report - Doubting Thomas - Page 1 of 3
By Jeffrey Lord - Published 4/1/2008 12:08:20 AM

"We want to place a full-page ad in the New York Times -- perhaps as early as next Wednesday -- to proclaim the truth about who we are as the United Church of Christ. Will you help make this a reality?"

So goes the latest plea from the Reverend John Thomas, the president of the United Church of Christ, in an announcement to church members this past Friday, March 28th. The UCC is, of course, Barack Obama's denomination. Mine too. (As always, I speak here for myself, not the UCC church where I serve as a church officer.)

Why the ad? The Reverend Thomas again: "The vision for the ad is to speak proactively to the breadth and diversity of our denomination, while also acknowledging the hurt that many in our country have experienced in recent weeks, including the members of Trinity UCC in Chicago."

I see. What brought on this sudden urge of the Reverend Thomas and his colleagues in the denominational leadership to run this ad? Well, says the good Reverend: "People are looking at the UCC like they never have before, and that's why it's critical that we respond proactively and tell our church's story. Otherwise, we will let others continue to define us in narrow and distorted ways."

Let's come back to this one in a minute.

What will this ad set us back? I always thought ads in the Times were, uh, a bit pricey -- unless of course you were MoveOn.org and you got some sort of interesting discount. Thomas is pretty up front: "Of course, the cost will be significant, perhaps in excess of $120,000."

Yikes! The concern that a conservative UCC member like myself has about something like this is, to be honest, that, well, there will be a less than accurate presentation of the UCC in this very expensive ad. But Thomas insists that "this will be an occasion to explain the uniqueness of our polity, to acknowledge the freedom of our pulpits, and to affirm the rights of our members to agree or disagree in love."

Just as I was beginning to sigh with relief and love over all of this, I spied the telltale reality check, the typical language of the UCC's leadership, the reality that has gotten Barack Obama in so much hot water in the real world outside the UCC leadership's left-wing bubble he had to perform confession to Pope Barbara (as the CBS newsman Morley Safer once referred to the esteemed Ms. Walters) on The View. Finishes Thomas in his e-mail about the prospective ad: "The statement will speak to our oneness in Christ, who strengthens us to be agents of justice, peace and reconciliation." (Emphasis mine)

As a UCC member, allow me to translate that last part. What Reverend Thomas is saying, without the slightest sense of irony that he is contradicting his own claim about people who might "define us in narrow and distorted ways," is that the $120,000 he is seeking for his ad will inform the unwashed that, amazing though it might seem, Jesus Christ is actually a genuine 21st century American liberal. Really! Whatever conception you might have of the words "justice," "peace," and "reconciliation," you will find, if you open your heart, they are really the biblical translation for "high taxes," "appeasement," and "disagreeing-with-liberalism-is-morally-wrong-because-we-all-know-there's-nothing-to-debate-besides-which-conservatives-are-bigots-homophobes-and-heartless." This, I'm always assured, is right there in the Gospels. You can look it up.

All of which, when agreed with, quickly brings us to a round of Kumbaya!


LET'S SPEND SOME TIME on simple math for a moment. "The UCC tends to be a mostly progressive denomination that unabashedly engages heart and mind," says the UCC leadership itself on our church website. This is, however, something quite different from the results of the 2002 Congregational Life Survey of the 15 Mainline Protestant denominations that included the UCC. This survey concluded the following on the political orientation of our church members as they self-identified:

Conservatives: 41 percent
Middle: 40 percent
Liberals: 19 percent

In other words, the fact that the UCC "tends to be a mostly progressive denomination" is only true if you believe 19 percent to be greater than 41 percent. In fact, if you add the middle, a rocking 81 percent do not consider themselves to be "liberals." Even if you add the "liberals" with the "middle," at 59 to 41 percent you are one long way from a "mostly progressive" denomination. Will you see these figures in the New York Times ad? Don't hold your breath.
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[nChrist]

Special Report - Doubting Thomas - Page 2 of 3
By Jeffrey Lord - Published 4/1/2008 12:08:20 AM

What else will you most probably not see in this ad if it runs true to form? While Karnack the Magnificent has not been sighted since the death of Johnny Carson, one doesn't really need a Karnack to take a wild guess that in this pricey ad there will be no mention of:

* The UCC and the Jewish Community: No mention of the UCC's relationship with the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. This is a radical Palestinian Christian group whose leadership has not only questioned the right of Israel to exist but refers to the creation of the Jewish state as "Al Nakba" or "The Catastrophe." Sabeel founder Naim Ateek was featured at Boston's Old South UCC last fall in what one Jewish columnist in Boston called an "anti-Jewish hate fest." This on the heels of a 2007 public rebuke to the UCC issued by eight major American Jewish organizations for what was politely termed imbalance towards Israel. The signers included the American Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and B'nai B'rith International. Indeed, the UCC leadership's support for issues ranging from a divestment resolution to a call for Israel to tear down its anti-terror security fence protecting Israelis from Palestinian terrorists prompted the Simon Wiesenthal Center to angrily accuse the leadership of being "functionally anti-Semitic."

* The UCC and Puerto Rican terrorists: No mention of the UCC's support for the Puerto Rican terrorist group FALN (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional or Armed Forces of National Liberation), a terrorist group, as reported here the other week, determined by the U.S. government in the 1990s to "represent an ongoing threat." A terrorist group that has included the wife of a UCC minister, a woman honored and admired by the church leadership who was caught on an FBI surveillance tape making a bomb -- and did time until the UCC among others persuaded Bill Clinton to grant clemency.

* The UCC and Obama: No mention of the now-ongoing IRS investigation of the denomination set in motion because of its perceived support of the Obama for president campaign, including an appearance by candidate and church member Obama himself, as documented both here in The American Spectator and by the UCC Truths website.

* The UCC's Trinity and the IRS: No mention of a second complaint to the IRS that has now been filed against Obama's personal church, Trinity UCC of Chicago, because of the political content of the famously videotaped sermons sold by Trinity itself.

* The UCC and Obama on Wright: No mention will be made of Senator Obama's statement on The View that he would have left Trinity UCC had Wright not retired and kept preaching in the very fashion Reverend Thomas has already lavishly praised -- from Wright's pulpit.

* The UCC and the charge of "spies" at Trinity UCC: No mention will be made of a charge in the Washington Post by Susan Thistlethwaite, the president of the Chicago Theological Seminary, that there are "spies" amongst the Trinity congregation. Who does this woman in service to Christ accuse as spies? Why, "members of the press or political operatives" who have the audacity of freedom to "take notes during the service and try to record the message."

* The UCC and Wright's "retirement" home: No mention will be made of the recent discovery by Fox News that a UCC compensated minister -- Jeremiah Wright -- who spent his career ministering in the poor communities of Chicago, is retiring to a multi-million dollar gated community. No mention either of this from Fox News: "Public records of the sale show Trinity initially obtained a $10 million bank loan to purchase the property and build a new house on the land. But further investigation with tax and real estate attorneys showed that the church had actually secured a $1.6 million mortgage for the home purchase, and attached a $10 million line of credit, for reasons unspecified in the paperwork."

* The UCC and opposition to intellectual diversity: No mention that while the UCC hierarchy loves the idea of dissent when it is dissenting from Bush administration policy, no less than Reverend Thomas himself has termed dissenters from what he calls the "progressive values" of the 19 percent ruling the church as "serpents in our midst," with the church's official blogger calling those who dissent from the 19 percent "thieves."

* The UCC, the Obama staffer/UCC employee and Air America: No mention that the UCC's official blogger, the Reverend Chuck Currie -- who doubles as a staffer to the Obama campaign -- links the UCC's site to his own personal site, which in turn promotes links back to the UCC (through use of its official logo), the Obama campaign and Air America, the left-wing extremist site that is famous for its virtual cauldron of verbal venom. Sample rhetoric on this site promoted by a UCC minister includes (but unfortunately is not limited to) this language from a lovely talk about First Lady Laura Bush, from Air America's "Mike Malloy Show": Mrs. Bush is "a murderer" and a "killer," the Bush family a "crime family (that) is about theft and greed and lies and war and death....They are beyond evil." Memorably, the Currie link takes you to the allegation that the president believes in both rape and cannibalism. By the way, Currie says he opposes "personal attacks" and "slander."

Charming, no? Although perhaps not as impressive as the video of himself Currie features on the official UCC site giving a political speech at a political rally (oops, church PC calls these UCC sponsored events "peace rallies," sorry). Currie is heard on the video he has placed on the church site attacking Bush and Cheney as "villains" who display "addictive arrogance." In the world of his officially sanctioned church blog, where political apartheid is the coin of the realm and serious opposition banished, this video comes hilariously replete with a photo of Cheney as Darth Vader. Really. What's funny, admittedly, is that Currie apparently thinks Cheney-as-Vader is not funny but true. Then again, there's a lot funny about this minister of Christ who thinks Air America language is appropriate and said awhile back that a conservative church participating in a "Justice Sunday" rally should be investigated by the IRS. Be careful what you wish for.
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[nChrist]

Special Report - Doubting Thomas - Page 3 of 3
By Jeffrey Lord - Published 4/1/2008 12:08:20 AM

SO WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON with this prospective New York Times ad? Stand back for a moment and take a good long look at what's happening here.

This is something that American conservatives have seen before. An institution that seems on the surface to be a rock of left-wing certitude is, in fact, not what it seems at all. Just as the Soviet Union collapsed, just as the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, just as the façade that was the dominance of the American liberal media has crumbled, the 19 percent dominance by the American left of a very old and prestigious American religious institution that was once peopled by the Pilgrims, the Puritans, Jonathan Edwards and counted the decidedly conservative Calvin Coolidge as a devout member is now showing the first signs of collapsing.

The irony is that Thomas and his left-leaning brethren have long been lusting for the UCC to get a higher profile in American politics. At one point a few years back a church PR guy launched a campaign to get Thomas invited as a political player on shows like Meet the Press, complaining bitterly about the media attention afforded conservatives religious leaders like Jerry Falwell. Again, as the old wisdom goes, be careful what you wish for -- you might get it. Suddenly, thanks to Obama, an increasing number of UCC church members outside the 19 percent are wide awake to the fact that simply couching American liberalism in biblical language is nothing more than what Obama himself is about -- American politics. Nothing more, nothing less, and certainly nothing of Christ. The Emperor has no clothes, as congregants gazing at Jeremiah Wright's stark language realized with the stunning clarity of an epiphany. With the heat of the spotlight focused on his -- our -- denomination, Thomas has suddenly had to fight off calls for his resignation, finding not only his own leadership under scrutiny but also the treasured insistence of the hierarchy that "social action" equates to American liberal politics.

Critic James Hutchins, the bane of Thomas's existence over at UCC Truths (hmm, since Currie likes the Stars Wars analogy, think of Hutchins in this scenario as Luke Skywalker, with Thomas as Vader and Currie as Grand Moff Tarkin), has already raised the obvious point about the impending ad. Instead of resorting to the safety of a static ad in the pages of the New York Times, why isn't Thomas investigating a chance to make his case for the UCC and defend his friend Wright on a Fox show like The O'Reilly Factor? After all, he's the one who had a campaign to get himself on TV talk shows. To which I would add, why not make the rounds of Hannity and Colmes or any conservative radio talk show that would book Thomas? One suspects the reason, of course, is that Thomas has the same thought William F. Buckley once attributed to a liberal who refused his entreaties to appear on Buckley's Firing Line television show: "Why does baloney reject the grinder?"

So let's see if we're in store for another example of what passes for leadership in Obama's church -- my church. Will $120,000 be raised to help any number of poor lost souls who need church help? Or will it be raised and spent this very week to make a rich liberal newspaper richer and promote the politics of a liberal church leader to a targeted audience of liberal readers? As a side effect the ad could open the church to the charge it continues to provide a political benefit among undecided liberals to the favored church member who is the leading Democratic presidential candidate. Who cares if this is a variation of the charge that has already brought the denomination, and possibly now Obama's Trinity church, under the shadow of an IRS investigation? In for a penny, in for a pound.

And by the way, church member to church member, what does my brother in Christ Barack Obama think of this? Is he giving any dough to Thomas to help with the PR fix that he, Obama, has partially caused, necessitating this ad?


MANY AMERICANS ARE FAMILIAR with Ronald Reagan's use of the phrase a "city upon a hill" to describe his vision of America as a beacon of hope. Perhaps not as many realize the phrase comes from the Puritan leader John Winthrop, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a "forefather" of what is now the UCC. The more complete version of Winthrop's quote is as follows: "Wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill, the eies of all people are uppon us; soe that if we shall deale falsely with our god in this worke wee have undertaken and soe cause him to withdrawe his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a by-word through the world."

The idea that the mission of the Pilgrims' church of Christ has been exchanged by a leadership representing 19 percent of its members for a proverbial 30 pieces of modern left-wing political silver symbolized by Jeremiah Wright and John Thomas has unexpectedly become a part of the 2008 presidential campaign.

Spending $120,000 on an ad in the New York Times in a belated attempt at political damage control is one more misguided effort in the left's idolatry of earthly politics that is, as John Winthrop once feared, making this church "a story and a by-word through the world" for dealing falsely with our God.

Can you say "Amen!"?


Jeffrey Lord is the creator, co-founder, and CEO of QubeTV, an online conservative video site. A Reagan White House political director and author, he writes from Pennsylvania, where he belongs to and is an elected official in a UCC church.

[nChrist]

Wright: 'Black Evangelism' Produces 'Religion of Hatred'
Penny Starr

(CNSNews.com) - In an essay entitled "What Do I Tell My Children" that was published in the August 2007 issue of Trumpet Newsmagazine, a publication of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. spoke critically of a "Black Evangelism," which he said "produces a religion of hatred, gay-bashing and heterosexism."

"My grandson, Jeremiah, has already run head-on into the contradiction called Christianity in his twenty-one years of life," Wright wrote. "He has seen the racism of Christianity that has produced slave castles and white supremacy. He has also seen the ignorance calling itself 'Black Evangelism' which produces a religion of hatred, gay bashing and heterosexism."

"While serving as a keyboardist for the Howard University Gospel Choir, my grandson has heard at concert-after-concert-after-concert that the definition of being 'saved' meant 'being delivered from homosexuality' and speaking in tongues," Wright wrote. "He said to me, 'That is all I hear in terms of what it means to be 'saved,' Grandaddy. Isn't there more to Christianity than this? Isn't there more to salvation than this?" [Italics in original.]

"What do I tell my grandson, Jeremiah, about the rabid denial, the lying, the 'DL' ['down low'] life among Black psalmists, Black preachers, and 'saved' Black Christians?" wrote Wright. [Italics in original.]

Wright is the pastor emeritus at Trinity United and, until recently, was an official campaign "spiritual adviser" to presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D.-Ill.), who has been a member of the church for 20 years. Wright presided over the marriage of Obama and his wife Michelle, and the couple's two daughters were baptized at the church.

In response to Wright's criticism of "Black Evangelism," the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, president and founder of Brotherhood of a New Destiny (BOND), told Cybercast News Service: "Barack Obama said that Rev. Wright brought him to Christ, but how can a man of hate bring you to the Prince of Peace?"

"I cannot see how this man could bring anyone to Christ when his sermons and writings indicate that he hates Christianity," Peterson said.

The Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr., senior pastor at New Calvary Baptist Church in Montclair, New Jersey and president of the Life Education and Resource Network, also responded to Wright's criticism of "Black Evangelism."

"To watch Obama and certain news commentators attempt to justify Wright's message is disturbing," said Childress. "They all give the impression that the Black Church speaks some cryptic ethnic language that you have to be Afro-American to understand. It's ridiculous!"

"Does America have any problems understanding Martin Luther King and his words?" said Childress. "'I have a dream that the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will sit down at the table of brotherhood.' Does that sound like something Wright would say?"

Deneen Borelli, a fellow with the non-profit Project 21, a black leadership network, was also critical of Wright's remarks.

"(Wright's) message has nothing to do with love, forgiveness or unity," Borelli told Cybercast News Service , "which is unfortunate considering the size of his former congregation and the access he had to get it out."

"And what about the children?" Borelli said.

Wright was also critical of some African American clergymen in an essay entitled "I Am Black and Beautiful" that was published in the May 2007 issue of Trumpet .

"The story of Africans before slavery really gets lost in the shuffle because the story of Africans during the Transatlantic Slave Trade is not told," Wright wrote. "That makes you end up with 'colored preachers' who hate themselves, who hate Black people, who desperately want to be white and who write and say stupid things in public to make 'Massa' feel safer, and that is so unfortunate.

"Those Black enemies of beauty are just as dangerous as are the white racists who really do believe in white supremacy. They live and die by white supremacy--an ideology based on ignorance!" said Wright.

In a March 18 speech in Philadelphia, Obama distanced himself from what he described as the "incendiary language" used by Wright, but declined to "disown" him. \ldblquote [W]e've heard my former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation and that rightly offend white and black alike," said Obama.

"Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views?" said Obama. "Absolutely, just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests or rabbis with which you strongly disagree.""

"I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community," said Obama.

Last week, Obama distanced himself further from Wright, saying that if the pastor had not retired he would not have stayed in Wright's church.

"Had the reverend not retired, and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying at the church," Obama said on ABC's "The View."

Cybercast News Service obtained copies of Trumpet Newmagazine from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a division of the New York Public Library.

Calls to the Trinity United Church of Christ requesting comment were not returned.

[nChrist]

Political Hay
Man of the Hour
By G. Tracy Mehan, III
Published 4/4/2008 12:07:54 AM

Is Senator Barack Obama just another liberal Democrat waiting to be slaughtered in the general election? He does not seem to fit the role, but the case can be made that he is the Chicago version of John Kerry or Michael Dukakis -- both politicians from the same neighborhood as Teddy Kennedy who, by the way, has endorsed the senator from Illinois.

No doubt, this drives Hillary Clinton, spouse of the Great Triangulator, nuts as her once certain victory slips away. Obama is a community organizer for goodness sake! Hasn't the Democratic Party learned from its mistakes in nominating extremely liberal candidates and seeing them lose to the Republicans in the fall election?

That was the lesson of Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter -- until the latter demonstrated that he really wasn't a moderate Southern Democrat and promptly lost his re-election bid to Ronald Reagan.

Consider: Senator Obama has the most liberal voting record in the U.S. Senate. He attends a church whose former long-time pastor is the epitome of alienation from even the liberal mainstream and will cause severe heartburn in the hearts of many Reagan Democrats in places such as Ohio, Macomb County (Michigan), or South St. Louis.

It is hard to imagine a domestic problem for which Senator Obama is not ready, willing and able to write a really big check to solve. And he is pretty much hard left on abortion and other social issues.


BUT AS I SAID, Senator Obama does not have the look of someone who is in the process of marginalizing himself from the electorate. He is personable and charming, even stylish in a Cary Grant or Sidney Poitier sort of way. He is likeable. Could you say that about Senator Kerry or Governor Dukakis?

It is no accident that the Obama Internet fund-raising operation, one almost entirely driven by small donors, has been in high gear for months, blissfully unconcerned about big donors in Hollywood or New York who send nasty letters to the Speaker of the House because she thinks the Democratic primary should be decided by something like majority rule.

The Obama campaign raised $40 million in March alone, twice the amount garnered by the Clinton campaign. Of the 442,000 March contributors, 218,000 were first-time contributors, averaging $96 per donor. For the entire campaign to date, Senator Obama has enlisted the support of 1,276,000 contributors, an amazing number and an indicator of deep grass-roots support.

If the Senator manages to clinch the nomination, the sky is the limit on these kinds of donations. He will be able to live off the land and harry Senator John McCain in a war of attrition that U.S. Grant could only dream about. He is doing the same thing to Hillary Clinton, right now, with a massive media buy in Pennsylvania.

Patrick Ruffini, a Republican Internet campaign expert, has been chronicling the on-line success of the Obama campaign throughout the election. He reminded readers in late February how impressed Republicans were when George W. Bush announced a record $37 million dollar fundraising haul for the first six months of 1999. Obama has taken this game to an entirely new level.

Senator Obama's wide margins among African-Americans and younger voters have to be viewed as strong points. Yet, the great danger is that, despite his biracial heritage and his own best efforts, he may be transformed into the "black" candidate by the mendacity of the Clintons and the radicalism of his pastor.

His wife didn't help, but I will not go into that since I still hold to the quaint idea that a candidate's family members are to be accorded the status of virtual non-combatants. I actually liked it when Chelsea Clinton smacked that kid, metaphorically speaking, when he asked her about the Lewinsky matter. But I digress.

Obama could be in danger of becoming a divisive figure rather than the avatar of change if he lets the Clinton campaign and Pastor Wright rob him of his universal, i.e., non-racial, appeal. Time will tell if his Philadelphia speech and his personal demeanor will mitigate the threat.

Even the war in Iraq is not as big a threat given that he has at least half the country with him on that issue already.


SPEAKING OF THE WAR, Republicans seem to be warming to the idea of running on that issue and that issue alone. Certainly, Senator McCain is the quintessential warrior with the record and the experience to run on that platform. He may not know jack about the economy, but he can safely assume that the same is true for Senator Obama on matters of international affairs and security.

As the economy continues its death spiral, the Democrats are preparing to run on that issue, a natural strength for them. If Senator Obama is as smart as he seems, he will focus on the economics and health care and let his past record on the war satisfy the anti-war base of his party through November.

The fall campaign is shaping up to be a contest of strength against strength or strength on weakness. The two campaigns will talk past each other, hoping to convince the electorate that their favored issue is the most important one for the future of the Republic.

[Soldier4Christ]

Nation of Islam Staffing Obama Campaign...

Responding to criticism by Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, Barack Obama declared his strong opposition to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan:

    I decry racism and anti-Semitism in every form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan.

Obama also went on to condemn his Church's award to Farrakhan and his minister's tight relationship with him.

But a former Obama insider says that Obama's sudden aversion to NOI and Farrakhan is belied by the fact that Obama employed and continues to employ several Farrakhan acolytes in high positions on his Illinois and U.S. Senate campaign and office staffs. I have verified that this person--who agreed to talk on the condition of anonymity--held a key position in the Obama campaign. The insider was so close to Senator Obama that they frequently personally discussed and exchanged direct e-mail messages on campaign and policy matters. This person is not connected with the Clintons and is not a disgruntled employee.

The insider says he frequently objected to Mr. Obama's placement of Cynthia K. Miller, a member of the Nation of Islam, as the Treasurer of his U.S. Senate campaign. When I contacted Miller, now a Chicago real estate agent, to verify whether she was a member of the Nation of Islam and whether she shared Louis Farrakhan's bigoted views about Jews, she responded, "None of your business! Where are you going with this?" She said her resignation as Obama's treasurer had nothing to do with her Nation of Islam ties. Then, she hung up.

The Obama insider says he also objected to Obama's involvement with Jennifer Mason, whom he says is also a member of the Nation of Islam. Mason is Obama's Director of Constituent Services in his U.S. Senate office and is also in charge of selecting Obama's Senate interns. She did not respond to repeated calls for comment.

But it's not just that he employed these individuals in positions of power in his office, it's that when the former associate raised objections, he says Mr. Obama's position was that he saw nothing wrong with the Nation of Islam and didn't think it was a problem. If true--and the fact that Ms. Mason still holds her prominent Obama Senate staff position bears that out--Obama's condemnation of Farrakhan, this month, is phony.

But the insider says there is more to it than that. Obama's Illinois State Senate district consisted of prime Nation of Islam territory, including Hyde Park, home to Farrakhan's mansion. It is not possible, Illinois politicos say, to win that district without the blessing of the NOI leader. NOI members, including consultant Shakir Muhammad, held important roles in the Obama state senate campaign.

How many Nation of Islam members will work in an Obama White House?

Then, there is the issue of Israel. When Obama first ran for the U.S. Senate, he gave militant responses to the Chicago Jewish News about Israel. Obama denounced Israel's fence--which he called a "wall" and "barrier to peace"--to keep out terrorists and favored working with Yasser Arafat. When members of the Chicago Jewish community circulated his responses, Obama said that the answers were not his positions, but the work of a low-level intern. He submitted new answers. But that was a lie, the insider says. In fact, they were the work of Obama's Policy Director, Audra Wilson. Moreover, Obama told the insider that he blamed the Mideast conflict on the Jews:

    Barack told me that he felt that Jewish community was too inflexible, and that was why the situation in the Mideast could not be resolved.

This is the man who says in a new campaign ad that Hillary Clinton will say anything but change nothing. Barack Obama will say anything, but change his answers.

Palestinian activist and Islamist Ali Abunimah, who was a close friend of Obama's, attended an Arab fundraiser at which the late Edward Said--plagiarist, fabricator, and prominent PLO/Arafat advisor--was the keynote speaker, and at which the Obamas were notably in attendance. Pictures on Abunimah's site, posted above, show Obama and wife, Michelle, sitting next to Said and engaging in conversation. Abunimah, in a must-read article, says the Senator has since "changed" his proclaimed views from those he expressed privately, in order to get Jewish donors and votes.

And he has succeeded in spades. Lee Rosenberg a top Illinois official of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby is a big Obama donor. Ditto for former national AIPAC official Bob Asher. And Penny Pritzker of the pro-Israel family that owns Hyatt hotels. And there are so many others who have bought in to Obama's newly pro-Israel views. The insider says Obama pulled the wool over their eyes.

Then, there's Bettylu Saltzman, also Jewish and one of Obama's first major supporters and donors. She is a major Peace Now devotee, officer of the far-left, pro-capitulation New Israel Fund, and wrote a letter to a Chicago newspaper praising Jimmy Carter's book calling Israel an apartheid state. The Obama insider says she has Obama's ear on the Mideast and "will be a major policy person for Barack. Very dangerous."

The insider points to Mr. Obama's changing views in Iraq as another area of uncertainty. He has highlighted his opposition to the War in Iraq. The insider says there is strong speculation that Obama attempted to get his crony, Federal Indictee Tony Rezko, a contract to build a nuclear power plant in the new Iraq. Rezko, a Syrian Arab who helped Obama in a deal to purchase his home, was in a partnership with NOI founder Elijah Muhammad's son, Jabir.

Barack Obama can denounce Louis Farrakhan ad infinitum. But with supporters like Ms. Saltzman, high-level staffers who are Nation of Islam members, and constantly morphing views on Israel merely for donor appeal, a Barack Obama White House bodes poorly both for Israel and--far more important--for America.

[nChrist]

UM? - I wonder how many will see through Obama's smoke screen of deception. I would hope that most people have enough common sense to see what's happening. BUT IT'S HARD TO SAY THESE DAYS THAT MOST PEOPLE HAVE COMMON SENSE!

[HisDaughter]

UM? - I wonder how many will see through Obama's smoke screen of deception. I would hope that most people have enough common sense to see what's happening. BUT IT'S HARD TO SAY THESE DAYS THAT MOST PEOPLE HAVE COMMON SENSE!

[nChrist]

          ROFL!

Consider that graphic SNAGGED! I needed this!

[Shammu]

Snagged!!!!!

I've been saying for a while, I had a feeling about Obama and islam.

[Shammu]

Obama promises 'gays' (queers  DW) 'strongest possible bill'
Tells homosexual mag he's 'more vocal' for them than any candidate in history
Posted: April 10, 2008
11:55 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

In a sit-down interview with the "gay" magazine the Advocate, Sen. Barack Obama said, if elected, he foresees eliminating the military's "don't ask, don't tell policy" and passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, opposed by many faith-based groups that argue it would force them to accept homosexuals in leadership.

Obama indicated he wants the bill to include protection for transgenders, but acknowledged opposition in Congress is strong, noted David Brody, senior national correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network's news division, or CBN News.

"I think that's going to be tough, and I've said this before. I have been clear about my interest in including gender identity in legislation, but I've also been honest with the groups that I've met with that it is a heavy lift through Congress," he said.

"We've got some Democrats who are willing to vote for a non-inclusive bill, but we lose them on an inclusive bill, and we just may not be able to generate the votes," Obama continued. "I don't know. And obviously, my goal would be to get the strongest possible bill – "that's what I'll be working for."

Obama also boasted he's been more "vocal on gay issues to general audiences than any other presidential candidate probably in history."

As WND reported last month, Obama issued an open letter to the "LGBT community" assuring them he believes in "full equality" for homosexuals and stating that, unlike Sen. Hillary Clinton, he advocates the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

In the letter, published on a campaign blog, Obama says he's "running for president to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all – a promise that extends to our gay brothers and sisters."

Obama said that throughout his career he has "fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Americans."

(Story continues below)

The Democratic senator told the Advocate another priority in an Obama administration would be to make sure federal employees have the "ability to transfer health or pension benefits the same way that opposite-sex couples do."

Obama said he thinks it can be accomplished "with some opposition, some turbulence, but I think we can get that done."

He also wants to ensure federal benefits are available to same-sex couples who have a civil union.

"I think as more states sign civil union bills into law the federal government should be helping to usher in a time when there's full equality in terms of what that means for federal benefits," he said.

Asked if he were referring to the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, Obama replied, "Absolutely, and I for a very long time have been interested in repeal of DOMA."

The Defense of Marriage Act is a law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 that says the federal government and individual states are not required to recognize a same-sex marriage, even if it is recognized by another state. Obama also has called for repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy of barring personnel from disclosing homosexual behavior or "orientation" while preventing authorities from investigating it.

The Christian Broadcasting Network's Brody noted Obama appeals to some evangelicals, but "too much pro-choice, pro-gay rights talk will turn them off … along with some of the African American vote."

In his letter issued last month, Obama says "having the right positions on the issues is only half the battle. The other half is to win broad support for those positions. And winning broad support will require stepping outside our comfort zone."

Along with repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and implementing "fully inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes, he says, it's important to bring "the message of LGBT equality to skeptical audiences as well as friendly ones, and that's what I’ve done throughout my career."

"I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans," Obama says. "But neither will I close my ears to the voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must do to move forward together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is necessary."

'I haven't been silent on gay issues'

The Advocate, in the preface to its Q&A with Obama, stated the presidential candidate "has been weathering a small storm lately in the LGBT community for being too tight-lipped with gay and lesbian news media."

Obama insisted that was not a fair statement, arguing "all press feels that way at all times," and he emphasizes speaking to general, rather than specialized press outlets.

"But I haven't been silent on gay issues," he said, contending, "I actually have been much more vocal on gay issues to general audiences than any other presidential candidate probably in history."

The Advocate then asked: "I think the underlying fear of the gay community is that if you get into office, will LGBT folks be last on the priority list?"

Obama replied: "I guess my point would be that the fact that I'm raising issues accordant to the LGBT community in a general audience rather than just treating you like a special interest that is sort of off in its own little box – that, I think, is more indicative of my commitment.'

"Ultimately what that shows," Obama said, "is that I'm not afraid to advocate on your behalf outside of church, so to speak. It's easy to preach to the choir; what I think is harder is to speak to a broader audience about why these issues are important to all Americans."

Asked what event or person has most affected his perceptions of or relationship to the "LGBT community," Obama said "it starts with my mom, who just always instilled in me a belief that everybody's of equal worth and a strong sense of empathy – that you try to see people through their eyes, stand in their shoes. So I think that applies to how I see all people."

[Shammu]

Obama is getting scarier by the minute, and with 'the church of Oprah' backing him, he seems to be turning into a mini-god. If it comes down to Obama vs. McCain, many who wanted Hillary, say they no way would vote for Obama, so they'll vote for McCain.

I would rather have Moe, Larry, or Curly in office than any of the three candidates we have. I really would have like Mike Huckabee running for office.

[nChrist]

Obama is getting scarier by the minute, and with 'the church of Oprah' backing him, he seems to be turning into a mini-god. If it comes down to Obama vs. McCain, many who wanted Hillary, say they no way would vote for Obama, so they'll vote for McCain.

I would rather have Moe, Larry, or Curly in office than any of the three candidates we have. I really would have like Mike Huckabee running for office.

Obama is beginning to sound like he wants to establish a DICTATORSHIP! However, we still have Rights and a Constitution, and there could come a time when the PEOPLE SAY NO! AND MEAN IT!

This has been the most WEIRD election season I've ever seen - BY FAR. Maybe we don't know yet what our final choices are going to be. There is some talk about Independents Running. There's also talk of Third Party development - one that would have a chance in the competition. As things stand now, it takes an obscene amount of money to play this game, and the powers in place are formidable. I would also like to see Mike Huckabee running, but I honestly don't know how he would compete against all the money and power.

My last thought on this matter involves the possible End Days of this Age of Grace. If these are the times, what are GOD'S Plans to put Bible Prophecy in motion? If these are NOT the times yet, another thought has crossed my mind numerous times:  AS A NATION TURNING AWAY FROM GOD, WHAT DO WE DESERVE? There is no doubt in my mind at all that GOD has richly blessed this nation in the short time of our existence. The question now is, "What are we doing now to deserve GOD'S Continued Blessings?" As a NATION, our prayer right now should be that we DON'T get what we deserve from GOD. Bluntly, our NATION doesn't deserve anything except punishment from GOD. As Christians, we don't know how much longer we'll be on this earth. I am now convinced that the longer we're here, the WORSE we will see. I'm also convinced that Christian persecution is going to increase dramatically all over the world - INCLUDING this part of the world.

So, I'm happy that our REAL HOPES aren't IN THIS WORLD OR OF THIS WORLD!

Love In Christ,
Tom

Ephesians 1:18-23 NASB I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

[HisDaughter]

My last thought on this matter involves the possible End Days of this Age of Grace. If these are the times, what are GOD'S Plans to put Bible Prophecy in motion? If these are NOT the times yet, another thought has crossed my mind numerous times:  AS A NATION TURNING AWAY FROM GOD, WHAT DO WE DESERVE? There is no doubt in my mind at all that GOD has richly blessed this nation in the short time of our existence. The question now is, "What are we doing now to deserve GOD'S Continued Blessings?" As a NATION, our prayer right now should be that we DON'T get what we deserve from GOD. Bluntly, our NATION doesn't deserve anything except punishment from GOD. As Christians, we don't know how much longer we'll be on this earth. I am now convinced that the longer we're here, the WORSE we will see. I'm also convinced that Christian persecution is going to increase dramatically all over the world - INCLUDING this part of the world.


Love In Christ,
Tom

Boy did you say that right Brother.  It's a regular Sodom and Gomorrah.  I keep saying that with what we are seeing happening in our country, we aren't going to know it as the USA before too much longer.  Sin is running rampant and is excepted!  Government is giving our country away to foreigners and they are NOT LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE!  Every which way you turn something else happens that makes your mouth hang agape and your head shake back and forth.  It is my opinion that the US has to be taken down, taken out or whatever before all the foreign devils can be put in place for the end time to really get here.  So wheather God takes us out or allows it at the hands of someone else, or at our very own hands through corruption, neglect, passivity, etc., it IS coming!

In Christ,
Yvette