To Eddie,
No, he isn't the voice of most Americans. He is rather devisive of the American people for a Presidential candidate, and would be much more as the President. However, American citizens are not by nature devisive, we are independent, which is why, whenever we are left alone by government, Americans solve their own problems. We always have. No people in history have overcome as much as we have, and then turned around and blessed the world with our individual accomplishments, self-created wealth, and spirit of hope for a better tomorrow--all without recognition or thanks. We have a lot to be proud of as Americans, but I don't think Obama shares my opinion of America. His marketing plan to become president hasn't touched me. I'm voting for McCain.
Consider that isn't always good for politicians to get together and agree on anything. 99.9% of the time, that spells less freedom, more taxes. When they aren't "coming together" to lower your taxes, they are "coming together" to increase your taxes. Divisivness and partisanship between politicians protects American citizens.
JUDGMENT CALLS
Robert J. Samuelson
The Obama Delusion
The gap between his rhetoric and the reality of his views.
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It's hard not to be dazzled by Barack Obama. At the 2004 Democratic convention, he visited with Newsweek reporters and editors, including me. I came away deeply impressed by his intelligence, his forceful language and his apparent willingness to take positions that seemed to rise above narrow partisanship. Obama has become the Democratic presidential front-runner precisely because countless millions have formed a similar opinion. It is, I now think, mistaken.
As a journalist, I harbor serious doubt about each of the most likely nominees. But with Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain, I feel that I'm dealing with known quantities. They've been in the public arena for years; their views, values and temperaments have received enormous scrutiny. By contrast, newcomer Obama is largely a stage presence defined mostly by his powerful rhetoric. The trouble, at least for me, is the huge and deceptive gap between his captivating oratory and his actual views.
The subtext of Obama's campaign is that his own life narrative—to become the first African American president, a huge milestone in the nation's journey from slavery—can serve as a metaphor for other political stalemates. Great impasses can be broken with sufficient goodwill, intelligence and energy. "It's not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white," he says. Along with millions of others, I find this a powerful appeal.
But on inspection, the metaphor is a mirage. Repudiating racism is not a magic cure-all for the nation's ills. The task requires independent ideas, and Obama has few. If you examine his agenda, it is completely ordinary, highly partisan, not candid and mostly unresponsive to many pressing national problems.
By Obama's own moral standards, Obama fails. Americans "are tired of hearing promises made and 10-point plans proposed in the heat of a campaign only to have nothing change," he recently said. Shortly thereafter he outlined an economic plan of at least 12 points that, among other things, would:
* Provide a $1,000 tax cut for most two-earner families ($500 for singles).
* Create a $4,000 refundable tuition tax credit for every year of college.
* Expand the child-care tax credit for people earning less than $50,000 and "double spending on quality after-school programs."
* Enact an "energy plan" that would invest $150 billion in 10 years to create a "green energy sector."
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