The Company Senator Obama Keeps

National Review Online: When It Comes To The Jewish Vote, Actions Speak Louder Than Words

(National Review Online)  This column was written by Sabrina Leigh Schaeffer.

---

In 2004, President Bush and the Republican Party made significant inroads with the Jewish community. Bush won 24 percent of the Jewish vote - up from 19 percent in 2000 - primarily as a result of his staunch commitment to Israel.

Four years later, it looks as though the Jewish vote is again up for grabs. Or, so says a recent Gallup poll, which revealed that in a contest between senators Obama and McCain, nearly a third of the Jewish vote would go to the Republican.

Senator Obama has sailed through this primary season in the wind of his words. That’s not to say he hasn’t encountered some rough seas, but his success has largely been a function of style, not substance. And when it comes to seeking Jewish support, he appears to be saying all the right things.

Since his days in the Illinois state senate he has referred to himself as a “stalwart” supporter of Israel. He has been outspoken about Israel’s right to defend itself and the importance of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. According to the Obama ’08 issue paper on Israel, the senator believes “Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state should never be challenged.”

During a recent interview with The Atlantic blogger Jeffrey Goldberg, Obama offered all the right responses. “My position on Hamas is indistinguishable from the position of Hillary Clinton or John McCain,” he told Goldberg. “I said they are a terrorist organization and I’ve repeatedly condemned them. I’ve repeatedly said, and I mean what I say: Since they are a terrorist organization, we should not be dealing with them until they recognize Israel, renounce terrorism, and abide by previous agreements.”

And if what he has said about Israel isn’t sufficient, Obama reminded Jewish voters of the profound effect Jewish culture - especially Jewish literary culture - has had on him. “I always joke that my intellectual formation was through Jewish scholars and writers,” he explained. “Whether it was theologians or Philip Roth who helped shape my sensibility, or some of the more popular writers like Leon Uris.” Obama connects with the Jewish community by drawing comparisons between their experiences and his own.

But with the Democratic nomination all but secured, Jewish voters are likely to start thinking less about the senator’s speeches and more about the company he keeps. As the last two elections reveal, when it comes to the Jewish vote, actions speak louder than words.

While Reverend Wright’s anti-American and anti-Semitic ravings captured the attention of the public for weeks, it’s simply his theatrics that appear to make him the most repellant of Obama’s friends. The senator has tried to dismiss Wright as a “crazy uncle,” but if you take a closer look at the crowd the senator runs with, it appears he has a whole lot of crazy relatives to disinvite from dinner.

It was widely circulated that Wright supported - and even publicly commended - radical black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan. Yet little has been said about Sen. Obama’s relationship with Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Catholic pastor at St. Sabina, also on the South Side of Chicago. In 2004, Obama told the Chicago Sun Times that Pfleger was one of his three spiritual mentors.

Pfleger’s name became more widely recognizable two years ago when Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed a Farrakhan aide to serve on a hate-crimes commission. When the appointee, Sister Claudette, refused to denounce Farrakhan’s racist and anti-Semitic remarks, three Jewish members on the commission resigned - a situation that prompted Pfleger to respond, “good riddance.”

No less reprehensible than Reverends Wright and Pfleger is the Obama campaign’s national co-chairman, retired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill “Tony” McPeak, who has made numerous anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments. While the general has a long blame-Israel-first record, the most repugnant remark came during a 2003 interview, when he blamed the Jewish-American community for the failure of the peace process between Israel and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Despite calls on Senator Obama to remove McPeak as a key adviser, the general continues to serve on the campaign.

Obama’s support among radicals in the Palestinian community - and even from Ahmed Yousef of Hamas - has not gone unnoticed. In fact, in 2003 Obama helped honor Rashid Khalidi, a well-known critic of Israel and advocate of Palestinian rights, at a celebration where anti-Israel poetry was read and the United States was sharply criticized.

That evening, Obama told guests stories about his long relationship with the Khalidis, the meals he had shared with Rashid and his wife, Mona, and the effect they had had on his political thinking.

Last month, another concerning relationship came to light between the Obamas and Hatem El-Hady, former chairman of the Toledo-based Islamic organization Kindhearts for Charitable Human Development - a group shut down in 2006 for raising money for Hamas. Until recently, El-Hady had a personal website on the official Obama campaign site and Michelle Obama was listed as one of El-Hady’s three “friends.”

Perhaps the most alarming Obama relationship - and the one his campaign can do the least about - is the marriage of Barack Obama to his wife, Michelle. As women tend to take the lead in directing household religious affairs, children’s education, and community involvement, it is likely - as Christopher Hitchens suggests - Michelle Obama is the reason Wright married the couple, baptized their children, became a recipient of their donations, and remained their spiritual mentor for two decades.

The Obama campaign continues to stress that the senator is open to understanding multiple points of view, even if he doesn’t agree with them. But, after a while, the crowd you run with starts to say a lot about your own perspective.

In the aftermath of President Bush’s speech to the Israeli Knesset on their 60th anniversary, Obama hopes he can yet again demonstrate his support for Israel simply by saying the right thing. In a statement the Obama campaign issued immediately following the speech, he said, “George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel."

The fact is the Jewish community has heard all of these words before.

Obama’s style may win him the Democratic nomination, but as we head into the general election he would be wise to start thinking about changing course. Because in this election, the company he keeps just might be enough to take the wind out of his sails.

[dadebu]

Typical response from a racial bigot. Anything is fair game but attacking a man''s choice for a wife show how low and uncouth and biggoted you are. To make you happy,he should have married a jewish woman.
Anyway where does isreal figure in all this? Are they tax payers? are they are part of the union? Goodness am of jewish descent but can''t stand all these ******* and *** pretending that isreal is part of the united states.

[horse3farm]

Michelle Obama is race-obsessed. You only need to read her college thesis (written like a middle schooler would write) to know...and be shocked.

Obama strikes me as one who changes his stance, depending on who''s talking to him. He says he supports Israel''s rights, but

"in 2003 Obama helped honor Rashid Khalidi, a well-known critic of Israel and advocate of Palestinian rights, at a celebration where anti-Israel poetry was read and the United States was sharply criticized.

That evening, Obama told guests stories about his long relationship with the Khalidis, the meals he had shared with Rashid and his wife, Mona, and the effect they had had on his political thinking."

The effect on his political thinking??? Wright had an effect on his political thinking...he is his mentor according to his book, which turned out to be mostly lies. (this has been proven and one of the main reasons you don''t see Oprah speaking up for Obama anymore.)

Nothing he says has substance. This is one scary guy, and many Americans can''t see it for the flowery speeches. Get real.

[zendigity]

I would call this story propaganda but it''s written so poorly with so little concern for even the basic priciples of journalism that it simply leaves me feeling sorry for the pathetic wretch of its author.

CBS, honestly, what happened to your sense of ethics?
Why would you publish this kind of Sh*t story?

[zendigity]

horse3farm - Seems like you are the one who''s race obsessed here.

Just because someone can understand another person''s point of view does not mean that they must share that point of view.

Seriously, please try having a little knowledge before you try having an opinion.

These petty fear tactics just don''t work any more.

[jlelijah]

*** you, Sabrina, for writing this drivel. And *** CBS for printing it.

[crater7]

IF THIS WAS ANY CANDIDATE, OTHER THAN OBAMA HIS CAMPAGIN WOULD BE HISTORY. BUT, THE MEDIA AND THE DNC WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.

OBAMA IS A THREAT TO THIS COUNTRY. WAKE UP AMERICA.

GOD "BLESS" AMERICA. NOT "G D" AMERICA.

[oldtom12]

Good Lord. Is this the best that conservatives can come up with? Not the war, not the economy, not health care, not gasoline prices, but some comments made by Obama''s former preacher that they''ve managed to twist out of context?

All this does is prove how bankrupt the GOP now is. No new ideas, no plan to move forward, just more mud slinging.

To put this in perspective, do me a favor and rank these issues in order of importance: the war, the economy, health care, Supreme Court nominations, comments made by Obama''s former minister.

BTW, another poor job by CBS in failing to identify the source of this Op Ed piece. I have nothing against the National Review, but it should be identified as a conservative magazine. Many of the magazine''s commentators are affiliated with far-right think-tanks like the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute.

[crater7]

OldTom12,

DID YOU EVEN READ THIS ARTICLE?

THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF THIS COUNTRY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE.

GOD "BLESS" AMERICA. NOT "G D" AMERICA.

[terrapin78]

All of you people act like Iran can nuke Israel and not affect the Palestinians. But if Iran does nuke Israel, they will also kill thousands of those they say they are helping. Not to mention Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

I am an American Jew and I am proudly voting for Obama! So are all of my family (sister, mother, brother and his wife).

So tell me that Obama doesn''t connect with Jews! And I will laugh in your face!

[octoberxs]

crater7 - "THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF THIS COUNTRY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE"

You are mistaken the ideals and principals, to include human rights and freedom, upon which this nation was founded is the most important issue. Without them we are lost and no better than our enemies.

"Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security." -Benjamin Franklin

[dmgenet]

I always like the glass house analogy. It always works for the bozos at the NRO. Take a look a McCain as he appears to be slimming down to fighting weight come this November. he is jettisoning corporate cronies, religious leaders, you name them. He may even get to be that ''John McCain'' that many Democrats and moderates of all stripes used to admire. It also may be too late. They all have skeletons in the closet.

[hungry1968]

I would call this story propaganda but it''''s written so poorly with so little concern for even the basic priciples of journalism that it simply leaves me feeling sorry for the pathetic wretch of its author.

CBS, honestly, what happened to your sense of ethics?
Why would you publish this kind of Sh*t story?

Posted by Zendigity at 02:01 PM : May 22, 2008





The regularly post this garbage from NRO and the Weekly Standard. These two raggy tabloids are nothing but fallout shelters for journalists that couldn''t make it at legitimate publications like Newsweek, Time, US News, The Washington Post, etc.

They''re the Faux Noise of journalism.

[bluestardad]

ISRAEL IS NOT NOR HAS NO BEARING ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF AMERICA!

THERE IS NOTHING IN THE MIDDLE EAST AMERICA NEEDS!

GO BACK TO ISRAEL OR SAUDI OR EGYPT PALISTINE OR WHERE EVER! JUST LEAVE AMERICA OUT OF YOUR THOUSAND YEAR OLD PROBLEMS!

IF THE AUTHOR WAS CONCERNED ABOUT AMERICA HE WOULD WANT ALL DUEL PASSPORT HOLDING ISRAELI NEOCONS WHO HAVE PROMOTED AMERICA INTO THE MIDDLE EAST WARS HELD FOR WAR CRIMES CHARGES!

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER NRO SLAM JOB AGAINST OBABM BECAUSE HE IS NOT BOUGHT BY THE MIDDLE EAST LOBBIES!

AMERICA STAND UP OR SHUT UP!

[dfazio23]

Thanks SABRINA and CBS for having th Guts to print this story. most of what was said i have heard about OB preacher and it took ob quite a while to disowned him after the preacher kept open his mouth and ob seen that it was hurting some. plus the other company he keeps. but some i have not heard. i voted for OB in the primary before i heard lot of bad things about him. i am a rester DEM. so i would have voted for Hilary in the prim. if i new everything about OB then. But McCain is the best for Security he will try to win the wars in Iraq and AFG. but either DEM. would let the use be defeated like the DEM. in Vietnam. in 1964 the war could have been won i know i was there. but the DEMS did not have the GUTS to let us fight like we should have just like the DEM. now no GUTS. But lot of the Americans want that just like when we were in Vietnam. Most of the Americans that are Hollowing the Most have never been to war or have the Guts to go.

[irliberal]

Poor Sabrina. I''m surprised she had the nerve to publish this drivel off as journalism. Perhaps she doesn''t realize that her time would have been better spent taking a shower or walking a dog.

[larysinclair]

Boy oh boy Obama! You''ve aquired quite the group of "friend''s",..I can''t wait to see the General election!! This will be exciting watching you try to throw all of your friend''s under the bus with that nice "typical white woman" you called granny!!

Obama/YourMama!!

[thinkingk]

Oh Sabrina...I''m so surprised that CBSNews would hire you to represent them. It is very obvious that you are ignorant and uninformed of the facts. You really should be careful in what you write about a politician. Whether you like the candidate or not, it will come a time when you WILL need them. The FACT is that Obama is winning and will be YOUR next President of the United States of America. Deal with it or your little career just may be over or we''ll probably see you with a lot of chocolate on your nose to even get a job. SMILE...I am!

[joyous88]

I see that the republicon noise machine is out in full force,
first they hire a hacker, like the national review to write

a bunch of lies about obama

second, they have their idiot computer banks start sending in phony email

from losers, also phoney, Un american fascists,

Obama can do and say anything he wants because in the

end, he WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER FOR AMERICA THAN THE

ANTI AMERICAN BUSH OR McBushSAME

[kansas1946]

LMAO. The NRO is just priceless. I would hope that the Jewish voters would not be happy about the far-right, bigoted, National Review, speaking for them and how they will vote.

[larysinclair]

Obama-bot''s crack me up!! Everything and anything that is negative about Obama,..you are racist or ignorant or "It is not news" ,...Bad Obama-bots!! No Kool-Aid for you!!

Obama/YourMama!!

[tiredofthebs]

I see that the republicon noise machine is out in full force,
first they hire a hacker, like the national review to write

a bunch of lies about obama ......


Posted by joyous88 at 08:06 PM : May 22, 2008

Printing malicious stories that can be proven untrue is called ''SLANDER''. It would make NRO liable to suit. You think they''d take a chance like that? This is AMERICA''s NEW HERO !!! CLINTON ''08!!!!!

[nearl4511]

NRO. Can''t think up any new non-issues, eh?

What a inane rag - Not worthy to be used as toilet paper.

[vitterdidder]

Yep. Judge a man by the company he keeps. Obama keeps horrible company. God help us if he and his crowd of hate-America-firsters get elected.

[ubrew12]

Article: "Jewish voters are likely to start thinking less about the senator%u2019s speeches and more about the company he keeps."

I think its hard to be black in America and not be associated with thinking black''s who have sympathy for the Palestinians plight (which seems to resemble that of American blacks as well). It doesn''t mean you''re anti-Israel, it just means you''re not a neocon. Neocons, by invading Iraq, have made Israel LESS safe (or didn''t neocons realize that Saddam Hussein was one of Irans major power-checks in the Middle East?).

As such, it would be hard to do worse by Israel than Bush has done the last 5 years.

[stopkidding]

I am amazed that the Republicans think this guilt-by-association stuff is still working. But, I suppose they need to try a newer version of the old we- should-hate-and-fear-everything-except-your-fetus *** they have been pulling.

[ausus-2009]

Instead of attacking the writer with words like liar and Fascist, go after the contents. Were the quotations made up? Are the people mentioned fictional characters? Did Obama ever meet these people Just throwing accusations without discussing the specifics of the contents makes the critics worse than the author.

[samthetvcat]

-----"Instead of attacking the writer with words like liar and Fascist, go after the contents. Were the quotations made up? Are the people mentioned fictional characters? Did Obama ever meet these people Just throwing accusations without discussing the specifics of the contents makes the critics worse than the author."-----
Posted by ausus

I''m going to take a third perspective, which would be that I''m like 1000% confident that no matter who ends up in the White House, they''re going to feel a moral obligation to look out for Israel given the events which lead to it''s creation. I think we can all appreciate how alarming it must feel to have even so much as rhetoric aimed at Israel let alone attacks.

That being said, Barack''s now got a 50% chance of becoming the next President. So what''s the point of making him jump through hoops and forcing him to answer this and that about his weakest and least meaningful associates? Does it REALLY help to demonstrate his interest in protecting Israel or does this particular person at the NRO not really speak for most Jewish-Americans as far as believing these ''questions'' shed light on to what extent President Obama might feel a sense of duty towards protecting Israel?

This piece comes across as just another excuse to trash Dems with the conclusion being the same as all the other NRO pieces - that Dems are ***. I don''t find it very productive if that''s the true goal.

[samthetvcat]

PS Like what I''d be interested to hear from Jewish Americans is whether they would advocate speaking with Ahmadinejad if they such talks were virtually guaranteed to lead to a permanent scrapping of their nuclear program combined with full access for UN inspectors (assuming that''s possible). Or is there some other perspective or concern that that position maybe didn''t factor in that might need to be considered?

[samthetvcat]

PPS oops - that was supposed to say a permanent scrapping of the Iranian nuclear program and access to inspections in Iran . . .

[it_oldtimer]

Ummm...I somehow suspect that the Jews will be feeling a bit differently about supporting Mr. McCain after his fellow conservative Republican, President Bush, called both Mr. Obama and the Israeli government itself "appeasers" recently.

Mr. Bush apparently doesn''t approve of Israel''s new open diplomatic dialog with the "terrorist Syrians", in their quiet behind-the-scenes talks recently.

Of course, Mr. Bush doesn''t seem to know or care much about "diplomacy" at all, anyway. That stuff is just too repulsively intellectual and weak-seeming for him, it seems.

[bluestardad]

ISRAEL IS NOT NOR HAS NO BEARING ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF AMERICA!

THERE IS NOTHING IN THE MIDDLE EAST AMERICA NEEDS!

GO BACK TO ISRAEL OR SAUDI OR EGYPT PALISTINE OR WHERE EVER! JUST LEAVE AMERICA OUT OF YOUR THOUSAND YEAR OLD PROBLEMS!

IF THE AUTHOR WAS CONCERNED ABOUT AMERICA HE WOULD WANT ALL DUEL PASSPORT HOLDING ISRAELI NEOCONS WHO HAVE PROMOTED AMERICA INTO THE MIDDLE EAST WARS HELD FOR WAR CRIMES CHARGES!

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER NRO SLAM JOB AGAINST OBABM BECAUSE HE IS NOT BOUGHT BY THE MIDDLE EAST LOBBIES!

AMERICA STAND UP OR SHUT UP!

[crater7]

IT IS OBVIOUS THAT OBAMA HAS NOT BOUGHT INTO THE MIDDLE EAST LOBBIES.

WITH ASSOCIATIONS WITH THE LIKES OF PFLEGER, "TONY" McPEAK, AHMED YOUSEF, "HAMAS", RASHID KHALIDI, HATEM EL-HADY, AND OF COURSE THE ANTI JEWISH REV. WRIGHT, FARRAKHAN, ONE CAN SEE WHY OBAMA HAS NOT BOUGHT INTO THE MIDDLE EAST LOBBIES. HMMMMMMMMM

GOD "BLESS" AMERICA. NOT "G D" AMERICA.

[bluestardad]

WAR CRIMES TRIALS ACTION STARTED!

Obama Seeks Red Cross Help On War Crime Charges Against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld
Posted by Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscr on Wednesday, May 21st at 11:59 AM

May 20, 2008

Obama Seeks Red Cross Help On War Crime Charges Against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld

By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers (Traduccisn al Espaqol abajo)

Russian Foreign Ministry reports to President Medvedev are stating today
that US Presidential candidate Barack Obama has sent one of his top aides
named Valerie Jarrett to meet with officials from the International
Committee of the Red Cross, in Geneva, Switzerland, to what is being
described in these reports as the %u2018preliminary stage%u2019 to begin actions in
the International Court of Justice charging the present United States
President, Vice President and former US Defense Secretary with war crimes.

As we had previously written about in our October 15, 2005 report, the
International Committee of the Red Cross opened in that year a War Crimes
Portfolio alleging that President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld, and other US Officials, were in violation of Articles 3
and 4 of the Geneva Convention and could be tried for Crimes Against
Humanity.

[greeneyes222]

The fact that Bush has been wrong on so much doesn''t automatically make Obama "right."

I was far more open to the Democrats in the last congressional elections. Having now seen the performance of Pelosi, Reed, Kennedy, Dean, et al in action, that door of hope has closed.

This far into an election process I should have a clearer understanding of what Obama stands for on issues not just the buzzword "change." Instead he''s still just a pretty face, and his actions are the same old tired politics, with the same sad cast of characters. He''s running a very Bush-like campaign, if you stop to look at it.

Surely we learned something about vague promises the last time around. I don''t care who it is, the company you keep matters, your record (or lack of one) matters, and real issues matter. To all the candidates: Put up or shut up.

[bluestardad]

OBAMA HOLD TRUE!

DONT SELL OUT TO THE MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES!

KEEP AMERICA FIRST!

SEND THE MIDDLE EAST LOBBIEST BACK TO THEIR HOME COUNTRIES IN BAGS!

AMERICA STAND UP OR SHUT UP!

[oldone60]

Barack Obama - Endorsed by our Enemies

[patriot12436]

b

[andylance1]

In another month or two, we will all know a lot more about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Park, the prince of darkness and closet advocate of black liberation theology and Marxism.

''The Obama campaign continues to stress that the senator is open to understanding multiple points of view, even if he doesn%u2019t agree with them. But, after a while, the crowd you run with starts to say a lot about your own perspective.'' Actually, he seems to be nothing more or less than the consummate Chicago politician. He dips into each well of influence, power and money as needed to further his political career. He associates with those who can do him the most good at any given moment in pursuit of whatever fairly approximates his goal de jour. He could hardly wear a flag pin in the pews of Rev. Wright; yet the pews of Rev. Wright is where the black Chicago upwardly mobile politician has to sit. Currying favor with real estate moguls to acquire "adequate" housing might also entail frequenting with powerful people whose dark pasts could become a future burden, but if you want the "nest" you have to frequent the branch. So he flatters the audiences with "inside" info about their supposed influence on his thought processes, that makes them feel important and worthwhile and he hasn''t committed a thing in the process. It''s called "working the farm." Don''t worry so much about his being from the "dark side;" once you''ve listened to a "Checker''s Speech," you no longer have any illusions whatsoever about any politician.

[peachfuzzy60]

I am an AVID worker/backer of change! Not change, just to rearrange things. I know in my heart and mind that this country and its path have been WRONG! The Cheney/Bush regime has put arrogance, corperate greed, environmental responsability and a myriad of other issues in freefall. Corperate welfare, ceo saleries off the charts, jobs outsourced! This Bush administration will battle the history books for the worst presidency. J. Harding must be giving a sigh of relief somewhere. In reference to this article by the National Review It is obvious The Review is anti Obama! All one has to do is peruse back articles and current, to see that! Senator Obama is 46 yrs young and has mixed with all different types of thinking people. Mr. Obama is willing and ABLE to see beyond his own personal agenda and those of his cronies. I appreciate the fact that Senator Obama has availed himself to the different experiences of different people. This displays a willingness to look at life multidemisional, as we know it often is. I will continue to volunteer and speak, write highly of Senator Obama! I by the way , am a Texas Democrat. Ya`ll may have forgotten we STILL exist and now we are coming back in very, very large numbers! 2009 will be the beginning of a great, new and historically first biracial president of the United States!

[peachfuzzy60]

I am an AVID worker/backer of change! Not change, just to rearrange things. I know in my heart and mind that this country and its path have been WRONG! The Cheney/Bush regime has put arrogance, corperate greed, environmental responsability and a myriad of other issues in freefall. Corperate welfare, ceo saleries off the charts, jobs outsourced! This Bush administration will battle the history books for the worst presidency. J. Harding must be giving a sigh of relief somewhere. In reference to this article by the National Review It is obvious The Review is anti Obama! All one has to do is peruse back articles and current, to see that! Senator Obama is 46 yrs young and has mixed with all different types of thinking people. Mr. Obama is willing and ABLE to see beyond his own personal agenda and those of his cronies. I appreciate the fact that Senator Obama has availed himself to the different experiences of different people. This displays a willingne

[peachfuzzy60]

I am an AVID worker/backer of change! Not change, just to rearrange things. I know in my heart and mind that this country and its path have been WRONG! The Cheney/Bush regime has put arrogance, corperate greed, environmental responsability and a myriad of other issues in freefall. Corperate welfare, ceo saleries off the charts, jobs outsourced! This Bush administration will battle the history books for the worst presidency. J. Harding must be giving a sigh of relief somewhere. In reference to this article by the National Review It is obvious The Review is anti Obama! All one has to do is peruse back articles and current, to see that! Senator Obama is 46 yrs young and has mixed with all different types of thinking people. Mr. Obama is willing and ABLE to see beyond his own personal agenda and those of his cronies. I appreciate the fact that Senator Obama has availed himself to the different experiences of different people. This displays a willingne

[peachfuzzy60]

I am an AVID worker/backer of change! Not change, just to rearrange things. I know in my heart and mind that this country and its path have been WRONG! The Cheney/Bush regime has put arrogance, corperate greed, environmental responsability and a myriad of other issues in freefall. Corperate welfare, ceo saleries off the charts, jobs outsourced! This Bush administration will battle the history books for the worst presidency. J. Harding must be giving a sigh of relief somewhere. In reference to this article by the National Review It is obvious The Review is anti Obama! All one has to do is peruse back articles and current, to see that! Senator Obama is 46 yrs young and has mixed with all different types of thinking people. Mr. Obama is willing and ABLE to see beyond his own personal agenda and those of his cronies. I appreciate the fact that Senator Obama has availed himself to the different experiences of different people. This displays a willingness to look at life multidemisional, as we know it often is. I will continue to volunteer and speak, write highly of Senator Obama! I by the way , am a Texas Democrat. Ya`ll may have forgotten we STILL exist and now we are coming back in very, very large numbers! 2009 will be the beginning of a great, new and historically first biracial president of the United States!

[krenz4]

Any intelligent person with half an idea of how local politics and community service works will know that in his work with the lowest rungs of society in chicago, that Obama has met, worked with and served with all kinds of people..some good, some bad, some crooked. These are the kinds of people that you are required to associate with when you are trying to form coalitions or raise funds on the poor side of time.All kinds of lowlifes are around,showing their ''philanthropic'' side for all kinds of reasons. It doesnt surprise me a bit that Obama knows people like those that have been paraded in front of the press. A good community organizer gets around and knows a LOT of people..has served on a lot of committees with a LOT of people. Just because he knows and has associated with them does not mean he shares their life philosophy or their political views and it does not make him dirty. I appreciate that he was working to better the world at a time when other people in his place would have been making their first million.

[noloyalisti]

Remember that Obama is just as white as he is black. I also hope the NRO and the rest of the mainstained war-profiteering media will cause as big a fuss over mcBush''s pastor friends. They make Reverend Wright seem very tame and sane.

[joyous88]

well, at least he is not hanging out with the likes

of george bush and john McSame, than I would start to

worry about his character,

as it is, as long as he stears away from the GREED

DRIVEN REPUBLICONS he has my respect

[patriot12436]

krenz4
Oh yes, i fully understand now why he had to associat himself with a racist churck, reverand, black panthers, farakhan, renzko, jackson, and michelle. It was all very necessary to obtain coalitions. Oh and i also believe Elvis is alive and well and playing the strip in Vegas.

[patriot12436]

truthyness
I ask you again what is your problem telling me to get over myself. After reading your comments on line all i see is you calling everyone names. Maybe you need to get over yourself.

[patriot12436]

truthyness
Just like i thought another idiot thqat wants to run their mouth but doesn''t have the guts to back up anything they say.

[patriot12436]

truthyness
Why don''t you get a life you ***.