Obama’s ability to win this election and become president are based on three pillars of sand. If any of the three were removed, his candidacy would crumble to the ground, and he would lose the small margin he currently holds in the polls. I call these “pillars of sand”, because they are not comprised of the stuff that form the foundation of a President of the United States - things like experience, bipartisanship, commitment, patriotism, or the fortitude to stand alone and fight for what is right.
So what forms the foundation of Obama’s presidential campaign?
Money. Obama has received and spent an unprecedented amount of money to win the presidency - around two-thirds of a billion dollars, which is more than double the resources of his opponent.
Media bias. The sources most Americans turn to for information about the presidential candidates - television, radio, newspapers and their internet counterparts - have been grossly biased in Obama’s favor - at an average rate of two to one.
Race. We are told time and time again that we should not vote against Obama because of the color of his skin, yet 85% of blacks are voting for Obama, indicating that a significant number are voting against McCain because of the color of his skin.
Should Obama be president because of his money, his skin color, or because the news media wants him to be? No. Yet if you take away any of those pillars you would take away his ability to win the presidency. Given the unbalanced playing field that McCain has had to run his campaign on, it is astounding that he has kept this race so incredibly close, and it provides a strong indication of who this country would elect president if all things were considered equal.
So what are not the foundations Obama’s presidential campaign?
Experience. Obama is a junior Senator, the duration of his office being almost exactly the amount of time he has been running for president. He has invested more time and resources trying to become president than doing his job serving this country as Senator.
Bipartisanship. Obama has voted along his party’s lines 96% of the time. He has not proven his ability to work with the Republican party, nor the willingness to go against his own party. There is no indication of his ability to “unite” our country in any way, politically or otherwise. In fact, this has been one of the most polarizing presidential races in history, and that division is not going to magically go away if Obama wins.
Commitment. Obama’s political career has been so short that it cannot be used as an indication of his commitment. One thing we can measure Obama by is his commitment to his church and pastor of 20 years. Although Obama willingly sat under the teachings of Reverend Wright for those decades, and publicly referred to him as his mentor and advisor, Obama quickly resigned his membership from the church and denounced Wright’s teachings when they became a threat to his ability to win the presidency. So not only does this show Obama’s lack of commitment to what he believes in, but it also brings into question his judgment, and why it is subject to change based on public opinion.
Patriotism. Obama has a very questionable history of patriotism or unwavering faith and pride in our nation. Whether it was Obama not wearing the customary American Flag pin until he was questioned about it and it became a threat to his candidacy, to his recent statements that his “faith in the American people was vindicated” only because they voted for him during the Iowa caucuses, Obama has not exhibited the type of undying pride in our nation that must be unwavering.
So, if you are voting for Obama, what is your reason? Because you hate Bush? Because you want the novelty of seeing the first black president, regardless of his qualifications? Because you want “change”, even if it is for the worse? Because you will receive a larger tax return, at the cost of inflation, increased unemployment and damage to our country’s businesses? Please consider the health of every aspect of our nation, and how it is all intertwined. We cannot afford someone with both a history and plan that is unbalanced. At this point in America’s history we cannot afford to roll the dice and hope Obama can live up to the hype.
