The Appeal of Obama

Often times, when I'm doing various duties, such as monitering the Dental Clinic, pulling Staff Duty, or getting set to go home, the news is on. Sometimes it is CNN. Today it was MSNBC. I don't watch a lot of TV (my cable doesn't work, and I don't watch enough TV to call the cable guy to turn it back on seeing as I don't pay for it) so I just surf the internet to keep tabs on things.

So I listened to Obama make his final case today when the news allowed it to play. And my first initial thought was 'this guy IS good.'

Barack Obama is a very charismatic and energetic speaker, and he is very good at telling you exactly what you want to hear. This election cycle I have been wondering why people are drawn into this guy and I guess I have figured it out.

I talk to a lot of people, and generally you don't talk about politics unless you want to get into a pissing match, and sometimes it can get ugly, so I do avoid politics in discussion. But sometimes I can't help myself and it comes up. But something I have noticed is a lot of people don't seem to want to get themselves informed on the issues, because otherwise they avoid politics for the same reason. They listen to the politician tell them what they want to hear and say to themselves 'hmm, that sounds pretty good. I think I'll vote for him.' What confounds me is the amount of self proclaimed conservatives that plan on voting for this guy.

When I listened to his speech today, it occurred to me how much Obama comes off as a centrist. When he is talking about his plans for the nation and the Hope and Change that he will bring, he sounds like he is speaking from the center of the aisle. His speeches makes him appear to be a moderate.

The problem is, Obama is more known for his oratory skills, which help him come off as a moderate, then for his actions. And his actions, as limited and few as they are, do not back up his words. He says one thing, tells you exactly what you want to hear to get himself elected, but from the few things he has voted on, his record so to speak, labels him as something entirely different. And his record does not support his stump speeches.

And the problem is, you get to talking to some people, and they don't want to listen to you make this case. They don't like to talk about politics. They just want to take his words at face value and go with it. And boy was his words coming out smooth as silk, telling you exactly what you want to hear. He is going to solve all the worlds problems you know. This guy will promise you the moon on a silver platter. He is going to fix the financial crisis, give everyone free healthcare, create jobs, end war as we know it, and probably cure cancer while he's at it. And how he says it, you are almost inclined to believe he can do it, because, you know, he's such a great speaker. And so everything that is coming out of his mouth must be true.

The thing is, with all of his plans and what he expects to do to help fix America, there is no way he can promise all of this crap. He is just another politician, telling you everything you want to hear just to get himself elected. There can't be anyway possible he can come through with half of his promises without taxing this nation up to our eyeballs or drowning us deeper into debt then we are. But the problem is, a lot of ordinary Americans caught up in the glory of Obama don't seem to realize this. He says he is a new kind of politician, so it must be true.

If he could back up his words with his record, this guy would have had this race cinched up months ago and McCain wouldn't have a flying chance. The thing is, a lot of people do see him for who he is, have noticed 'this guy is a little to good to be true' and looking into his background, noticing the strange occurances that happen, like critics being silenced, voices of opposition being personally attacked, and every now and again his true intentions come forth when we hear things like 'wealth distribution' and his own running mate telling us how we are going to be attacked 'to test the mettle of this guy', this is sending up some intense red flags. This guy is a freakin' Socialist.

The problem with Obama's message is often times he uses talking points similar to what McCain would use, as McCain is a true centrist, and McCain can't really repeat them without sounding like he's copying Obama. If people would wake up and do a little research on their own, they'd realize that this guy is not what he says he is, he has no record to back up his claims of planning to do what he keeps promising with his smooth talk of hope and change and in fact has a very different track record of extremism, maybe they would wake up to the true nature of what an Obama Presidency might mean.

I hope that if this guy does win the presidency I'm wrong about him, that he can follow through with half the crap he's promising without bankrupting our nation, but I doubt it.

I guess the only way we can find out is if he wins the Presidency, won't we? Then we'll know for sure.

But I'll tell you one thing. As a soldier, I'm more loyal to the Constitution of the United States then my Commander in Chief. If Barack Obama becomes President, I'll respect his position, as long as he respects the Constitution for which this great nation is founded upon. But as soon as he goes against that, I'll go against him.

And I fear under an Obama Presidency, our Constitution may be at threat. I sincerely pray that I am wrong on that.