Obama McCain – Form vs. Substance

One thing you have to give Senator Obama, he can put on a show. He knows what sunglasses to where with a flak jacket. He knows just the right moments to lose the baby blue tie and roll up his sleeves, and shoot some hoops. He can address thousands of adoring fans, and whip them into a frenzy. He can do all this without addressing any issues. He can fix the world just don’t ask him how.

On the other hand, Senator McCain is not the most gifted speaker to ever run for president. It sort of looks like someone is chasing him when he reads from a teleprompter. He doesn’t look like a J. Crew model, he looks like someone you might run into at the hardware store. However, ask him a policy question anywhere anytime and he’ll give you a thoughtful honest response.

The media seems somewhat baffled that McCain has been closing in on Obama’s lead. No pretty pictures come out of the McCain campaign. He’s talking to folks in restaurants, in grocery stores, and in town halls across America. How could that possibly be more appealing than Senator Obama’s stage show. Screaming fans, massive crowds, the media eating from the palm of his hand, but no ‘world tour bounce’ for Senator Obama.

Substantively, what did come out this week is that Senator McCain was right about the surge. He made a solid foreign policy decision that could have hurt him politically, and the country is better off for it. Could voters possibly be choosing substance over form? Could the media’s crush on Obama be so obvious that voters disregard their glowing reviews of him? Could the fact that Senator Obama doesn’t answer questions, be starting to backfire? Could ‘hope’ and ‘change’ be wearing thin for people paying $4.00 a gallon at the pump? This race could possibly come down to whether voters choose the candidate of substance or choose the candidate of show.

Hype the Obama Effect - the movie

Obama's Foreign Policy Confusion

Senator Obama continues to make foreign policy statements that show off his confusion and inexperience. As Charlie Gibson points out, Senator Obama's speech at AIPAC showed him to be a rookie. Senator Obama has long list of foreign policy misteps. He agreed to meet with foreign dictators in his first term without preconditions, a statement immediately met with criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike. He has stated just this week that their has been progress in Iraq, but isn't convinced the Surge has worked, and this just adds to his litany of condradictory statements on Iraq. He's said Iran isn't a serious threat then said shortly after that it was a grave threat. Polls have shown that voters don't trust Obama as Commander-in-Chief. He is a risky candidate for president in peace time, but a dangerous candidate at a time of war.

Obama's Honesty Problem

Senator Obama and his campaign have made numerous misleading or inaccurate statements that call into question the Senator's honesty. First up, NAFTA. Slate reports,

"For the Canadians, a key point of concern was Obama's sharp criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement. DeMora wrote Wilson that in the Chicago meeting, Goolsbee "candidly acknowledged the protectionist sentiment that has emerged, particularly in the Midwest, during the primary campaign" but reassured Rioux that Obama's NAFTA-bashing "should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans."

Now there is an oddly similar report of Senator Obama telling the Iraqi foreign minister not to listen to his campaign rhetoric.
The Union Leader Reported...

"Here is Sen. Obama speaking in Michigan yesterday, explaining what he told Iraq's foreign minister: ". . . an Obama administration will make sure that we continue with the progress that's been made in Iraq ... that we won't act precipitously, but that we will move to end U.S. combat forces in Iraq."

What progress in Iraq? That would be the progress made under Gen. David Petraeus' "surge" strategy, which Sen. Obama opposed. Back when Obama was criticizing the surge and calling for rapid withdrawal from Iraq (aka, surrender), Sen. John McCain was pushing for more troops and a plan for victory. Now that the policy Obama opposed has turned the tables, decimated al-Qaida in Iraq and made victory possible, Obama says he wants to "continue the progress."

Next, are the completely false remarks of Susan Rice a top Obama foreign policy advisor. First, are her remarks that Senator Obama did not say he would meet with foreign leaders without preconditions,

"She has been trying over the last few months to walk back Senator Obama's statement that he would meet with dictators of rouge nations in the first year of his presidency without preconditions. The tactic being to confuse people with a debate between 'precondition' and 'preparations'. Yet, Dr. Rice expressly stated, “Nobody said he would initiate contacts at the presidential level; that requires due preparation and advance work.” That is false, Senator Obama in a YouTube debate expressly stated he would meet with the leaders of Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela without preconditions, which drew criticism from people on both sides of the isle."

Second, are historically inaccurate remarks she made while on CNN,

"'Thank God he did [Kennedy meet with Krushchev] because if he hadn't we would have not been able to resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis' [comment made by Susan Rice] is completely false. In fact historians agree that this meeting fueled the Cuban Missile Crisis."

Then there are the claims that Senator Obama was unaware of Reverend Wright's radical teachings after attending his church for twenty years. However, the New York Times reports Senator Obama disinvited Reverend Wright from the his presidential annoucement for this reason,

"Mr. Wright said that in the phone conversation in which Mr. Obama disinvited him from a role in the announcement, Mr. Obama cited an article in Rolling Stone, “The Radical Roots of Barack Obama.”

According to the pastor, Mr. Obama then told him, “You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we’ve decided is that it’s best for you not to be out there in public.”

Finally, The Wall Street Journal has reported that Senator Obama will reject public financing and break a previous promise to accept public financing,

"Barack Obama announced today that he will not accept roughly $85 million in public funds for the general election, breaking his earlier pledge to do so if his Republican rival John McCain opted in to the system.

He is the first candidate since the 1970s to forego public financing. McCain has already taken steps to suggest he will opt in to the system in the fall."