Why Obama?

The above picture is enough to turn me off to Obama, no matter how hopeful his message sometimes sounds. Nevertheless, if we are to believe the media and the polls, many in America find Obama an appealing candidate for the White House.

In a recent commentary in the Washington Post, Michael Gerson offered his analysis for Obama's appeal to certain voters.
Excerpt:

...[A]mong the snaking lines of supporters waiting in the cold for Obama events, there is, as he says, "something stirring in the air." One television reporter who covers the campaign told me of interviewing a New Hampshire woman with high regard for Clinton who was nonetheless supporting Obama. When asked why, she said, "Because on the day Obama becomes president, America would think differently about itself."

Obama and his staff clearly believe his candidacy has the potential to be a movement.

[...]

But what is the movement about? It is, above all, the return of idealism. Obama spent the last days before the New Hampshire primary defending "hope" against Clinton's contention that the Illinois senator was raising "false hopes." In the final debate, Obama also defended the use of inspiring words and rhetoric against Clinton's charge that words matter little in comparison to experience. It is a strange, shrunken presidential candidate who makes her final argument an assault on aspiration.

Obama is an impressive carrier of this message for a variety of reasons.

First, his personal style evokes the golden age of nonthreatening, high-minded liberalism from the early 1960s. His crowds may be young and denim-clad, but Obama has a JFK bearing -- conservative suits, fiddling with his starched cuffs, then a hand in his pocket. He dresses and speaks with a well-tailored formality -- his Iowa victory remarks were read from a teleprompter, the sign of well-crafted rhetorical ambition. His manner communicates that politics is a serious, adult business, which could eventually undermine Republican charges of ideological radicalism.

Second, however conventional his current ideological appeal, he has left room for future outreach to middle-ground voters. His stump speech, in the versions I heard, made no mention of abortion -- a typical (and divisive) Democratic applause line. His consistent emphasis on fighting HIV-AIDS globally and promoting development could appeal broadly to religious voters. And Obama does not make cynical use of his race.

Third, Obama's race matters greatly, because most of the American story -- from our flawed founding to the civil rights movement -- has been a struggle between the purity of our ideals and the corruption of our laws and souls. The day an African American stands on the steps of the U.S. Capitol -- built with the labor of slaves -- and takes the oath of office will be a moment of blinding, hopeful brightness....

Read all of Michael Gerson's essay.

Infidel Bloggers Alliance is keeping tabs of some unsavory information about Obama. That information not only includes Obama's possible connection to Islam but also his connections to terrorists in Kenya. CLICK HERE to access the index of IBA 's postings about Obama. Cassandra's article about Obama here at this site is HERE.

In case you don't feel like reading right now, you might want to start by watching the following mostly-audio segment from Christian-oriented Ex-Muslims Expose Islam, about 11 minutes in length:



YouTube Link

If you read nothing else for the next few days, read "Obama's Church Loves Farrakhan." Excerpt:

In the current issue of the church’s magazine The Trumpet, there is a star-struck endorsement of Louis Farrakhan, the racist, anti-white and anti-Jewish black supremacist Muslim demagogue.

Is Obama what America needs? Not in my view. But this summer, the Democratic Party's ballot will be finalized, and on November 4, We the People will elect a new President. Unless there is a drastic change in the power of the Obama movement, I predict that Barack HUSSEIN Obama will be on that ballot.