Two Strikes On Obama

Two recent episodes have clearly revealed that Senator Obama is not the "CHANGE" agent that he and his handlers have been proclaiming. Oh, they might be changing the way a politician gets elected (see MYSPACE, FACEBOOK, etc.), but what actual change will Obama bring to America if and when he occupies the White House? Now that he is the newly minted front runner, the columnists, commentators, and bloggers are starting to take a long needed look at who Senator Obama is and what he would do as president.

In the past days, Obama has had the opportunity to show in real time, that he is a different politician. That he would do things in a radical new way. Unfortunately he has swung and missed at two situations that have crept into the campaign. Surely, a third pitch will come his way soon, that hopefully will show that he does have the stuff to make great things happen. Unfortunately, Obama is in an 0 and 2 hole, and looking like an easy strikeout victim.

The first challenge came from presumptive GOP candidate John McCain. McCain announced that he had a binding agreement with Obama to forgo private donations so that the two could take around $80 million or so from the public coffers to run their fall campaigns. If Obama had agreed to this, it would be a sure fire disaster, as he has now proven that he can raise incredible amounts of money. Obama will need every penny as he will face Swift Boat style 527 attack ads from the right wing. But Obama is in a bind because he is selling himself as the candidate of honesty and openness. By rejecting his agreement with McCain he will be turning his back on both a promise and the cleanness that comes from accepting public funding. Obama has sent mixed signals about what he will do when and if he is nominated, showing that at least on this first pitch, he is not as pure and principled as his legions of supporters have made him out to be.

The second curve ball, was the recent shooting at Northern Illinois University. Obama, a senator from Illinois, reacted to the tragedy in a heartfelt way. Just like almost all of us, he said his prayers were with the victims. But then he quickly went on to proclaim his support of the second amendment and the "individual's" right to bear arms. This second point is important because it is code for the NRA and the millions of hardcore gun owners who are up in arms over a Washington DC gun ban that is before the courts. Here was another in a string of bloody campus killings, and already Obama was playing to the hands of the gun lobby. Obama is not naive and knows that to win the GOP leaning "red states", he cannot give the gun lobby ammunition to shoot him down. But why is he being so calculating? If he is the man of change, where is his real plan to start bringing to a head the problem of gun shootings not only on our college grounds but on the killing fields of our urban cities? If he
is so pure and different, isn't it about time that a major candidate such as himself sacrifices campaign calculating for some plain truth?

Two recent problems - two typical political answers. The people in Mudville went home shaking their heads when their Mighty Casey struck out. Will the primary and caucus supporters of Senator Obama also go home sulking when they see that their man is not much different from all the rest or will he hit a homer full of honesty and conviction to bring about the so called season of change? Pitch number three is coming . . .