The Difference is John McCain Asked for this…

With respect to the Reverend Wright controversy, I don’t believe it was fair to equate the views of the Reverend with those of Barack Obama’s. And I don’t post the video below as a tit-for-tat, I post it because I believe that there is a difference between what occurred between Barack Obama and his pastor and what is and has occurred between John McCain and those radicals on the “Religious Right.”

The key difference between Barack Obama and John McCain is that Obama didn’t invite his religion into the public eye by strutting some self-purported holy man millionaire up on stage. Barack Obama left his religion where it belonged, as his own personal and private business outside of the public view. Reverend Wright and the comments he made were thrust, out of context and into the public arena so that someone could earn political points (which begs the question of just who was the original source of that story).

Conversely, it was no one but John McCain who brought religion into his campaign. It didn’t just start at a Cincinnati campaign rally with his introduction of “Pastor” Rod Parsley as, and this is a direct quote, “one of the truly great leaders in America, a moral compass, a spiritual guide,” it started years ago when McCain recognized that he needed to pander to the power-base that the “Religious Right” occupied in the Republican Party in order to clear one of the major gates down the path of the nomination. McCain hasn’t just sucked up to Parsley, he’s stooped down to kiss Pat Robertson’s radical heinie and he’s had to stretch his pucker to wrap around the enormous dairy aire of the late Jerry Falwell, even despite his own inclinations to the contrary.

“Governor Bush swung far to the Right and sought out the base support of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. Those aren’t the ideas that I think are good for the Republican Party.”

- John McCain, 2000

Ya gotta wonder about a guy who seems like he’d kiss up to anyone or bend and break his own principles just so that he can become president.

“I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they are — were recipients of the judgment of God for that. The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades. So I believe that the judgment of God is a very real thing. I know that there are people who demur from that, but I believe that the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, that God brings punishment sometimes before the day of judgment. And I believe that the Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.”

- Pastor John Hagee, September 18, 2006

“I’m very honored by Pastor John Hagee’s endorsement today. He has been the staunchest leader of our Christian evangelical movement in many areas…”

- John McCain, Feb 27, 2008

I mean, this isn’t just typical political maneuvering or a yes or no vote on a piece of legislation that can be taken out of context later on. The problem for the “straight talk express” is that in the past he has made some pretty clear statements about what he’s thought about these types of men and yet now, when it’s politically expedient, he’s not only willing to share the same stage with them, he even publicly pronounces them as “moral compasses.”

“Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right.”

- John McCain, February 28, 2000

Do you really want a guy as our president who longs for power so much that he seems like he’ll do anything to attain it?

Do you really want a guy like that controlling our armed forces? Want an example of what that looks like? Just ask John McCain in 2000, he would have told you to that you need look no further than the presidency of George W. Bush.

North Carolina Votes for Barack Obama

May 6th is upon us and the missus and I cast our vote today and I learned something interesting about Wake Forest, North Carolina. You see, I’ve never voted in a primary before because when I lived in NY it was only possible to vote if you registered with a party affiliation. So I was a little confused when the election official asked me if I wanted a Democrat, Republican or Unaffiliated ballot. After figuring out that the unaffiliated ballot was basically just a non-partisan judicial voting ballot both the wife and I asked for the Democratic ballot.

Apparently so did 268 and 269 other people!

In fact, the election official exclaimed that the Democratic ballot was the one that “most people were asking for.” After making my selection for Barack Obama, I walked over to the machine and placed my ballot in the slot. The red LCD readout displayed “362.” So if I was holding the 269th Democratic ballot and there had been a total of 362 ballots by 10:30 a.m. that meant that less than 93 people (just 25%) had requested the Republican ballot - IN A SMALL TOWN THAT OVERWHELMINGLY VOTES REPUBLICAN!

Very interesting I thought…. And that’s not counting the early votes that have already been cast, likely from those that know about such things, such as the partisan or the most highly educated. Hmmm?

Things seem to be looking good. Who knows, while this effect could be because McCain has essentially clinched the Republican nomination, the possibility exists that maybe this is going to happen all over the country on November 4th, 2008?

My prediction is that when the story is told about the general election it is going to be all about turnout and Barack Obama, not Hillary Clinton, definitely not John McCain and especially not George W. Bush, is the reason why people are being motivated to the polls in record numbers.

Whatever happens, the one thing that I’m absolutely sure of today is that the story is NOT going to be about John McCain or the Republican Party.

Things are looking good!

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