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June 20, 2008
Obama too Good for Public Financing
Sen. Barack Obama has rejected public financing of his campaign, and did so in a manner so holier-than thou that as Dean Barnett says "it has to be seen to be believed"
Here's the transcript, if you can't stand to watch the whole thing
It's not an easy decision, and especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections. But the public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who've become masters at gaming this broken system. John McCain's campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs. And we've already seen that he's not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups, who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations.From the very beginning of this campaign, I have asked my supporters to avoid that kind of unregulated activity and join us in building a new kind of politics and you have. Instead of forcing us to rely on millions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs, you've fueled this campaign with donations of $5, $10, $20, whatever you can afford. And because you did, we've built a grass-roots movement of over 1.5 million Americans. We've won the Democratic nomination by relying on ordinary people coming together to achieve extraordinary things.
If you're going to reject public financing, Senator, you don't have to be so sanctimonious about it. And stop acting like a victim, please, with your "smears and attacks" line.
Obama's never faced any serious scrutiny before as a candidate, and it shows. You simply don't get a whole lot of media attention when you're running for state senate. His campaign for the U.S. Senate was a cakewalk once Jack Ryan withdrew, and the media stopped paying attention. Obama's other problem is he's so used to being surrounded by and at rallies attended by nothing but sycophantic fawning admirers who do nothing but drool over him that when he's criticized he sees it as a "smear". The situation with the press got so bad that Saturday Night Live did a skit about the media bias.
Jim Geraghty at NRO points out that it was only last November that The Washington Post Obama said that he would take public financing, and was pretty darn certain about it
AS RECENTLY as November, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was unequivocal about whether he would agree to take public financing for the general election if his Republican opponent pledged to do the same. "If you are nominated for president in 2008 and your major opponents agree to forgo private funding in the general election campaign, will you participate in the presidential public financing system?" the Midwest Democracy Network asked in a questionnaire. Mr. Obama's answer was clear. "Yes," he wrote. "If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election."
Well, Sen. McCain is going to take public money. He's upheld his end of the bargain. The Post story makes clear that Obama changed his mind because he started raking in lots of money from donations. Apparently his high principle went out the window. And this is the guy who says he's going to bring forth a "new type of politics"? Sounds like he's as beholden to money as anyone else.
I've said it before on this blog, but I've done a 180 on Obama. As late as the Florida primary in January I was writing that "You're an awfully nice guy, sincere, and decent man. Too bad you have to go up against the Clinton machine. They're trying to drag you down into the mud with them. Don't take the bait."
This was before Jeremiah Wright. Before I knew the truth about Trinity United. Before I knew that he was associated with William Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist (if it had been McCain and Eric Rudolph McCain would have been thrown out of the Senate by now). Before the Tony Rezko trial and Obama's lame "this isn't the Tony Rezko that I knew" routine. Obama is not who I thought he was. To be sure, I'd have never voted for him based on his policy positions, and that he was a lightweight who padded his resume, but I never guessed that he was a total fraud. Obama is not who he said he was
Obama sat in that church and listened to a racist hatemongering preacher for 20 years and only left when it became politically expedient to do so. Now he rejects public financing of campaigns when it's politically expedient to do so.
Posted by Tom at June 20, 2008 7:54 AM
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SNAKE HUNTER SEZ,
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DEMOCRACY, A BACKWARD GLANCE
This Great Nation exhibits a glaring weakness.
It's found in the Leadership Selection Process,
where a candidate for high office now needs the
backing of a group of back-room millionaires,
merely to survive the nomination process!
Out of this flawed system, the hidden "King-Maker"
finally emerges; an egalitarian genius, a most
talented organizing Dynamo Billionaire surfaces,
with a bold new "Open Society Plan" for America's
Future.
His endorsed protege is a relatively unknown,
untested junior senator with a paper-thin resume
that this grand manipulator has pre-selected as
our next Commander In Chief, to lead this new
Shadow Government.
That devilish image lurking behind the curtain is
"Uncle" George Soros.
>>
Warning! We have a scant four months to expose
this monumental fraud. reb
(print)
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www.lazyonebenn.blogspot.com
Posted by: Ralph E. at June 24, 2008 11:55 PM
