Exclusive: Wednesday, July 16

by PRESIDENTIAL WATCH July 16, 2008

See how Obama's tax plan would affect you, compared to McCain's proposals. Should you worry? - GO HERE.

Barack Obama: The first Arab-American president

Derek P. Gilbert.com

Why is the fact that Mr. Obama is only 6.25% African Negro not reported?

Because to acknowledge it is to report this devastating truth about him: Mr. Obama is not legally African-American. It is impossible for him to be, in truth, America's first African-American president.

Mr. Obama is 50% Caucasian, that from his mother. What those who want Mr. Obama to write history by becoming "America's first African-American president" ignore is that his father was ethnically Arabic, with only 1 relative ethnically African Negro - a maternal great-grandparent (Sen. Obama's great-great grandparent, thus the 6.25% ethnic contribution to the senator's ethnic composition).

This means that the media, which has trumpeted his historic candidacy while chiding the campaigns of Clinton and McCain for "playing the race card", has categorized and judged Barack Obama not on the facts of his life, but solely on the color of his skin.

The irony is delicious, and will more than likely be lost on 98% of the American public.

To read the truth about Mr. Obama's name, and his father's ancestors, GO HERE.

Obama: Embarrassed by America

Bay Buchanan, Human Events.com

First there was the flag pin. Barack Obama refused to wear it. Then he refused to put hand to heart during the national anthem. He sat in a pew while his pastor trashed America. He explained to his rich pals in San Francisco that the hard working folks in Middle America "cling to guns or religion" because they are "bitter" over the tough economic times.

Now Obama tells us that we shouldn't worry about immigrants learning English; our focus should be on getting our children to learn Spanish. He added, "It's embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe and all we can say is merci beaucoup."

American soldiers are fighting, and dying in battles thousands of miles from their homes, American medical personnel are caring for refugees and orphans throughout the world, and the American people are more generous than any on earth, ready to help the sick and needy wherever they live, and Barack Obama is embarrassed because his countrymen don't speak French? Who is this guy? Read article.

Barack McGovern Clinton - Meeting Obama.

Peter Wehner, NRO.com

Andrew Sullivan, one of Barack Obama's most ardent defenders, has written this:

The right doesn't know what to make of Obama because he has transcended their Rovian categories. So he either has to be a radical like McGovern or a hollow opportunist like Clinton. He is, in fact, neither.

Obama may, in fact, be both.

Sen. Obama's instincts seem to be, and his few legislative accomplishments are unquestionably, those of an orthodox liberal. It is not by accident that National Journal - a respected, non-partisan publication - named Obama the most liberal person in the Senate in 2007. In a chamber that includes Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, that is, in its own way, quite an achievement. Sen. Obama is arguably the most liberal Democrat running for the presidency since McGovern and, in fact, Obama's stand on Iraq (until the last few weeks, anyway) very much mirrors McGovern's "Come Home, America" rallying cry. Read article.

Ranking Vice Presidential Contenders: Robert Novak & Timothy P. Carney GO HERE.

The presidency as blood sport

John R. Cohn, Philly.com

In America, being president has become a blood sport.

Americans have elected just eight presidents since 1960. One was assassinated, and one barely survived an aspiring killer's bullet. Another resigned to avoid impeachment, while a fourth nearly suffered that fate after he lied in a deposition about matters unrelated to presidential duties. A fifth presidency was ended by riots in the street protesting another unpopular war.

The current occupant of the White House has barely escaped impeachment, saved by the calendar from a newly empowered opposition unable to make the transition from errors in judgment to high crimes and misdemeanors quickly enough.

The last two of our recently elected presidents escaped seemingly unscathed, perhaps because voters turned them out of office after single terms. Our record may be more befitting a banana republic despite being the world's oldest and most important democracy. Indeed, with four presidents assassinated since 1860, the casualty rate is higher for service in the White House than service in Iraq.

It could be argued that having the right to be a part of a left-wing rabble or vast right-wing conspiracy is what keeps us from actually being a banana republic. We're a nation born out of dissent and revolution. Read article.

Making the Best of a Bad Election Cycle

JB Williams, NMJ.us

This day has been a long time coming. We've arrived at a time in American history when we have reached the bottom of the barrel in terms of political talent and no decent American truly qualified to lead the free world would ever even consider entering the cesspool of national politics.

Americans have never been so disgusted with their federal government - and rightfully so. No matter which party the people have put in power, once in Washington DC, all politicians find a way to sell out the American people for a career ride on America's best get-rich-quick scheme of national politics.

The current president's low approval rating only looks good when compared to the even lower approval ratings of the Democrat controlled congress, and their overtly biased Democratic Socialist minions in the lamestream press. The American people don't like or trust any of them and for a change, the American people are right.

Republicans are offering a candidate opposed by 70 percent of traditional Republican voters and Democrats are offering a first term neophyte chameleon, opposed by more than half of traditional Democrat voters.

As a result, third party fantasies are still foolish, but abundant. Read article.

John McCain's Economic Plan: Only 33% Stupid

Mac Johnson, Human Events.com

John McCain has a plan to get us more work, and parts of it are not bad. For example, the most important and avoidable factor driving up the cost of food right now is our idiotic infatuation with the mathematically ludicrous idea of making "biofuels" out of the corn we used to use for "food." We are currently destroying 25% of all the corn in America in order to make just enough expensive low-quality motor fuel to replace 0.6% of global oil. The inflationary pressure of the price of food skyrocketing is substantial, coming on the heels of oil price surges. Corn ethanol as biofuel is a threat to our economy, among other things.

McCain wisely proposes to roll back corn ethanol mandates and remove the $0.54/gallon tariff that prevents US fuel producers from importing cheap Brazilian sugar-based ethanol to compete with the corn-based product. To get more fuel, McCain radically proposes we drill for it at home, instead of relying on foreign oil or glorified corporate moonshiners. This is unusually clear thinking for politician.

Obama, by contrast, wants no drilling ever again and thinks corn ethanol is just great. He dreams of a day when we can use 50% of our entire corn crop to replace a whopping 1.2% of oil demand. (Obama's long-term plans call for the exile of Orville Redenbacher to Kuwait and criminal penalties for ordering extra butter on popcorn in movies so we can turn 100% of our corn into an expensive replacement for 2.4% of oil production). Read article.

Obama flunks Econ 101

Cait Murphy, CNN.com

It's baaaack!! Yes, "comparable worth," which faded out around the same time the Bay City Rollers were disbanding, is making a comeback, under the euphemism "pay equity". To wit: the Fair Pay Act of 2007. Introduced by Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) in April (Illionois Sen. and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is one of 15 co-sponsors) the Act notes the existence of wage differentials between men and women.

This is true; according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2005 female full-time wage and salary workers made 81% of what men did. What is more dubious, though, is the assumption that is the heart of the Fair Pay Act: that discrimination is the reason for all or most of the difference. And the act's remedies are absurdly misguided, injecting the federal government into the most routine pay decisions.

Granted, Obama did not write the bill, but he did sign on to it - the only presidential wannabe of either party to do so. Obama is a serious man and a serious candidate who presumably did not go out of his way to associate himself with this legislation in a burst of whimsy. But the Fair Pay Act, despite its anodyne title (who's against fair pay?) is the result of profoundly unserious economic thinking. That Obama put his name to it has to give pause. Read article.

Barack's Brilliant Ground Game

Karl Rove, Online WSJ.com

For a campaign that says it wants to end the politics of the Bush-Cheney years, the Obama for President effort has cribbed an awful lot from the Bush-Cheney playbooks of 2000 and 2004.

Like Mr. Bush, Mr. Obama has harnessed the Internet for persuasion, communication and self-directed organization. A Bush campaign secret weapon in 2004 was nearly 7.5 million email addresses of supporters, 1.5 million of them volunteers. Some volunteers ran "virtual precincts," using the Web to register, persuade and organize family and friends around the country. Technology has opened even more possibilities for Mr. Obama today.

The Obama campaign is trying to catch up with the GOP's "microtargeting" program, which uses powerful analytical tools and extensive household consumer information to focus on prospects for conversion and extra turnout help. Another Obama adaptation of a 2004 Bush campaign technique is a stepped-up, rapid response effort. Charges do not go unanswered, the campaign stays relentlessly on the offense, using every channel of communication. Read article.

An "Underwhelming" Nominee

Robert D. Novak, Townhall.com

"I would say he was pretty underwhelming," said Lawyer Gus several days after he and some 200 other big-money supporters of Hillary Clinton's failed presidential campaign met with the victor, Barack Obama, in Washington on June 26. Lawyer Gus is a longtime Democratic activist, who will support and contribute to Obama as the party's nominee, but will not be enthusiastic about it.

He is not alone. After the closed-door session in the Mayflower Hotel's ballroom, Gus was among 20 participants who gathered for drinks to talk it over. They agreed it was not an "exciting performance" by the candidate who has entranced monster rallies across the country. Obama was "low-key" in a perfunctory appeal to them.

In the opinion of the Clintonites, he did not open the door to his campaign because he asked nothing of them. Big-money Democrats who would have expected to be named a U.S. ambassador by President Hillary Clinton realized they would get nothing from President Obama. The train had left the station, and they were not aboard. Read article.

Obama's Moments of Candor, Promptly Extinguished

Gary Bauer, Human Events.com

Listen closely to Barack Obama's words. Not the rehearsed words about politically abstract concepts like hope and unity that he reads from Teleprompters at large venues. I'm talking about the extemporaneous remarks that form his answers to questions from voters or interviewers.

It is during Obama's off-the-cuff comments, before the political filter has gone up, that the candidate often gives us his visceral response to a question. It is during such moments, before the talking points have been reviewed, polls taken or interest groups consulted --before, in other words, the political calculating can begin -- that Obama often reveals his true instincts and fundamental beliefs on important political issues.

But listen fast. For these moments of candor, having inevitably offended this or that interest group or voting bloc, often require that the candidate quickly "clarify" -- that is to say retract, backpedal from or simply obfuscate -- his previous comments, often through a media release or press conference.

These are Obama's moments of candor, promptly extinguished. Listen to them carefully and you can get a sense of what Obama really thinks.

I first noticed this phenomenon last August, when Obama told an Associated Press reporter, "I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance." But Obama immediately caught himself and, after a short pause, quickly added, ".involving civilians," finally saying, "Let me scratch that. There's been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That's not on the table." Read article.

What You Don't Know About Cindy McCain Will Surprise You

Floyd and Mary Beth Brown, Townhall.com

The media lately are full of adoring pieces about Michelle Obama, but why so little about John McCain's wife, Cindy? Of course, we can all see that she has model good looks, sparkling blue eyes, poise and confidence. But she is much more than meets the eye.

Long before she ever married John McCain in 1980, Cindy's heart had been captured by the needs of the less fortunate, especially children. Her undergraduate degree is in Education and she has a Master's degree in Special Education from the University of Southern California. While a student working with severely disabled children, Cindy was part of a pilot study testing Movement Therapy, now a widely used and successful treatment.

After receiving her degrees in California, Cindy returned to her home state of Arizona and began a teaching career at Agua Fria High School. While working at the school, which is located in a poor Phoenix neighborhood, she taught disabled children with special needs such as Down syndrome. The principal at the time, O.K. Fulton said, "She didn't have to work. Her dad had lots of money, but she went beyond what the job called for." Read article.

The Unspeakable Peril for Latinos

Rich Lowry, NY Post.com

John McCain and Barack Obama both gave speeches at the League of United Latin American Citizens convention in Wash ington - and in the 4,600 words they spoke between them didn't mention assimilation once.

Never mind that assimilation is the key to the historic success of American immigration. We all know how it classically works: An immigrant group comes to the US with low levels of education and income, living in ethnic enclaves and clinging to its original culture; then, its children improve their socio-economic lot, and the children-of-the-children get even further ahead, until they are all doctors and lawyers living in the suburbs and recalling the culture of the homeland mainly during holidays or ethnic festivals.

But for the bulk of new Latino immigrants - Mexican-Americans - it's not working this way. In their book-length study "Generations of Exclusion," UCLA sociologists Edward E. Telles and Vilma Ortiz paint an alarming picture of assimilation proceeding only haltingly and sometimes stalling out entirely. Read article.

El Panderosa

Kathleen Parker, JWR.com

Juan y Baracko have been busy lately wooing los que hablan español. That is, people who speak Spanish. With an estimated 9.2 million Hispanic votes in play this November, the stakes are high. And the pandering is in high gear.

Both men have put out Spanish-language ads and both made appearances Tuesday at the national convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). Obama, however, seems to know something about the Hispanic soul that McCain doesn't.

Anyone familiar with Hispanic art and literature knows that poetry isn't only a genre. Poetry is in the DNA of this romantic, passionate people. Obama knows this language without speaking Spanish.

Thus, while McCain spoke PowerPoint about his economic plan - creating jobs, stimulating small business, keeping taxes down - Obama told stories of a little Hispanic girl stuck in a crumbling school building and a nursing mother torn from her baby during a government raid to round up illegal immigrants. Read article.