Obama - No Surprises

by Prioleau Alexander

Prioleau writes:

Things Fall Apart

Well, it's all over but the taxin'.

The Chosen One has been chosen, and America is in for some big changes. Although I fundamentally disagree with everything President-elect Obama stands for, I can take comfort in one primary reality: he never lied about who he is, or what he stands for.

He spoke eloquently for over a year about his dislike for our nation as it is, and the hope he held for the nation he could create. And he won. No one was tricked by his good-looks or his lip-biting, feel-your-pain delivery. He explained what he stood for, and the majority of Americans stated, "Yup. I agree. That's what I stand for, too."

Let's examine those issues, shall we?

Spreading the wealth around:

He made it quite clear to Joe the Plumber that spreading the wealth around was a good thing, and something he planned to do. In a 2001 radio interview on Chicago public radio, he stated that one of the tragedies of the Civil Rights Movement (and of the Warren Court) was the failure to address the need for the redistribution of wealth.

When a reporter asked President-elect Obama if he regretted the "spreading the wealth around" comment, he stated flatly, "No." Given that spreading the wealth is the bedrock of both communism and socialism, I gotta give President Obama credit - he says what he thinks.

Big Government:

This is a governmental philosophy that both Obama and McCain shared -- no matter who won, we were going to get even bigger government -- just twelve years after Bill Clinton declared, "The era of big government is over."

Obama clearly believes a bigger government can fix our national ills, despite the fact that the last eight years has seen stratospheric spending. The House and Senate from both parties got everything they wanted, and yet here we are.

When you are running against the record of George W. Bush, and holding his policies up as what not to do, shouldn't your plan be different than his? How can the cure for out-of-control spending be more spending? But, as always, Obama was very straight-forward on where he stood.

Rejecting Patriotic Symbols:

There was, indeed, no doubt that Barrack Obama wanted nothing to do with Old Glory. He blatantly refused to wear an American flag lapel pen, and was never shy about speaking up about it. He also removed the American flag from the tail of his plane and replaced it with the Obama logo. Do such symbols matter? I'm sure that's a personal decision - but at least President-Elect Obama made his feelings clear.

Racial Issues:

President-elect Obama's opinions on race were fearless. Absolutely fearless. Barrack called the uber-racist Rev. Jeremiah Wright his "spiritual mentor," and sat through twenty years of sermons in a church where the preacher proclaimed America to be the "US of KKK."

In the wake of Rev. Wright's hateful, Anti-America sermons being exposed, Barrack gave a brilliantly crafted speech during which he sounded sad and reasonable and explained we need to understand the source of this racism, and work to heal it. (Please see redistribution of wealth above).

When President-elected Obama was forced to defend his comments from that speech concerning his grandmother, he then referred to her as "a typical white person," who has a fear of black men "bred" into her. Even the Huffington Post went ballistic on that remark, asking what the response would be if Hillary Clinton had referred to "a typical black person." For those who need translation, let me say this: Racial relations have been healing for almost forty years -- Our new president intends to tear the scab off that wound, and start cutting deeper. Like all of his beliefs, however, he laid it out for those with ears to hear.

Taxes:

In a debate with Hillary Clinton, moderated by Charlie Gibson, President-elect Obama made clear his views on taxes and class warfare. Mr. Gibson explained, "President Clinton cut capital gains taxes to 20%. President Bush cut them further to 15%. In both cases, revenues to the government via capitol gains taxes grew. How does this reality square with your plans to increase capital gains taxes?" The Chosen One responded, "Charlie, we said we would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness."

Ladies and Gentlemen, we just elected a man who stated publicly that seizing money from the rich is more important than additional tax dollars that might help the poor. And he was willing to admit to it.

Foreign Policy:

President-elect Obama has stated from the get-go that he plans to sit down for "conditional" talks with Iran and North Korea. I'm sure this makes folks like Jon Stewart feel all warm inside, but what do you think it will accomplish?

News flash-- Kim Jong-il is insane. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is insane. Barrack may also want to meet with the guy at the Med U who thinks he's Elvis, but that meeting isn't going to make the guy any less insane.

And as for the future of our support for Israel? The holiest place in the Christian world? You be the judge. But remember, President-elect Obama didn't hide his thoughts from you. Things fall apart -- As for this new America, it appears I am now the stranger in a strange land, bitterly clinging to my guns and my religion.

The American voters have stated that the values my parents worked so hard to instill in me are passé, and that personal achievement and personal responsibility are no longer desirable. It seems my four years of service in the Legions was for naught -- for it was my job to defeat the expansion of communism, yet we are now rushing to embrace the "lite" version of that very ethos. The center could no longer hold us together, and things have fallen apart.

At least I can say this: There will be few surprises. President-elect Obama did not hide his agenda.