Obama "Yo Mama"

Ok. No idea why I wrote that. But Obama does in fact rhyme with Yo Mama.

As of late, I have not spent much time blogging about politics. But it is time to get back to it. Quite frankly besides the entire Republican party, George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the I. Lewis Libby (do we know what the I stands for yet?) trial drama, nothing annoys me quite as much as the media's love affair with Barack Obama.

Why is the media so in love with the man? Honestly, they are pimping him out as some sort of liberal pin-up. It is disturbing that on the basis of one good speech (years ago at the DNC convention) and one state-wide win (a predictable win over Alan Keyes. Anyone, and I mean anyone could beat Keyes), liberals have united around him. Well, liberals minus me that is.

It is my personal belief that Obama lacks the experience needed to be president. His lack of foreign policy experience is most glaring, but he also, in my opinion, lacks national domestic policy experience. Not to mention the fact that Obama has never run a political body. He has no gubernatorial experience, nor does he chair any of the caucuses or committees on the Hill. Obama has little in the way of responsibility. The buck does not stop with him, not even for his Illinois constituents who may turn more frequently to their Governor or their Senior Senator.

George W, as much as I dislike him, was the Governor of Texas before becoming president. He beat a formidable opponent in Ann Richardson. He also ran a state (although arguably not really by himself). While I dislike most of what I hear him say, I do believe that George W theoretically has the training to be president. He has the experience of managing a budget, of dealing with foreign policy issues (well maybe just Mexico... and unsuccessfully with Canda when he applied the death penalty to one of their citizens), and of having the responsibility for final decisions. Obama has none of that.

The general consensus is that Senators cannot win presidential elections because their voting records are long and often contradictory and rife with skeletons. Obama, given his short tenure, does not yet have to face this issue, which may be the impetus behind his candidacy. But it is a trifle disingenuous for him to take advantage of his Democratic competitors' voting records, specifically with regards to the war in Iraq. In fact, on this point, I find Barack to be beyond irritating. Everyone and their mother who was not in the US Congress at the time would now (upon reflection) say, they never would have voted for the war in Iraq. It is an easy statement to make, and there is absolutely no way to test the validity of the statement. The question is now what would you do? And to my knowledge Obama has offered little in the way of ideas and more lip service to a disenchanted, seemingly disenfranchised Democratic base. Bush's surge is likely not the right way to go, but neither is Obama's proposed pull out. Once the US pulls out, Iran will pull in to the Shiite South, the Kurds will break away leading Turkey to join in the tussle, and the Saudis might feel compelled to step in and save their Sunni brethren. If Obama want to talk about how this is a war we should not be in, that's great. But the fact is we are there, so tell me please how do we get out?

I can be unbiased enough to realize that many of you may believe me to be over harsh on Obama. The fact is that most politician are guilty of playing the "Iraq game". However in the case of Obama, it is a particular irritant since he never had any skin in the game. My disillusionment with his candidacy would diminish significantly if the man would just give me some real ideas with some real detail.

And the ruckus the media are making now out of Biden's comments on Obama being a, and I paraphrase, "great African-American candidate" is ridiculous. The media, in paying obeisance to Obama, is indulging in the exact same behavior that in many ways led this country into Iraq. Talk about your blind spots.