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Blogs by Philip F Harris
Obama, Manchurian Candidate 7/25/2007 8:26:51 AM
Is he for real? Barack Obama will not win the Democratic nomination for president. All biases and prejudices aside on the part of the American voting public, there is something about Obama that is not trust worthy. He reminds me of the Manchurian Candidate, well groomed, very slick, always the right answers but not real. Coming out of nowhere, there is just something that I do not trust about him. The sad part is the pundits and the press seem to think that he is a breath of fresh air in what has become the stagnant pool of American politics.
The man is well spoken and his presence is impressive. If he had been around in politics longer I might take a second look but he has too many answers for someone so new to the political arena. What is amazing is that people think that his get tough on Washington and its special interests are something new. Here is a quote from the Washington Post referencing the recent YouTube debate:
Time and time again Obama sought to take specific questions and broaden them into a conversation over who represented real change in the field. He castigated lobbyists and special interests in Washington, offering a sweeping condemnation of business as usual (by both parties) in the nation’s capitol. “We don’t just need a change in political parties,” said Obama. “We need a change in attitudes of people representing Americans.”
Chris Cillizza, Washington Post
It is unfortunate that memories are so short. Every candidate for president in the past thirty years has used that same refrain; time to change the way business is done in Washington. And, every president has failed to make any change-it continues to be business as usual. When the Republicans controlled the Congress and the White House, no real changes were made. Now the Democrats control Congress and there are no real changes. We heard the same promises from Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and we are hearing it again.
The basic premise on the part of Obama and his predecessors are wrong. There will always be special interests and to say that you are going to do away with their influence is naïve and is contrary to American politics 101. To say that we need a change in the attitudes of those representing Americans is only partially correct. Elected officials in Washington merely reflect the mirror image of the American public. That image is one of apathy, confusion, lack of conviction and it lacks direction. The American public does not know what it wants and is trying to get someone to tell them what they should do and how they should think. They feel that life has gotten so complex and the issues so confusing that they have abrogated responsibility for almost every aspect of their lives to Washington. As long as that hold true, Washington will continue to be the battleground for competing special interests and the promises of candidates to change this are simply wishful thinking. After all, how are their campaigns funded?
While Obama puts on a good show, I cannot help but wonder who is behind the scenes of his campaign. If someone gives a pitch that is too good to be true, especially in politics, it raises red flags. The field of democratic candidates are not impressive, but it is probably a given they will win the White House in ’08. Of course, they have been known to blow solid leads. If Hillary is nominated she would be wise not to choose Obama as VP. I am sure that there would be a lot of pressure to do that but it would be her undoing. Then we can watch Obama and see if he is a real politician or, just another Manchurian Candidate.
