IS OBAMA TEFLON? By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN "Itâs been a rough two weeks for Barack Obama, but his poll numbers remain strong and unchanged. Is he a Teflon candidate? Consider whatâs happened since he clinched the Democratic nomination and Hillary âsuspendedâ her campaign: ⢠Obama flip flopped on his pledge to spurn private contributions and finance his campaign publicly â as long as his opponent did likewise. McCain said heâs willing and Obama flipped and said heâs not. ⢠The Democratic candidate was caught flat footed by the sudden spike in oil prices and even defended their high level, lamenting only that we had not been given a period of time to make a âgradual adjustmentâ to the higher price. ⢠McCain urged off-shore drilling, which Americans support, according to Rasmussenâs polling, by 70-19, while Obama said no. ⢠Obama urged that we give foreign terror suspects constitutional rights, including habeas corpus, and even implied that if we caught bin Laden, thatâs how he should be treated. ⢠The head of the commission Obama set up to vet Vice Presidential candidates, Jim Johnson, had to resign after he was found to have gotten millions in sweetheart loans from Countrywide, the mortgage giant that is at the heart of the subprime scandal. But youâd never know it from the polls. Rasmussen has Obama ahead by four, pretty much where heâs been for two weeks, and Newsweek showed him ahead by fifteen points. How is Obama doing it? Heâs got a defensive strategy based on jujitsu â using his enemiesâ strength against him. Obamaâs tormentors on the right keep invoking the crazy remarks of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and former terrorist William Ayers to convince people that Obama is some kind of sleeper agent, sent to seduce and destroy our democracy from within. Some wonder if he is really a Muslim masquerading as a Christian. The more these extreme charges are leveled against the Democratic nominee, the less attention we focus on the very real radical positions that he has taken, grounds enough for a vote against him. The right is so busy pushing Wright and Ayers that it doesnât have time to focus on what doubling the capital gains tax would do to the country or what weakening the Patriot Act would do to national security. In our new book, Fleeced, we try to spell out the policies that Obama espouses and call attention to the danger they represent. His economic programs would land us in a deep and long recession as he drove capital out by doubling the tax on it. His health care policies would pay for federally subsidized insurance for 12 million illegal immigrants, forcing the rest of us to wait in line for our health care â and often to be denied needed procedures because of âobjective criteriaâ applied by federal regulators. His comments about forcing anti-terror investigators to proceed as would regular criminal prosecutors ignores the fact that we do not seek to prosecute, but only to prevent terror attacks, and would burden our homeland security people, slowing them down so we get hit again. There is so much in Obamaâs record to criticize, and the right does him a service by vilifying him. You donât have to believe that he is the Manchurian Candidate to realize that he would be way too liberal as a president."
Obama's Deceiving Words Dear Friends, Senator Obamaâs reversal on public financing continues to resonate among voters in the New York and New Jersey. Although he initially promised to work with John McCain to preserve this important program, he recently announced his intention to break this pledge. I want to make sure you saw an interesting article that ran yesterday on Bloomberg. Even Senator Obamaâs key supporters are uncomfortable with his stance on this issue. Despite Senator Obamaâs rhetoric, his actions demonstrate an unwillingness to fix the troubled system. John McCain is the candidate who is truly committed to reform. I would also like you to see our new web ad, released today. The ad is called "Words," and focuses on Barack Obama breaking his pledge to the American people that he would accept public financing. VIEW THE AD HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mQ_eCGbdg0 I encourage you to continue to write to your local papers to express your views on this issue. Thank you, Peter Feldman Regional Communications Director McCain 2008
Obama's Public Financing Move Puts System at Risk, Biden Says By John Brinsley "June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic Senator Barack Obama's decision not to accept public funds for his presidential campaign puts the financing system at risk, said Senator Joe Biden, an Obama supporter. ``In terms of undermining the public financing idea for everyone'' the decision ``doesn't help,'' Biden, a Delaware Democrat, said today on NBC's ``Meet the Press'' program. ``It's going to be harder to make the case'' for public financing, he said. Still, Biden said Obama has kept his commitment of ``reducing the influence of big money in his campaign, unlike other campaigns.'' Almost 80 percent of Obama's contributions are $100 or less, ``so he's keeping with the purpose of public financing,'' Biden said. Obama announced his move on June 19, calling the taxpayer- funded structure for the general election ``broken.'' Previously, he had promised to seek an agreement with the Republican nominee to take public money and the accompanying spending limits. Doing so would have meant abandoning record amounts of donations and surrendering an advantage over Republican candidate John McCain. Senator Lindsey Graham, a McCain supporter appearing on the same program with Biden, said Obama ``is reinforcing everything that's wrong with politics.'' ``This is a game changer in terms of the general election,'' said Graham, of South Carolina. ``This will not go unnoticed by the American people.'' McCain plans to take public financing for the general election campaign. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson defended Obama on the CBS News program ``Face the Nation,'' saying the Illinois senator's decision ``is in the spirit of reform of the public financing system.'' Through May 31, Obama has taken in $277 million, $10 million of that for the general election. McCain raised around $121 million. The taxpayer funding available for the general election is $84.1 million for each candidate."
MoveOn 'Baby Alex' Ad a Real Winner By: Bill O'Reilly "Have you seen the "Baby Alex" political ad that the radical-left, George Soros-funded organization MoveOn has produced? To some, it plays like a "Saturday Night Live" skit, but the intent is deadly serious: It is designed to damage John McCain. In the ad, a young mother holding a baby says, "Hi, John McCain, this is Alex and he's my first . . . So, John McCain, when you say you would stay in Iraq for a hundred years, were you counting on Alex? Because, if you were, you can't have him." I know, you think I'm making that up. No way. These loopy MoveOn people spent more than one-half million dollars making and marketing the ad. No word on what Baby Alex's cut was. My question is this: Who on earth would take that message seriously? What kind of voter is that supposed to reach? The basic premise of the ad was a conversation from last January between Sen. McCain and the late Tim Russert. McCain told Russert that U.S. troops are needed around the world but we have to keep them safe. The Q&A went like this: Russert: "President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years." McCain: "Maybe 100 . . . We've been in South Korea â we've been in Japan for 60 years. That'd be fine with me, as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed." Now, Baby Alex might not understand the geo-political implications of the comment, but honest adults should. The U.S. military is stationed overseas to protect our interests and to defuse dangerous situations, like turmoil in the Persian Gulf. That's tough for a child to digest, but, come on, it's not a kooky position even if you disagree. Propaganda aside, I liked the Baby Alex ad so much that I'm suggesting MoveOn produce a series of them. Let's see . . . how about Baby Alex thanking his mom for not aborting him? That has a political theme to it. Also, Baby Alex could extend his gratitude to the FBI for keeping his parents safe since the attack on 9/11. Alex could also, through his perspicacious mother, demonstrate his eagerness to see Islamic fascism defeated â so he and all the other babies won't have to deal with it when they grow up. Perhaps Baby Alex's mom could also explain to him that he will never have to live under a tyrant like Saddam Hussein because his country embraces freedom. And then, after all that, Alex could settle in for a nice nap knowing that a nutritious meal will be ready for him upon awakening â a meal millions of babies in other countries will never get. Those ideas should keep MoveOn very busy this election year, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing the spots on TV. Thank you, George Soros. You're a patriot."