From the Boston Globe on May 25, 2008 by Jefff Jacoby: "ON THE website of the Tennessee Republican Party is a short video in which residents of Nashville talk about the pride they feel for their country. One man, for example, mentions his esteem for the First and Second Amendments. A Vanderbilt graduate student says he was proud when Ronald Reagan told Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall - "and I was prouder when it came down." A young professional woman extols the "academic and job opportunities that women have in this country." A police officer named Juan says he is proud of having immigrated to the United States, learned English, and become a citizen of this "land of opportunity and the best country in the world."
The video makes its point by alternating these upbeat comments with clips of Michelle Obama telling two different audiences in February: "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country." In an understated press release announcing the video, the state GOP welcomed Mrs. Obama to Nashville and remarked: "The Tennessee Republican Party has always been proud of America."
One would have to have skin of microscopic thinness to take offense at so gentle and indirect a critique. No surprise, then, that Barack Obama took offense, reacting as if his bride had been slimed by slurs akin to those that enraged Andrew Jackson when he ran for president. (During the campaign of 1828, supporters of John Quincy Adams maligned Jackson's mother as a "common prostitute" and mocked his adored wife, Rachel, as a "convicted adulteress" and a "strumpet.") In an interview on ABC, Obama growled that Republicans "should lay off my wife," and described the inoffensive Tennessee video as "detestable," "low class," and reflecting "a lack of decency."
If Republicans "think that they're going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign," he added ominously, "they should be careful."
Ooh, very fierce. But unless Obama is prepared to emulate Jackson - Old Hickory defended his wife's honor by fighting duels, in one of which he killed a man - he stands no chance of putting his wife's remarks off-limits to criticism. As long as he keeps sending her around the country to campaign on his behalf, everything she says is - and should be - fair game.
And unfortunately for Obama and his allegedly sunny politics of hope, what Mrs. Obama seems to say with grim regularity is that America is a scary, bleak, and hopeless place.
Here she is, for instance, in Wisconsin:
"Life for regular folks has gotten worse over the course of my lifetime, through Republican and Democratic administrations. It hasn't gotten much better."
And in South Carolina:
America is "just downright mean" and "guided by fear . . . We have become a nation of struggling folks who are barely making it every day."
And in North Carolina:
"Folks are struggling like never before . . . When you're that busy struggling all the time, which most people that you know and I know are, you don't have time to get to know your neighbor . . . In fact, you feel very alone in your struggle, because you feel that somehow it must be your fault that you're struggling so hard . . . People are afraid, because when your world's not right, no matter how hard you work, then you become afraid of everyone and everything, because you don't know whose fault it is, why you can't get a handle on life, why you can't secure a better future for your kids . . . Fear is the worst enemy. It . . . creates this veil of impossibility, and it is hanging over all of our heads."
There is also her creepily authoritarian vision of life under an Obama administration. From a speech in California:
"Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zone . . . Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual - uninvolved, uninformed."
Michelle Obama is undeniably smart, driven, outspoken, and charismatic. She is also relentlessly negative about life in these United States. True, she is not the one running for president. But she is Barack Obama's closest confidante and adviser; if he is elected, her influence will be considerable. That is why her words matter. And why, whether her husband likes it or not, Michelle Obama is a legitimate issue in this campaign."
Showing posts with label Michelle Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michelle Obama. Show all posts
Monday, May 26, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Obama Mentor Emil Jones Obtained $2.25 Million Grant to Group with Ties to Michelle Obama, Then Barack Lied About It
From Chicago Tribune on May 3, 2007: "SPRINGFIELD - Barack Obama has expressed pride in his ability to bring home old-fashioned pork.
During his nearly eight years in Springfield, he tucked special earmarks into massive budget bills to shower small bequests on inner city schools, parks and youth service agencies.
But some of the larger grants Obama sponsored were tied to political allies and show how difficult it is even for politicians advocating reform to avoid the appearance of favoritism as they dole out taxpayer funds. Several non-profit directors, for instance, gave money to Obama's campaigns soon after their allotments were awarded.
"My philosophy was that, if money was being distributed, then it would be inappropriate for me to not get my share for my district," Obama, now one of the U.S. Senate Democrats' leaders on ethics reform, said in an interview. "Did I think it was the best way to prioritize government spending? No."
The Tribune analyzed 119 grants in which Obama steered more than $6 million for Chicago projects between late 1999 and late 2002, the heart of his Statehouse career and the center of a state government frenzy in which Obama said the pork-barrel process was "wide open."
Typical of his grants was the $5,000 Obama delivered to the South Shore Public Library for chess equipment, books and knitting supplies, or the $5,000 to help the Sir Miles Davis Academy plaster and paint walls and repair windows.
But other grants reflected politics. In 2001, for example, Obama steered $75,000 to a South Side charity called FORUM Inc., which promised to help churches and community groups get wired to the Internet. Records show five FORUM employees, including one who had declared bankruptcy, had donated $1,000 apiece to Obama's state Senate campaign.
As the grant dollars were being disbursed to FORUM, the Illinois attorney general filed a civil lawsuit accusing the charity's founder of engaging in an unrelated kickback scheme. Just days after the suit was filed, Obama quietly returned the $5,000 in donations. "I didn't want to be associated with money that potentially might have been tainted," he said.
FORUM founder Yesse Yehudah, who unsuccessfully ran for state Senate against Obama in 1998, denied wrongdoing and, without admitting guilt, settled the attorney general's lawsuit by paying $10,000 to a charity. He declined to comment.
Obama was not accused of wrongdoing, and he said none of his state grants came about as a quid pro quo.
"It happens that there were major supporters in my district who had been supporters before they got member initiatives," Obama said, noting that some of his contributors had been his allies for years.
One of those long-time supporters was Rev. Michael Pfleger, the politically active leader of St. Sabina Church. He gave Obama's campaign $1,500 between 1995 and 2001, including $200 in April 2001, about three months after Obama announced $225,000 in grants to St. Sabina programs.
Pfleger said he made those donations personally, not on behalf of the church or to win grants.
"At a time when less people vote than ever, I don't think pastors should be silent on politics," Pfleger said.
Another supporter, Henry English, made two donations to Obama totaling $900 in 2001 after Obama helped send a $50,000 grant to a non-profit group that English ran, the Black United Fund of Illinois. English scoffed when asked if his donations were related to the grants.
"It's something that I did," he said. BUFI and Obama "have somewhat of a relationship. He is from down the street."
Personal ties to Obama also were evident in some pork dispensed by his political allies. The Chicago-based Muntu Dance Theatre received a $4.5 million grant to help pay for a $10 million cultural center.
Obama's mentor in Springfield, state Sen. Emil Jones (D-Chicago), sponsored the grant. And at the time $2.25 million of the grant was disbursed, Obama's wife, Michelle, sat on the non-profit dance group's board.
Obama said in the interview that at the time of the award in 2003 his wife wasn't a board member, though tax returns of the charity indicate she sat on the board in 2002 and 2003. Jones' spokeswoman said Michelle Obama did not lobby him for the funds."
During his nearly eight years in Springfield, he tucked special earmarks into massive budget bills to shower small bequests on inner city schools, parks and youth service agencies.
But some of the larger grants Obama sponsored were tied to political allies and show how difficult it is even for politicians advocating reform to avoid the appearance of favoritism as they dole out taxpayer funds. Several non-profit directors, for instance, gave money to Obama's campaigns soon after their allotments were awarded.
"My philosophy was that, if money was being distributed, then it would be inappropriate for me to not get my share for my district," Obama, now one of the U.S. Senate Democrats' leaders on ethics reform, said in an interview. "Did I think it was the best way to prioritize government spending? No."
The Tribune analyzed 119 grants in which Obama steered more than $6 million for Chicago projects between late 1999 and late 2002, the heart of his Statehouse career and the center of a state government frenzy in which Obama said the pork-barrel process was "wide open."
Typical of his grants was the $5,000 Obama delivered to the South Shore Public Library for chess equipment, books and knitting supplies, or the $5,000 to help the Sir Miles Davis Academy plaster and paint walls and repair windows.
But other grants reflected politics. In 2001, for example, Obama steered $75,000 to a South Side charity called FORUM Inc., which promised to help churches and community groups get wired to the Internet. Records show five FORUM employees, including one who had declared bankruptcy, had donated $1,000 apiece to Obama's state Senate campaign.
As the grant dollars were being disbursed to FORUM, the Illinois attorney general filed a civil lawsuit accusing the charity's founder of engaging in an unrelated kickback scheme. Just days after the suit was filed, Obama quietly returned the $5,000 in donations. "I didn't want to be associated with money that potentially might have been tainted," he said.
FORUM founder Yesse Yehudah, who unsuccessfully ran for state Senate against Obama in 1998, denied wrongdoing and, without admitting guilt, settled the attorney general's lawsuit by paying $10,000 to a charity. He declined to comment.
Obama was not accused of wrongdoing, and he said none of his state grants came about as a quid pro quo.
"It happens that there were major supporters in my district who had been supporters before they got member initiatives," Obama said, noting that some of his contributors had been his allies for years.
One of those long-time supporters was Rev. Michael Pfleger, the politically active leader of St. Sabina Church. He gave Obama's campaign $1,500 between 1995 and 2001, including $200 in April 2001, about three months after Obama announced $225,000 in grants to St. Sabina programs.
Pfleger said he made those donations personally, not on behalf of the church or to win grants.
"At a time when less people vote than ever, I don't think pastors should be silent on politics," Pfleger said.
Another supporter, Henry English, made two donations to Obama totaling $900 in 2001 after Obama helped send a $50,000 grant to a non-profit group that English ran, the Black United Fund of Illinois. English scoffed when asked if his donations were related to the grants.
"It's something that I did," he said. BUFI and Obama "have somewhat of a relationship. He is from down the street."
Personal ties to Obama also were evident in some pork dispensed by his political allies. The Chicago-based Muntu Dance Theatre received a $4.5 million grant to help pay for a $10 million cultural center.
Obama's mentor in Springfield, state Sen. Emil Jones (D-Chicago), sponsored the grant. And at the time $2.25 million of the grant was disbursed, Obama's wife, Michelle, sat on the non-profit dance group's board.
Obama said in the interview that at the time of the award in 2003 his wife wasn't a board member, though tax returns of the charity indicate she sat on the board in 2002 and 2003. Jones' spokeswoman said Michelle Obama did not lobby him for the funds."
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Taylor Marsh: Michelle Obama Does Not Speak for Me
From TaylorMarsh.com on February 19, 2008:
"“For the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.” - Michelle Obama (video)
The love I have for this country does not depend on a political campaign predicated on the notion of "change."
The love I have for this country does not depend on one person, certainly not some politician with a slogan that others have used, which he has re-used.
The love I have for this country does not depend on aiding the winning of someone for president, without a clue what he or she is offering in the guise of one word, "change."
The love I have for this country does not depend on ignorance of what patriotism requires to serve a personal goal.
My uncle Dick certainly didn't serve his country and get battle fatigue in WWII so people could pick and choose pride in this nation based on personal association to some politician, forgetting the greater glory we all serve through our country's ideals.
My husband, a blue collar man, doesn't support our cause 24/7 because he believes one politician is the answer, or that this moment a deliverer has presented himself through the notion of "change." This blue collar family expects politicians to offer solutions, THAT'S RIGHT, SOLUTIONS, not words or promises of "change."
The love I have for my country does not include following yet another political huckster down a path where he gets the glory he craves, while my blue collar family gets the shaft... again.
The love I have for this country knows no political party bounds.
The love I have for this country also does not require allegiance to some woman's husband, who people have declared the political Messiah in a nation that requires none, because WE THE PEOPLE will save ourselves, provided some political incompetent doesn't think unity is more important than the Democratic ideals that have proved important to us all.
The love I have for this country means that I will walk through the fires of hell to keep someone unqualified for the presidency of the United States from acquiring that position, successful or not and regardless of what it costs me personally, which doesn't matter one whit compared to this nation I hold dear. I will not swear allegiance to any person who offers platitudes in the disguise of the presidential, on the wings of some amorphous promise of "change."
The love I have for this country makes me an American first, a Democrat second. Never before in my life have I been more aware of this fact than I was after I thought long and hard about Michelle Obama's comments, not able to brush them aside, though that was my first instinct and said so, only to hear her words flash before me again and again, finally causing something to rise up deep inside me to scream NOT THIS AMERICAN.
Michelle Obama does not speak for me.
Proud to be an American, after forty plus years, because of some "change" that's promised, but not described?
I've been proud to be an American my whole life. It doesn't depend on some personal attachment to someone I'm trying to elevate to leader, through some word that he has not yet defined.
The love I have for this country has nothing to do with Michelle Obama's Me-Me-Me mantra. The narcissistic, self centered, arrogant insult delivered by Michelle Obama, representing a man who hopes to talk his way into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is a slap at the American spirit that runs throughout this country, regardless of political party, race, gender, creed, religion, you name it, and the word "change" alone can't alter the course on which we are disastrously careening without a plan.
I am a proud American first. A liberal second. But Michelle Obama will never speak for me. Not until I know the definition of "change" that's being offered amidst a record that doesn't come close to measuring up to all the endless talk."
"“For the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.” - Michelle Obama (video)
The love I have for this country does not depend on a political campaign predicated on the notion of "change."
The love I have for this country does not depend on one person, certainly not some politician with a slogan that others have used, which he has re-used.
The love I have for this country does not depend on aiding the winning of someone for president, without a clue what he or she is offering in the guise of one word, "change."
The love I have for this country does not depend on ignorance of what patriotism requires to serve a personal goal.
My uncle Dick certainly didn't serve his country and get battle fatigue in WWII so people could pick and choose pride in this nation based on personal association to some politician, forgetting the greater glory we all serve through our country's ideals.
My husband, a blue collar man, doesn't support our cause 24/7 because he believes one politician is the answer, or that this moment a deliverer has presented himself through the notion of "change." This blue collar family expects politicians to offer solutions, THAT'S RIGHT, SOLUTIONS, not words or promises of "change."
The love I have for my country does not include following yet another political huckster down a path where he gets the glory he craves, while my blue collar family gets the shaft... again.
The love I have for this country knows no political party bounds.
The love I have for this country also does not require allegiance to some woman's husband, who people have declared the political Messiah in a nation that requires none, because WE THE PEOPLE will save ourselves, provided some political incompetent doesn't think unity is more important than the Democratic ideals that have proved important to us all.
The love I have for this country means that I will walk through the fires of hell to keep someone unqualified for the presidency of the United States from acquiring that position, successful or not and regardless of what it costs me personally, which doesn't matter one whit compared to this nation I hold dear. I will not swear allegiance to any person who offers platitudes in the disguise of the presidential, on the wings of some amorphous promise of "change."
The love I have for this country makes me an American first, a Democrat second. Never before in my life have I been more aware of this fact than I was after I thought long and hard about Michelle Obama's comments, not able to brush them aside, though that was my first instinct and said so, only to hear her words flash before me again and again, finally causing something to rise up deep inside me to scream NOT THIS AMERICAN.
Michelle Obama does not speak for me.
Proud to be an American, after forty plus years, because of some "change" that's promised, but not described?
I've been proud to be an American my whole life. It doesn't depend on some personal attachment to someone I'm trying to elevate to leader, through some word that he has not yet defined.
The love I have for this country has nothing to do with Michelle Obama's Me-Me-Me mantra. The narcissistic, self centered, arrogant insult delivered by Michelle Obama, representing a man who hopes to talk his way into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is a slap at the American spirit that runs throughout this country, regardless of political party, race, gender, creed, religion, you name it, and the word "change" alone can't alter the course on which we are disastrously careening without a plan.
I am a proud American first. A liberal second. But Michelle Obama will never speak for me. Not until I know the definition of "change" that's being offered amidst a record that doesn't come close to measuring up to all the endless talk."
Monday, February 18, 2008
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