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While Democrat Barack Obama continues to lead Republican rival John McCain in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, the survey also reveals that voters have some serious misgivings about an Obama presidency. In the poll, 47 percent of respondents said they prefer Obama to win, compared to 41 percent for McCain. That’s the same lead Obama enjoyed a month ago. But when asked which candidate would be better when it comes to being knowledgeable and experienced, 53 percent said McCain and only 19 percent chose Obama. Asked who would be the better commander in chief, again 53 percent said McCain,...

Not every reporter covering Barack Obama's world tour is entranced by the words and imagery of the Democratic candidate. On Thursday's "Good Morning America," political correspondent Jake Tapper jabbed at Obama's overconfidence, describing the senator's July 24 speech in Berlin as "one the Obama campaign is billing at almost presidential. Even though he is not the president." Regarding the Obama plane, the ABC journalist also pointed out: "The American flag on the tail wing has been replaced by an enormous Obama O."

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2008/07/from-gi-in-afgh.html "FROM G.I. IN AFGHANISTAN - "WE GOT MORE THANKS FROM THE DALLAS COWBOY CHEERLEADERS" THAN FROM SENATOR OBAMA" This is from a USAF friend in Afghanistan: Hello everyone, As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to ' The War Zone ' . I wanted to share with you what happened. He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is...

Barack Obama, calling himself a "Citizen of the World," committed himself to reducing America's Nuclear Defenses in a speech delivered in Berlin, Germany, today -- a city ironically united because Ronald Reagan built up America's Nuclear Arsenal. This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly...

(People of Berlin – people of the world – this is our moment. This is our time.) I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

With less than six months to go before he would be sworn in as the nation’s 44th president, Sen. Barack Obama has directed his aides to begin planning for the transition. "Barack is well aware of the complexity and the organizational challenge involved in the transition process and he has tasked s small group to begin thinking through the process,” a senior campaign adviser said. “Barack has made his expectations clear about what he wants from such a process, how he wants it to move forward, and the establishment and execution of his timeline is proceeding apace.” Last month, the...

This man must not be elected.

Leaving aside the fact that Barack Obama is not proposing any sort of "new strategy" for Afghanistan, what are the challenges facing the United States, Afghanistan and our NATO partners in stabilizing Afghanistan against a Taliban insurgency allied with al Qaeda that emanates across the border with Pakistan? Perhaps a brief history lesson is in order here. Tribal map of the region. The provinces of eastern and southern Afghanistan where most of the trouble is and the sanctuaries for the militants across the border in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are the realm of the Pashtuns, fiercely independent tribesmen...

Now that Barack Obama has left Afghanistan and Iraq, where he was part of a congressional delegation, and is visiting the Middle East and Europe as a presidential candidate, most everything he does is being viewed through the prism of the race for the White House. Heading to Berlin later in the week, Obama will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and others. He is set to give a speech Thursday near the historic Brandenburg Gate, where Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy all spoke. Obama’s speech could be delivered before tens of...

Last night Obama had to field an off-the-cuff question from ABC News: "If you had it to do over again, knowing what you know now, would you support the surge?" Well .. there was a small problem. This was not a question that Barack's handlers had prepared him for. He had no script. He had to ad lib, and for Obama that's not good. Sit down folks. Here is Barack's answer. http://boortz.com/more/video/072108_obama_abc.html See if you can make any sense at all out of this. Remember, this is the man who wants to be our Commander in Chief responding to a...

The Sen. John McCain campaign launched a new Web video titled "Obama Love" that takes a swipe at the perceived media bias towards Barack Obama. According to the campaign e-mail, the video "highlights the media's love affair with Barack Obama -- or as MSNBC's Chris Matthews says, that thrill going up my leg." Played to the tune of Frankie Valli's "Can't take my eyes off of you" -- one of Valli's most popular songs. Perhaps, it will turn out to be a hit for McCain as well.

As part of a month-long aircraft makeover, a painted American flag was removed from the tail of Sen. Barack Obama's official campaign airplane and was replaced with the presidential candidate's trademark "O" symbol.

For Mr. Obama, all the world is a stage, with a fawning press cheering him on. Grim theaters of battle where America's bravest fight and die to bring order out of chaos are but dramatic backdrop. It's been a breathless torrent of dispatches since Mr. Obama departed on the overseas tour that will magically bestow foreign policy credentials upon him.Obama backers and the press (but I repeat myself) insist that Iraqi PM Maliki's apparent embrace of a 16 month timeline proves that Obama was right all along. This assertion is illogical and selective. Obama has been relentlessly pushing the...

Tonight ABC aired their interview with Sen. Barack Obama with correspondent Terry Moran conducting; here is a clip of the segment that ran on ABC's World News Tonight: Moran: If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you support the surge? Obama: No. Because, keep in mind that -- Moran: You wouldn't?

Last night on Anderson Cooper 360, two CNN political analysts charged that Senator Obama overstepped his authority as a United States Senator in acting as a negotiator with the Iraqi government and publicly disclosing statements made during those interviews. During an interview with Anderson Cooper, David Gergen, CNN's Senior Political Analyst stated,...

President Obama already? No vote first? July 22, 2008 STEVE HUNTLEY shuntley.cst@gmail.com The way Barack Obama is acting, and the way the news media are reacting, it seems like the candidate and his adoring press corps have concluded the election of the Illinois senator as the 44th president of the United States is a foregone conclusion. Take his trip to Iraq. It was billed as a congressional visit (a couple of other senators tagged along) but, as the Washington Post observed, "in many ways, from the red carpet rolled out for the group at [President Nouri al-Maliki's] residence, to his...

Barack Obama recently finished a $500,000 total overhaul of his 757. And as part of the new design, he decided to remove the American flag from the tail. What American running for President of the United States would remove the symbol of his country? And worse, he replaced the flag with it with a symbol of himself. Photo of plane reprinted with written permission of the photographer.

Here is video of Barack Obama from Iraq,in an interview with ABC News, saying he would NOT support the "Surge Strategy" if he had it to do over again! This is the very "Surge Strategy" that has undeniably transformed Iraq. But Obama says he would still oppose it because . . . well, just because . . . (see video) Obama opposed the "Surge Strategy" when it was announced, and said it would make things worse . . . (see video) Obama continued to oppose the Surge Strategy, even after it was underway and said it was making things worse...

If you were President of the United States, how would you treat a staunch, lonely ally committed to liberal democracy and free markets-the only such country in an increasingly anti-American region? A friend surrounded by hostile neighbors who harbor terrorists bent on its destruction, flush with oil money and weapons from the region's maniacally anti-American and anti-Semitic dictator? A people regularly extorted through terrorist hijackings, murders and kidnappings? A country which faithfully shares invaluable intelligence with the United States regarding subversive anti-American groups and governments in the region?

(snip) Now Barack Obama is about to embark on his own Feats of Strength.Maybe that’s why, back home in Chicago, he worked out three times on Wednesday. An Associated Press report jokingly compared his fitness regime to that of Mr. Universe and marveled at “a distinct lack of visible sweat on the Illinois senator.”But even the perennially cool Obama may sweat this summer. In the next six weeks, he will have to successfully complete a number of tasks, some that he set up himself after being taunted by John McCain, some spawned from slaying the Clinton machine, and some that...

NYT Poll: Obama "Not Likely" to Be Effective Commander-in-ChiefBy Floyd and Mary Beth BrownFrontPageMagazine.com | 7/21/2008 On the night of January 20, 2009, a new commander-in-chief will leave the inaugural podium, parade, and festivities for the Oval Office. A national security staff ready with the latest “threat briefing” will join him there. On his desk, they will place a thick binder of reports, each focusing on real or emerging threats to our national security. In the quiet of the Oval Office -- in the presence of these stern-faced, deadly serious briefers and advisers -- Barack H. Obama, should he...

Remember the 3-o'clock-in-the-morning test--Hillary Clinton's dig at Barack Obama's commander-in-chief credentials during the primaries? As Obama heads to Europe and the Mideast this coming week, he is embarking on what might be called his "Ich bin ein Commander" test. It may well be the decisive one of his candidacy, especially with so many media stars--including three network anchors--along for the ride. One major reason why Obama's opponent, John McCain, has managed so far to rise above the public's grim assessment of the Republican Party is that, for many voters, he has already passed this test. Even though Americans think by...

The Washington Post runs a devastating editorial against Obama's current position on Iraq: Barack Obama yesterday accused President Bush and Sen. John McCain of rigidity on Iraq: "They said we couldn't leave when violence was up, they say we can't leave when violence is down." Mr. Obama then confirmed his own foolish consistency. Early last year, when the war was at its peak, the Democratic candidate proposed a timetable for withdrawing all U.S. combat forces in slightly more than a year. Yesterday, with bloodshed at its lowest level since the war began, Mr. Obama endorsed the same plan. After hinting...

Arrogance + Inexperience = Disaster

Iran test launched salvos of missiles capable of reaching most of the Gulf region, Israel, US forces in the region and parts of Europe last week. Senator Obama was asked if he were President and such rockets were shot off what he would do. He explained Bush era failures accounted for the aggressive Iranian action, He then said he would gather intelligence. Then he would reach out, and engage in “tough diplomacy” with Tehran. So there it was, blame America first. But some went beyond the “whose to blame” story and asked a rather reasonable follow-up question. Wouldn’t the Iranian...

I am a VHCM member, I spent 12 months in Vietnam (147th CH47-CE) as most of us did. I am also a disabled veteran; I have been a wheelchair user for 35 years now. A few months ago I went to listen to Barack Obama at a local college. When he was done with his speech I got in line to ask him a question. When my time came, my question was: ' Senator Obama ; I work with disabled veterans throughout the VA Hospital system, what is your plan for our veterans, especially our disabled veterans who use the...

U.S. should use all tools to pressure Iran: Obama Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:59am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Tuesday preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon was in America's vital interests and vowed to use all tools to pressure Tehran. "No tool of statecraft should be taken off the table," Obama said in a speech covering broad national security issues, including Iraq and Iran.

(CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday called the war in Iraq a "dangerous distraction," and said more emphasis must be placed on the battle in Afghanistan. Sen. Barack Obama said he would take the country in a new direction, should he become president. "As should have been apparent to President Bush and Sen. [John] McCain -- the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was," Obama said in what his campaign called a major policy address on Iraq, Afghanistan and national security. Obama said part of his new strategy will be "taking the...

If you think that Muslims burning the Danish Mohammed Cartoons don't have a sense of humor, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Just wait til the Political Correct Commissars catch you laughing at Barack Obama. It's like the old rabid feminists: That's Not Funny! Mr. Obama is very easily offended, like Don Quixote, the Man of La Mancha, who is constantly looking for the smallest slights to his egg-shell fragile ego. Obama told Maureen Dowd early in the primaries that he is hypersensitive to any remarks about his ears. Obama is offended if you criticize his tough-as-nails lawyer wife -- although...

Barack Obama's campaign scrubbed his presidential Web site over the weekend to remove criticism of the U.S. troop "surge" in Iraq, the Daily News has learned. The presumed Democratic nominee replaced his Iraq issue Web page, which had described the surge as a "problem" that had barely reduced violence. "The surge is not working," Obama's old plan stated, citing a lack of Iraqi political cooperation but crediting Sunni sheiks - not U.S. military muscle - for quelling violence in Anbar Province. The News reported Sunday that insurgent attacks have fallen to the fewest since March 2004.

With all the reporters covering the major presidential candidates, it amazes me no one ever seems to ask the right questions. For several days now, WND has been hounding Barack Obama's campaign about a statement he made July 2 in Colorado Springs – a statement that blew my mind, one that has had me scratching my head ever since. In talking about his plans to double the size of the Peace Corps and nearly quadruple the size of AmeriCorps and the size of the nation's military services, he made this rather shocking (and chilling) pledge: "We cannot continue to rely...

Since losing the 2004 presidential election, John Kerry and his supporters have continued to claim "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak out against John Kerry" and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have been "discredited" for spreading a pack of lies about Kerry's military service in Vietnam and his subsequent leadership in the anti-war movement....

If John Kerry had been elected President of the United States in November 2004, especially with the incoming majority Democrat Congress, it is highly likely that Iraq would be in the midst of a civil war, Iran’s regional influence would have increased, Israel would be in more jeopardy than it is now, two Supreme Court seats would be occupied by clones of John Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg instead of by John Roberts and Samuel Alito, judicial decisions would have given even more “rights” to enemy combatants, domestic entitlements and earmarks would have skyrocketed, the Bush tax cuts would be...

This is the most important book you’ll buy this year: To Set The Record Straight, How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry, by Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler, with Forward by John O'Neill. Not only will you learn the inside details of the only book – Unfit For Command -- that ever decided a presidential election but, especially for those who have any doubts, you will learn about how the peoples' democracy can still work in the United States. For those inclined toward political science, the book is an important contribution to understanding how political...

You're a swiftboater, I'm a swiftboater, everybody's a swiftboater. The all encompassing phrase for any political zapping; real, potential, or imagined, has been funneled into one label, swiftboating. No longer used much as a noun, this verb has become overused to the point of triteness and acceptance as appropriate English. Language is the child of overused slang Ain't that the low-down!? For the record a review of who and what actual swift boaters stood for is in order. They took umbrage when fellow swiftie, Senator Kerry, decided he was going to run for president as a gung ho war hero....

”His boat took 188 enemy hits”: Another Kerry Swift Boat story surfacesBy Fedora During the 2004 campaign, John Kerry faced a firestorm of controversy over the events surrounding the awarding of his third Purple Heart and his Bronze Star. One inconsistency investigators noticed was that although military documents described Kerry’s Swift Boat team as facing “about 5000 meters” of enemy fire while travelling down a 75-yard-wide stretch of the Bay Hap River, there was no record of any bullet damage to craft or crew. Not publicized in 2004 was another discrepancy magnifying this issue: while Kerry was making his first...

Former U.S. Rep. Bill Zeliff is joining Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign. A source in the campaign told UnionLeader.com that the former Jackson innkeeper “will help with federal and New Hampshire issues as an adviser and will help raise money in Washington, D.C.” Zeliff, a Republican, was first elected to New Hampshire’s 1st District U.S. House seat in 1990. He left the House after three terms and ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for governor in 1996. Zeliff has been a Washington lobbyist for the past 10 years, currently employed by The Livingston Group, headed by former Republican Rep. Bob Livingston...

RUDOLPH Giuliani, the flamboyant former New York mayor, suffered a personal embarrassment yesterday when a judge ordered him clean up his private life. A court overseeing the politician’s divorce case ruled that his two teenage children can no longer to stay at his Manhattan home while his girlfriend, Judith Nathan, is sleeping there. Judge Judith Gische said the overnight presence of Ms Nathan, 46, would have a detrimental effect on the youngsters - at least until the conclusion of Mr Giuliani’s battle with his estranged wife, Donna Hanover. In an eight-page ruling she concluded that Andrew, 16, and Caroline, 12,...

...While many Democratic movers and shakers in the film industry felt they owed Clinton their loyalty, there was a gnawing feeling that it would be no simple task to get one of the most polarising political figures of our times back into the White House. ....Of more concern for Clinton's campaign, her prospects against the likely Republican opponents have grown bleak. Less than a month ago, she was running in a virtual dead heat with the leading Republican, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has yet to declare his candidacy. The Rasmussen and Zogby polls taken last weekend have...

"A Senate hearing that began with glowing tributes to a St. Louis businessman and his qualifications to become ambassador to Belgium turned bitterly divisive Tuesday after he was criticized for supporting a controversial conservative group," the Associated Press reports from Washington: Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., grilled nominee Sam Fox about why he donated $50,000 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth during the 2004 presidential race. . . . "Might I ask you what your opinion is with respect to the state of American politics as regards the politics of personal destruction?" Kerry asked near the end of the hearing...

[snip] Behind the scenes, Kerry apparently has been having doubts, calling current and former Democratic confidantes to inquire just how much his gaffe hurt his presidential chances, according to several Democrats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations were private. Kerry, who turns 63 later this month, had been planning to announce a comeback campaign in December or January. He had thrown himself into helping his party reclaim Congress in the midterm election, campaigning for roughly 80 House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates. [snip] Nonetheless, Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, hope to boost their public reemergence with...

A West Point Cadet sends this along with the photo below: I'm a cadet at West Point, and tonight at our game against the Air Force Academy, a big sign emerged, and it was shown to the Corps of Cadets, who cheered wildly, and then shown to the Air Force cadets, who also cheered.

His latest misleading plea: Quote: From: "John Kerry" {info@johnkerry.com} Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert To: LewWaters@I'llnevertell.com Subject: Millions of Dollars. Thousands of Lies. Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 16:26:52 -0500 Dear Lew, Shame on us if we don't stop these disgraceful character-assassins right in their tracks. At the last-minute, shady, unaccountable attack groups are springing up with millions of dollars to spend spreading lies to smear veterans who speak the truth. If you've been looking for a powerful way to fight back, you just found it. The Patriot Project is prepared to do what these anti-veteran hate groups...

Kerry: Bush assurance on Iraq a blunder By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer 19 minutes ago Democratic Sen. John Kerry said Tuesday that President Bush committed "a gigantic blunder" by giving top Iraqi officials assurances that U.S. forces would remain indefinitely in the war-torn country. Kerry argued that his 2004 rival should have pressured Iraqi leaders to set aside their differences and focus on making progress in assuming responsibility for security, a move that could lead to a reduction in U.S. troop levels. "The absence of pressure I find is an enormous blunder that gives the Iraqi politicians a free...

Kerry says he deserves 2nd chance in '08 1 hour, 29 minutes ago Sen. John Kerry says he deserves a second chance if he decides to take another crack at becoming president. The Massachusetts Democrat, who lost to President Bush in 2004, said it is a basic principle that "Americans give people a second chance. And if you learn something and prove you've learned something, maybe even more so. Now, I don't know what I'm going to do yet. We'll make that decision down the road." Ronald Reagan twice unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for president before he got it...

Democrats assail Bush's N. Korea policy By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 13 minutes ago Democrats seized on North Korea's brazen act to criticize President Bush's record in confronting the communist regime, contending the administration's focus on Iraq ignored legitimate threats. Democratic Sen. John Kerry, the president's rival in 2004 and a potential 2008 candidate, assailed Bush's policy as a "shocking failure," and said, "While we've been bogged down in Iraq where there were no weapons of mass destruction, a madman has apparently tested the ultimate weapon of mass destruction." One month before midterm elections, North Korea's reported nuclear test...

DES MOINES, Iowa --Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry lashed out Sunday against a group that bashed him during his last run at the White House. Kerry, who made a weekend appearance in northwest Iowa, said he is concerned that Swift Vote Veterans for Truth is again resorting to "the politics of fear and smear." The group, financed by Texas conservatives, ran commercials questioning his claim of being a decorated Vietnam veteran -- the centerpiece of his presidential campaign in 2004. "We're not going to give them an ounce of daylight," said Kerry, who is considering another run at the Democratic presidential...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group was Sen. John Kerry's albatross in 2004. Now, the Democrat is warning his party about suffering the same fate in a fundraising letter. In 2004, the Swift Boat group, backed by Texas businessman Bob Perry, made unsubstantiated allegations about Kerry's Vietnam War heroism. The presidential nominee's slow and uncertain response is blamed for helping doom his White House bid.

John Kerry recently volunteered that he was prepared to “kick [the Swift Boat Veterans’] ass from one end of America to the other” and that he would “demolish” us. He ought to take a Christmas cruise to Cambodia to calm down. Maybe he could take a side trip to tour “Genghis Khan” ruins. It is a little difficult to imagine Kerry (“I voted for it before I voted against it”) kicking the most decorated living serviceman, Bud Day, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, or our salty commander, Adm. Roy Hoffman, anywhere. Perhaps Kerry had in mind using a “Rice...

Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday blasted the Bush administration for war and homeland security policies that he said leave Americans more vulnerable to attack. Kerry’s remarks came in a Faneuil Hall speech on the eve of tomorrow’s five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. In his fourth speech this year at the venue, Kerry accused the administration of using the tragedy that killed about 3,000 Americans to justify the war in Iraq. “It is immoral to treat 9/11 as a political pawn (to) excuse the invasion of Iraq,” Kerry said. “They were attacked and killed not by Saddam...