Monday, July 28, 2008

Americans thinking twice about Obama presidency

It seems like some people in the media are perplexed that Obama is not pulling away from John McCain. What they don't realize is that the American people are not stupid, and understand fully that even while Obama is the charming young man with a mellifluous speaking ability, his experience pales in comparison with McCain.

By all standards, McCain is the safe pick.

Consider this:
"With President Bush suffering low approval ratings, the economy moving into a recession as gas prices surge above $4 a gallon, and growing resentment about the unending war in Iraq, Obama should be pulling away in the polls."

If every American received a $100 bill every time they read this or a similar statement by the media, we wouldn't need a stimulus package to jump start the economy.

People understand that Obama really doesn't understand the economy. He doesn't understand that when you raise taxes on the rich you give them an incentive NOT to create new jobs. When you raise the capital gains tax, you give people an incentive NOT to invest in the stock market.

Those are two things we do not need especially when our economy is sputtering, and that is one very good reason many people think Obama would be a risky pick for President, despite whatever mistakes Bush is credited for.

Obama's military experience is another major downer for Obama. He has none. And the American people have not bought into the German speech, or the tour of Middle East by Obama, as enough credentials to lead the world at a time when Radical Muslims are plotting to kill.

Likewise, as with the Katie Couric interview, Obama refused to admit any success in Iraq, even when most Generals and the statistics they provide show that the surge worked, and the tide has turned in Iraq for the better.

He has refused to admit the we are winning in Iraq, and he is standing firm on his desire to pull troops out of Iraq, even if the Generals who are fighting this war insist that would be a bad move

In essence, Obama wants to make a political solution to a military problem. In fact, he has even said recently, "America needs a political solution to the War in Iraq." This is, perhaps, the type of language from Obama that has people wondering, "Does he really want to be president of America, or some other nation."

And, here is another main reason why, in my humble opinion, why Obama is not surging in the polls: He refuses to show his patriotism. He is afraid people will be offended if he wears a lapel pin with the American flag on it. In speeches he gave in Europe, he refused to be seen in front of an American flag, which makes many Americans skeptical of his true American pride.

They wonder if he is running for president of the U.S., or president of some other country. And, faced with the choice of the safe pick of McCain, or the pick of Obama who has called for some "real changes" that Americans might be skeptical of (such as socialized medicine, increased taxes on the rich), many people are starting to reconsider their Obama pride.

As most recent polls show: despite the Obama trip to Europe, Obama did not have a big bounce in the polls. And, McCain has gained in many polls, particularly in many key states.

The American people are smart, as 47% of them, according to a new MSNBC poll, said they thought coverage of the Obama trip was excessive. It was.

So, again, while the media and Europe appear to be having a love affair with Obama, the American people are starting think: "Hmmmm, I don't know about that Obama. Maybe McCain is the safer pick after all."

I'm not telling you who to vote for, and I'm not making predictions, I'm just making note of the fact here that the American people are smart. And even while we might be fooled for a short while, in the end we end up doing the right thing.

A smart America is thinking twice about the prospects of an Obama presidency.

5 comments:

DB said...

While I would say that McCain is the safer pick, I think it is more to do with maintaining the status quo that we are comfortable with. We may not like the status quo and our current circumstances, but they are bearable. Obama is "change" and change is a gamble. Obama is using his message to imply "improve our circumstances" to which McCain is not able to counter. Or at least hasn't been able to. McCain needs to get off the "same old" message and show that he is about positive change too.

Rick Frea said...

I can't say I disagree. Analysis is what we do here, and even I tend to focus to much of my attention on Obama.

McCain is boring, and boring may end up being what the people decide to vote for. Who knows.

Great comments

Khaki Elephant said...

Tough election. People want "change" but will they find Obama's troubling associations and elitist dialogue a little too dangerous?

Anthony Palmer, Ph.D. said...

There's a good column by Richard Cohen in the WaPo about Obama and how people want to vote for him, but are reluctant to because they simply don't know what's at his core.

You can read the article here.

Rick Frea said...

Thanks for the link, Anthony. It was a great read.