Obama on Palin's Family: Taking the Moral High Road or Merely A Convenient Ploy?

From CNN.com
Obama Says Palin's Family Off Limits

MONROE, Michigan (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama said firmly that families are off-limits in the campaign for president, reacting to news that GOP running mate Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.

"Let me be as clear as possible," Obama said. "I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president."

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A note from Radarsite: After all that I have written about the very real dangers of an Obama Presidency, whenever I hear the leftist media -- and even some delusional conservatives shmoozing about how Obama has taken the moral high ground on an issue, my antennae start tingling. The latest example of OB's claim to moral heights is his kind and generous admonishment to his followers not to attempt to draw Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin's family into the fray. This high-toned rhetoric would have carried much more weight if his army of sycophantic minions in the leftist media had not already jumped all over these personal family issues in what they themselves later characterized as an orgiastic "feeding-frenzy". A media frenzy so blatant and tasteless, so vile and contemptuous, that even some well-known liberal talking heads appear to be genuinely shocked.

So then this is what we have -- a perfect example of how you can have your cake and eat it too. Have your character assassins do the best and most efficient hatchet job they can possibly do, as quickly and expeditiously as they can do it; then after the deed is done denounce the denouncers. After all the bloody knives have been put back in their sheaves, you can step back and look aghast at the carnage.

And there is another game afoot. If we are to make all candidate's family members taboo for investigative journalists' probings, doesn't that also have the added benefit of removing OB's embarrassingly anti-American rhetoric-spilling wife from the field of battle?

Barack Hussein Obama as president would be absolutely disastrous for this vulnerable nation of ours. To lend him or his campaign any moral weight, based on their cynical manipulation of their sympathetic media is delusional and foolhardy. The only way Barack Obama can take the high moral ground in this race is to withdraw himself from it, and not to unleash the chaos on this country that his presidency most certainly would.

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Obama Meets Ahmadinejad by Proxy

(Cross posted from Right Truth)

From Anti-Mullah:

Not waiting to be elected, Obama started secret, unconditional talks with the islamic regime of Mullah iran behind America's back. By proxy.

And has reached an agreement with them!

Which partly explains why his advisor Tony Lake made his rather strange and very public statement to C-SPAN that his boss Obama wanted to go on record (again?) that the first order of priority when he was in the White House would be to start immediate - unconditional - talks with islamic iran.

We reported Tony Lake's remark but the news behind it has only just reached us in usable form. Actual names of those involved will be divulged later.

Reportedly, through Obama VP candidate Joe Biden's long standing friendship with the islamic regime's established representative in the USA, Houshang AmirAhmadi, the Obama camp set up a meeting in the USA with an official delegate of the Mullahs.

Last week, three Iranian men and one Iranian woman, ostensibly Democrat activists but reportedly paid Mullah agents in the USA met at a restaurant with an fully authorized Obama senior representative and a man sent from Tehran by the islamic regime.

The Tehran man, dressed unusually in a suit and tie to avoid showing his Mullah regime status and membership in the islamic regime's nuclear program, brought a slew of documentation with him, trying to prove the regime wanted peaceful use of their nuclear efforts.

The four Iranian locals were mostly window dressing.

He insisted that Tehran had about four hours of power blackouts a day and was desperately in need of nuclear powered electricity generation.

Nobody bothered to comment to the Obama representative that it would be completely in line with the Mullah regime to create artificial blackouts to irritate the populace into "demanding" a nuclear solution, which could be spoon fed to the West and as an explicit justification for the pursuit of additional uranium centrifuges.

The Mullah delegate offered a quid pro quo deal whereby if Obama supported the Mullah nuclear program when he got to the White House, islamic iran would guarantee that Israel would never be attacked by islamic iran.

The Israeli aspect being offered so Obama could backdoor this assurance to the Israelis and win their support for his election bid.

Again, nobody bothered to inform the Obama representative that islamic iran's power structure is splintering on an almost daily basis and already consists of half a dozen power centers with about 15 key players vying with each other in a kaleidoscope of ever changing alliances - none of which can guarantee anything. Not even being there a few months from now.

Nor addressed the fact that one of the key players, former president and rival to both Ahmadi-Nejad and Supreme ruler Khamenei, "ayatollah" Hashemi-Rafsanjani stated in a recent Friday Prayer meeting over which he presided that the destruction of Israel was one of his highest priorities and it would not exist for much longer.

As a billionaire with a following inside the country he is a force with which to reckon and can sabotage any deal that the Mullah delegate makes with Obama.

The Mullah delegate also added the Mullahs would ramp up the efforts to promote Obama in this final stretch with money and Moslem shoe leather.

Sad to say, Obama, who refused to fly a single American flag in Denver at his Democratic convention is once again proving he will go to bed with the devil himself to win the race and has no apparent misgivings of placing America in danger from islamic iranian terrorism.

And, incidentally, who (other than the ambitious Obama) can ever believe or trust the Mullahs and their promises, so Obama's selfish pact with the Mullah devil speaks volumes of how easily he can intentionally or by inexperience put us all in danger.

In closing, much to your surprise, perhaps, the Mullahs, because of their close ties to China and Russia, have established ever closer ties with Iranian Marxists and Communists around the world to achieve alliances to further their cause.

Obama fits exactly into that slot as a great Marxist-Islamist.

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Sophie's Star: A Tale of Two Successful Operations

My best friends have two kids. A bright and endlessly energized little boy, named after yours truly -- and therefore destined to have the unfortunate and slightly demeaning moniker of Little Roger for probably as long as I am still around; and a beautiful little girl named Sophie, for whom this story is named. Sophie is a precocious and unexpectedly articulate, perhaps even loquacious eleven-year old: It has become virtually impossible to talk over Sophie's head or to attempt to disguise a supposedly adult conversation behind erudite words. However, this advanced state of intellectual development is neither intimidating nor annoying, because fortunately Sophie is also generous, sweet, kind and funny, and -- most importantly, not above laughing at herself. Sophie also has Cerebral Palsy.

Every summer, on Sophie's birthday, her father's generous employers hold an outdoor fundraising barbecue and party known as Sophie's Star. Over the years this worthy celebration has grown into one of this small town's major social events, with local bands playing and people dancing, the crowds getting bigger every year. Thousands of dollars have been raised for the cause, little Sophie has become something of a small town celebrity (you can see cars driving by with "Sophie's Star" bumper stickers), and this annual birthday gala has had the wonderful effect of bringing this good community of ours together in ways that are very rewarding and very special.

And the funds thus raised are indeed critical. The medical expenses involved in the continuous ongoing treatment and therapy required for children with Cerebral Palsy are truly staggering. But thanks to the open-hearted generosity of this little community, all of Sophie's needs have thus far been met. Among these treatments are annual visits to the Children's Hospital in Boston for her Botox/Phenol shots. Because this is an invasive procedure, and the patient is put to sleep during the operation, it is considered a form of minor surgery.

Three summers ago, in July of 2005, I joined the family for this annual trip to the hospital in Boston. Among all of her other worthy attributes, little Sophie is boundlessly courageous and brave. She faces these ongoing assaults to her little body without complaint. In fact, she appears to be genetically incapable of self-pity -- an admirable quality inherited no doubt from her loving parents.

After the operation, as we sat waiting in the hospital lobby for Sophie to awaken from her sleep, I was watching all the busy people hurrying by. The doctors, the nurses, the medical technicians, administrators and various hospital employees, all preoccupied with the fulfillment of their various missions, all serving that one major over-riding mission: To help people in their time of need, and to save lives, to save as many lives as they could possibly save. Many of these people had sacrificed and given up much of their personal lives just to be able to be here today, performing their missions, one of which, had been our lovely Sophie's minor operation.

Earlier that day, July 7, 2005, three thousand miles away, in London, another kind of operation had just taken place. One in which the people involved had also sacrificed and given up much of their personal lives just to be able to be here this day, to perform their missions. Four young men -- Shahzad Tanweer, 22, who had attended Leeds Metropolitan University, where he studied sports science; Hasib Hussain, 18, from Leeds; Mohammed Sidique Khan, 30, born in Pakistan, from Dewsbury; and Lindsey Germaine, a Jamaican-born resident of Aylesbury had just fulfilled their various tasks. Together with their accomplices, they had just succeeded in perpetrating the biggest single terrorist attack ever on British soil, in what came to be known as the London Underground Bombings. Their particular 'operation' was, for them, I suppose a success: they had succeeded in killing thirty-three innocent people that day and had wounded countless others.

Waiting in that crowded hospital lobby that July afternoon, watching all those busy preoccupied people rushing by me on their way to perform their various tasks, and remembering all of those good people back home who had come together so joyously and lovingly to make this particular operation possible, to make little Sophie's Star shine brightly for another year, it all became so crystal clear to me. I was thinking about those other people, those four dead Muslim men and their still-living accomplices, and all of their Muslim brothers and sisters who would be celebrating right now, and would be looking up to these four dead murderers now as righteous heroes and martyrs.

Little Sophie would be fine, we would take her home that evening, and she'd be talking the whole way home.

And across the ocean, thirty-three innocent people were not fine, and would not be going home that evening, and thirty-three families would be forever altered.

So, I suppose you could say, both operations had been successful.

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Just One Day at Memeorandum: Any Questions About Media Bias?

From Memeorandum


Members of ‘Fringe’ Alaskan Independence Party Say Palin Was a Member in 90s — The campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., likes to herald the independence of its new running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. — Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent …

Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Disclosures on Palin Raise Questions on Vetting Process — ST. PAUL — A series of disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain's choice as running mate, called into question on Monday how thoroughly Mr. McCain had examined her background before putting her on the Republican presidential ticket.

Palin rebuts rumors, says daughter pregnant — Featured Topics: - John McCain - Barack Obama — ST. PAUL (Reuters) - The 17-year-old unmarried daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors …

The Palin Meltdown in Slo-Mo — On the same day that the Republicans were forced to dramatically cut back their convention activities, the Palin Meltdown unfolded with extraordinary speed. It's worth pondering the totality of what happened today, in a mere half day...

Bristol Palin's pregnancy was an open secret back home — He's a superhunky bad-boy ice hockey player from cold country; she's a chestnut-haired beauty and popular high school senior. — Soon the all-American teen twosome will make GOP vice presidential pick and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin …

FACE IT: THEY DIDN'T VET HER — Earlier I noted Andrea Mitchell's reference to reports that the McCain camp had just sent a team of GOP lawyers up to Alaska to do what I guess you'd call a post-vetting of Sarah Palin. Now George Stephanopoulos appears to have more.

Palin's Teen Daughter Is Pregnant; New G.O.P. Tumult — ST. PAUL — The 17-year-old daughter of Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate, is five months pregnant, Ms. Palin announced today, adding a new element of tumult to a Republican convention that had already been disrupted by Hurricane Gustav.

In Wasilla, Pregnancy Was No Secret — So his name is Levi. — That's about the only thing that I didn't know about Bristol Palin's pregnancy. The rest of the details I picked up almost without trying, while talking about other things with townsfolk — some who know the governor and her family well, some who don't.

Rebecca Sinderbrand / CNN:
Evangelicals rally behind Palin after pregnancy news — ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) — Key evangelical leaders rallied to Sarah Palin's support Monday amid news that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was having a child. — “Before, they were excited about her, with the Down syndrome baby …

Exclusive: Todd Palin's 1986 DUI Arrest Called “Lesson Learned” — Sources close to Sarah Palin tell The Brody File that the husband of the GOP Vice-presidential choice, Todd Palin, was arrested and charged with Driving under the Influence of alcohol back in 1986. He was 22 years old at the time.

Palin opposed sex-ed — Sarah Palin's personal story, and her views on personal morality, are at the core of her politics and of why she was nominated, and why she'd energized the conservative base. — Now, her daughter's pregnancy has cast her views on teenagers and sex directly into the spotlight.

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God's thoughts on the election.

Cross posted from Monkey in the Middle

From the Jerusalem Post

by Shmuley Boteach

It's time to play that all-American game, Who is God Punishing Now? Three years ago, when Katrina devastated New Orleans, some on the religious Right suggested that the city with the infamous French Quarter was being destroyed for its debauchery. God poured fire and brimstone on Sodom in ancient times, and rained down lightning and broken levies on New Sodom in modern times.

Fast forward three years and here we go again, only this time God is punishing innocent men and women in Louisiana for the Republican Convention in Minnesota. According to filmmaker Michael Moore, "Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven... that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for Day One of the Republican convention up in the Twin Cities."

The theme was echoed by Don Fowler, the South Carolina Democratic Party chairman, who joked that the hurricane was God's favor to Democrats. But Fowler will have to forgive some New Orleans residents, both Democrat and Republican, if they don't get the joke.

WE AMERICANS are a famously religious people, and can therefore be forgiven for sometimes claiming to know the mind of God. But it behooves us to always remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, who said, when asked whether God was fighting on the side of the Union armies: "We trust, sir, that God is on our side. It is more important to know that we are on God's side."

While none of us can know the mind of God, we can know right and wrong based on what all the world religions agree God has revealed to be moral, holy and ethical. I dare say that even atheists and agnostics agree with the general morality propounded by religion.

Based on this revealed, universal morality, here is a list of what we can assume, based on the Bible, God is thinking about the current presidential election.

1. We don't know if God wants Barack Obama to win or lose, but we certainly know that He is overjoyed that, perhaps for the first time in our history, tens of millions of Americans are looking beyond skin color and seeing all human beings as equal children of God and equally deserving of the highest national office. At the very beginning of the Bible, God made it clear that He created every human being equally in His image - something that it's taken us Americans several centuries to digest.

2. We don't know if God wishes John McCain to win or lose, but we know He shines with favor toward Cindy and John McCain for adopting their youngest daughter, Bridget, who is Bengali but has been welcomed as an equal alongside the McCains' three biological children.

3. America needs leadership, and people must run for president. But God instituted a Sabbath day of rest even in the midst of the toughest contests, to be with family and focus on what is even more important than becoming president. This is especially true for people like Obama and Sarah Palin, both of whom have children whose development cannot be put on hold until after an election. In this sense, both campaigns can learn from the example of Joe Lieberman who, while running for the vice presidency in 2000, refused to campaign on Saturdays and was with his family instead.

4. God loves unity among His children. The first social sin was the fratricidal conflict between Cain and Abel. Likewise, the Bible is clear that slander and character assassination are forbidden. Attack ads, therefore, are ungodly and unjust.

5. God loves the penitent. He shows special grace to those courageous enough to confess their sins and correct previous errors. We should therefore be forgiving both of Obama's admission to prior drug use and McCain's confession to moral lapses in his first marriage. America often punishes its leaders for their shortcomings. This is wrong. Righteousness in God's eyes is defined not as perfection but as engaging in the struggle to be better. So long as our leaders take responsibility for their actions and commit themselves to more righteous behavior in future, we should be inspired by their courage.

6. God delights in stories of redemption and joyfulness. He repeatedly commands us to be happy and rise above slights and resentment. This might explain why He has shined especially brightly on Obama and McCain. The former is a black man, abandoned by his father, who after educating himself in the best universities chose to work with the poor. The latter is a man who lived through hell for five and a half years but rose above the horrific experience of being tortured as a POW to devote himself to inspirational public work.

7. God does not mind that Obama made millions on his book, or that McCain has seven homes - so long as both are charitable. Those making money are required to give at least 10% to charity, and so long as they commit a significant percentage to the poor, we should applaud them for their industry.

8. God created the world with words such as "Let there be light." He demands that language likewise be used for constructive and holy purposes. God's favor therefore shines brightly on Obama's enormous capacity for using words to inspire. But the Bible makes it equally clear that God hates those who use language to sow discord. He therefore commands us to oppose people like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly threatened to "wipe Israel off the map."

God calls on all men of justice - especially those in positions of leadership - to neutralize evil before its words are turned into irrevocable action.

From Monkey in the Middle:

I have been angry of late because I see flaws in what should have been a perfect running mate for John McCain. Angry until I read this. I forgot the basic principles of my faith. Judge not others harshly. It is not my place to have placed judgment on Sarah's daughter Bristol. This was a family affair and I should have stayed out of it, as should all of us. Sarah should be proud that her daughter made an adult decision, and the love and support that the Palin family is showing Bristol is commendable.

On the same token, although I dislike Barack Obama's views, I do admire him for the courage to run for President. As I admire my nation for looking beyond his race to his ideas. Many of us opposed to him forget this. What he achieved was something special. For once a black man has entered the Presidential political arena and was accepted as an equal.

John McCain is a man of deep integrity and courage. There is no doubt about that. How and why he chose Sarah Palin is his business, and the country must either except the ticket as he wants it, or reject it. Although Governor Palin isn't the first woman to be placed as a candidate for Vice President by a major party (Geraldine Ferraro has that honor), she may become our first woman Vice President. And that is a great achievement.

I keep hearing that God is a Republican, or favors the Republicans, and I find this to be an erroneous idea. God is neither Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal. God is above party or political thinking. It is not whether God is on our side, but whether as President Abraham Lincoln said:

"It is more important to know that we are on God's side."

I trust that I am on God's side. Are you?

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