Smear and innuendo are not just dirty tricks – they are old dirty tricks. First, the naysayers oh-so cleverly quipped that Sen. Barack Obama had a funny-sounding last name that rhymes with that of the world’s most-wanted man. Next, they came up with stories of his Muslim parenthood when, in fact, he is a practicing Christian.
Let’s clear this up so we don’t have to repeat it in our "silly season." His name is Barack Hussein Obama. The name reveals an eclectic mix of a Judeo-Christian first name (one of Israel’s Judges in the Old Testament), an Arabic middle name and a Kenyan last name.
What’s in a name? Does anyone choose his or her own? Obama was named after his father who deserted him, and rather than be defeated by the setback, he chose to rise above these circumstances to inspire a nation, and above all, a generation. Surely, a picture of a Turban-clad Obama is floating around the Internet, along with the falsehoods of a dirty whisper campaign. This is definitely a silly season of its kind. It is, however, mighty telling of a people who claim to embrace freedom of expression, but nevertheless know the kind of vitriol and prejudice such a photo would inspire.
On the issue that matters most: Iraq. Pakistan and Cuba, among others – Obama has shown he is no pushover, and that good judgment trumps bad experience. Indeed, although Obama was not a senator when the Iraq war issue came up for vote, he was in the midst of an improbable race for a seat and took an unpopular but reasoned position that is far superior to what those old-guard legislators overwhelmingly approved in the unfortunate dash to Baghdad.
Speaking of fans who do not know what they are voting for, one thing is clear if the same standards are applied across board: few people know what they are voting for in this race. If they do, there is no way a closet liberal in Sen. John McCain can emerge as a candidate of the die-hard conservative Republican Party.
Perhaps more importantly, did Sen. Hillary Clinton or McCain know what they were voting for when they voted to send our troops into Iraq, unprepared and without a clear mission, or when they voted the Patriot Act into law without reading it? Pray tell, what exactly is McCain’s plan for health care, trade, jobs, Iraq and taxes? In fact, the summary of McCain’s plan can be simply stated: more of the same. However, for some odd reason, this great American hero turned President Bush lackey with a tire or two blown off his Straight Talk Express is never held up to the same standards as Obama.
Speaking of McCain’s straight talk, perhaps we should address the straight talk that makes the sponsor of campaign finance reform law to be an advocate for accepting and then withdrawing from the public system of finance during the Republican primaries.
Maybe it is the maverick in McCain that makes him fly in corporate jets with lobbyists and then prod the bureaucracy on their behalf. Conceivably, some think we have a volatile memory of the Keating affair, where McCain’s own duplicities contributed to the largest savings and loan collapse in the history of the United States. Perhaps, the Straight Talk Express can explain away changing positions on Bush tax cuts, gay marriage and utter flip flop on issues of immigration and health care.
McCain is not just more of the same bad judgment; he is more of the same nightmare.
Michael Oluwagbemi, an electrical engineering graduate student, can be reached via [email protected].
