Obama On The Surge, Part XII

....and continuing:

“I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated,” Obama said while refusing to retract his initial opposition to the surge. “I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams."

Not quite accurate. John McCain anticipated the success of the surge. January 5, 2007:

McCain seems to be launching his 2008 campaign by taking the role of foremost advocate of sending significantly more troops for long-term deployment to Iraq.

“There are two keys to any surge of U.S. troops: to be of value, it must substantial and it must be sustained.”

The Big Yawn

Barack Obama didn't even get a dead cat bounce from his announcement of Joe Biden as running mate, or from the opening of the Democratic Convention. Counting "leaners," McCain is ahead of Obama.

This is driving Clinton supporters crazy because they think the story would be different if their Girl had won the nomination. They aren't appreciating the arrogance of the Obamaphiles.

Right now, it looks like it's McCain's to lose. Let's see what happens when he names his running mate.

Rumors, Part 2

Here's the latest:

1. Obama's half-brother living in Kenya on $1 a month. Well, who can be responsible for all their kinfolk? Besides, I bet a dollar goes a long way in Kenya.

2. While visiting the Kenyan school named after him, Obama promised to help them modernize the facilities, but no help has been forthcoming. School principal: "He has not given us one shilling. But we still have hope." Let's be fair. When liberals promise aid, they aren't talking about their own money. Maybe he can get them some U.S. foreign aid once he's president.

3. John McCain doesn't know how many houses he owns. Sounds bad doesn't it? Turns out, the McCains have investment properties as well as 4 homes.

4. Obama's mentor during his teenage years, Frank Marshall Davis, was a member of the Communist Party and liked to have sex with young girls. Well, that's not the Frank Marshall Davis that Obama knew.

5. Joe Biden plagiarized in one of his political speeches. Well, it's not nearly as bad as it sounds:

The real problem with Biden, we were told "is not the alleged sin but the obvious stupidity." Biden hadn't harmed Kinnock by his borrowing nor was Kinnock's commercial all that original itself. As one observer noted, the Kinnock commercial from which Biden took the language was itself rife with images lifted from John F. Kennedy, and even the "thousand generations" language was said to have come from George Lucas' Star Wars. Nor had Biden deceived his audience: few listeners believe that politicians write their own speeches anyway. At worst, said one expert, "Biden purloined piffle." Yet somehow Senator Biden, alone among politicians who had done the same kind of thing, became widely known as a plagiarist because he borrowed the Kinnock language.

As Professor K. R. St. Onge says, "It is typical of plagiarism charges that often the significance of what was used is totally ignored in favor of the fact that it was used." Plagiarism charges call for careful analysis, and involve substantive issues of propriety, of honesty, and of law. Yet the Biden affair suggests (once again) that the Ethics Establishment is poorly suited for such judgments...

6. Joe Biden plagiarized in law school. This might be harder to explain.

Political Chess

With Joe Biden the Vice Presidential pick and Hillary Clinton supporters already being dissed at the convention, what is next?

If I were a Clinton supporter, I would vote for John McCain and urge all other Clinton supporters to do the same. Why? Because if Obama goes down to defeat after all this hype and McCain really is just 4 more years of Bush, Clinton should be able to walk away with both the nomination and the presidency in 2012.

If McCain picks a woman VP, I think he will lock up the Clintonistas.

As I Have Always Said

Barack Obama consistently claims to be consistent even when he's doing a 180. (For example, he has supported gun control legislation, but after the Supreme Court decision, said "I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms.")

And he's been pretty much getting away with it.

This statement on Monday, though, is just too much:

For many months, I have warned that there needs to be active international engagement to peacefully address the disputes over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, including a high-level and neutral international mediator, and a genuine international peacekeeping force – not simply Russian troops.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/obama-emerges-to-talk-about-georgia/

Actually, Obama's speeches are fully searchable on the internet site speechwars.com. So how many times did Obama "warn" us about South Ossetia? Exactly, 0. Zero. Nada. Didn't mention it.

(To be even-handed, I feel I must note that McCain has mentioned South Ossetia twice. http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDcwYTIzN2M1YjIzZjVkZDMyNjUzYTI0NDRjNGJmMDA Whether it was a "warning" or not must be decided by the reader.)

Interesting that he can't just change his mind, be persuaded by new argument, become aware of new situations. He always has to have always known.

Saying it doesn't makes it so.