Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Obama: Transnational Progressive

Obama: Transnational Progressive

Barry Obama has led his life along a leftist path, ably documented at Global Labor and the Global Economy, which could bring one to the conclusion that he is being called a commie, which makes quite a few Americans yawn and lose interest. Who could really be a communist? Not a well compensated lawyer couple who have their eyes on the White House, surely? It just does not play well - it tastes sour in the psyche. It is counter-intuitive. But he is a Tranzie, undoubtedly.

Transnational Progressivism had a light shined on it a few years ago by one of my early blogging heroes Steven Den Beste, but then seemed to fade away as an explanation of the beliefs of certain leftists. It is a long, cumbersome title and seems too hard to understand. But it is really simple. What it is is a philosophy that begins with the belief that the individual can never rise above his group, and it shuns individual rights. (A fine summary of its precepts can be found here. I will not try to rewrite it, since I could do no better.)

It is pretty frightening that a Tranzie might find his way into the White House, but it is even more frightening that many conservatives are willing to allow it, as a way to teach a lesson to the American people. That is playing fast and loose with history, and our very lives. It is entirely too dangerous to allow malevolent leftists to occupy the halls of power in our great nation, and I for one am not convinced that our institutions are robust enough to withstand the onslaught.

Decision time is only a few months away, but an entire presidential campaign covers a lot of ground. This thing is setting up in a way that any opponent of Obama will be called a racist, even as it is the racists who are throwing the names around. In our society the emperor wears no clothes, and the general knowledge is always wrong. This label is likely to stick, however, so even after Obama is defeated, the racist label and the national divisions so created will long endure. Or even worse, Obama might just sneak in.

Even though Obama's opponents do not use the lingua franca of racists - we do not ever call him violent, stupid, or lazy - but that will not stop the name from being called, or even sticking. The republicans need to wage a high concept campaign, and keep it personal. That will not help much, but it will set the stage for our defense for the charge that we would not vote for their guy for the simple reason of his race.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Not So Smart, But Still Proud

Not So Smart, But Still Proud

This article from The Daily Standard follows Obama on the campaign trail, and finds a guy with precious little intellectual curiosity. As can be seen by this excerpt:

So how, pray tell, is Obama staying informed about what's going on in the world? When he's pressing the flesh at crummy rural diners and speaking before 75,000 adoring acolytes, he's talking, not listening. Don't you think a guy who might be president would be obsessed with world events? Don't you think that obsession would have driven him into the race? And don't you think as a potential wartime leader he might be using his downtime to study, just in case he wins? For instance, Barack Obama obviously knows nothing of war, but he could help himself if he opted to read some Thucydides rather than watch SportsCenter.

Obama has made a habit of coming across like a man who doesn't know what he's talking about. That's bothersome enough, but what's more worrisome still is how comfortable he is with not knowing what he's talking about, and how convinced he seems that his rhetorical flourishes will obscure his ignorance. That strategy may work on the campaign trail, but it certainly won't help him govern.

You add it all up, and you got a guy who despite his high cognitive abilities doesn't know what one needs to know to be president. Jimmy Carter was also "a bright guy," but as a president and a free-lancing ex-president, his naivete and arrogance made him a functional dunce. If Obama really thinks the lesson to be gleaned from the Cuban Missile Crisis is that a president should always sit down with our enemies, then perhaps the same could be said of him.
Just another little peek at a man who would be president, but lacks the qualifications to be one, other than as another affirmative action hire. But for this job, there must not be any affirmative action. It is just too important. Yet the democrats seem bent on making his electoral defeat a point of pride. Unless they know something I do not, which would be something else great that can be achieved by losing the election. But one thing is sure - this guy is never going to occupy the Oval Office. Carter was bad enough. We can not afford another mistake of that magnitude.