Obama officials said they decided to take that route because McCain is already spending privately raised funds toward the general election campaign. Obama has vastly outraised McCain, however, and would likely retain that advantage if McCain accepts the public money.

Obama had no idea what kind of reception he would get on his lighter than air campaign back then so he kept the option in his hip pocket, claiming to support the public financing of campaigns while he does the exact opposite.

“It’s not an easy decision, and especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections,” Obama told supporters in a video message Thursday. “But the public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who’ve become masters at gaming this broken system.”

Broken, how? I thought McCain-Feingold fixed all of that. The system as currently structured actually stifles the voices of many by restricting their ability to use their voice (and/or money) within 30 days of the campaign. Later in the day Obama stated that he would need the money to fight “attack ads” from McCain supporters since the good Senator won’t do so himself. This is not only preposterous, it is an outright fabrication made with a straight face. McCain has repeatedly refused to use or support these supposed attacks to his own detriment. He called for the North Carolina Republican Party to pull a primary ad that criticized Obama for his relationship with his former Pastor Jeremiah Wright and has gotten himself sideways with the party for doing so. This is one of the many reasons I can’t stand McCain but it certainly runs contrary to the tripe put out daily by Obama and his campaign. Plain and simple, Obama has become a money raising machine and has come to like it, his new style of campaigning will include spending that money with abandon and filling the air with his fluff filled platitudes at a pace of 3 - 1 over the McCain campaign.

At the moment I’m more annoyed than usual with Barack for forcing me into a half-hearted yet necessary (at least for those who value truth) defense of John McCain. The luster continues to dull on this plastic candidate with each passing week, each stultifying speech and press conference. Flowery words that are devoid of meaning and substance, words with the consistency of cotton candy, sweet but lacking body and essence. Something that goes down good but leaves you hungry for something with some weight to it. Cloud words. Change, hope, opportunity, togetherness. For those with the ability to look beyond the soaring speeches that lead to nowhere there is more familiar political territory in the offing. Cynicism, partisanship, posturing and incompetency.

The “post racial” candidate disses his Muslim supporters in Michigan by refusing to allow them to sit in view of the cameras then blames it on his volunteers. Nonsense, those volunteers didn’t come up with the image idea out of whole cloth. This is a scripted campaign from the get go, it has a terrific ground organization as judged by his success in Iowa and other states yet it tasks two “volunteer” nincompoops to make seating decisions affecting image?

Mr. Togetherness isn’t as squeaky clean as he would like us to believe. Another chink in his armor revealing an empty suit is his refusal to accept even 4 or 5 town hall style debates with McCain. Senator Genuine can’t talk when he gets off the teleprompter or and cannot use the carefully written cloud words provided by the staff. His much publicized gaffes concerning health care and Iraq War funding are evidence of that which I speak. His togetherness message stands in contrast with his close associates known for their propensity for racist ranting. People like Jeremiah Wright, Michael Pfleger and Louis Farrakhan were not just passing acquaintances but 20 year associations. Finally, his claims of bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle have proven to be as without foundation as the rest of him. Look at the record, he has voted in lock step with the liberal party line at every level of career, rarely if ever crossing the aisle yet he criticizes McCain for being a third Bush term. The reason McCain is in hot water with much of the conservative electorate is for his over-willingness to get in bed with the Dems yet Barack wants to claim the upper hand on this issue and the media will probably let him get away with it.

Embrace Barack at your own risk. Grabbing onto the foundations behind his platform is like hugging a smoke filled suit, a little pressure and it crumbles to floor revealing its emptiness.

Why is it that the leftisits who are so vocal in support of Tibetian soverignity and their right of self determination are so often critical of The United States Government support of Taiwan? Like Tibet, The People’s Republic of China considers Taiwan (Formosa) to be a province within their soverign territory. The big difference between the two is that Taiwan has built a strong economy and a military presence over the years. Why then is one territory the darling of the left and the other is at best, ignored?

I believe the answer is that the American left is enamoured of the helpless and resent strength. Tibet as the conquered state engenders sympathy due to the brutal occupiers, while Taiwan is considered a militaristic rabble rouser. Democracy is not always the romantic story but it is the picture of freedom. It can grow but it must be fought for and protected, even to the death. Taiwan flies under the radar in the eyes of the left because they refuse to be victims and stand up for their independence from those that would oppress and enslave them. There has been saber rattling from both sides but as long as Taiwan stops short of a verbal decree of independence they have been left alone. President Clinton nearly upset the apple cart during his second term by accepting China’s concept that Taiwan was indeed legitimate Chinese territory. A liberal misconception is that peace exists merely by the abscence of war or open hostility. Ask Tibet or even the average citizen of the PRC how that has worked out. Taiwan has thrived and overcome its early authoritarian roots because it has shown strength in the face of threat. The United States has been a force in helping them build that strength and should remain a staunch ally. While international diplomatic concerns are obvious we must support the Taiwanese right to a Democratically elected government even if it stops short of a declaration of independence.

Any discussions our next President may have with the Chinese Communists should have a pre-condition that recognizes Taiwan’s right to free elections. Perhaps the left can consider our image abroad that they seem to be so worried about. What would it look like if we abandon a democratically elected government to the totalitarian oppressors? I know it is much more romantic to support the lost cause that is Tibet but reality is that a show of strength is far more effective.

If Tibet has a right to be free (and they do) then why not endorse the same right in Taiwan and even mainland China? So the next time we see a greenie driving down the street with a “Free Tibet” placard on their bumper maybe we ought to offer a Preserve Democracy in Taiwan one to go with it. Because we care.

During today’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs outfielder and highest paid team member Alphonso Soriano dropped a routine fly ball to left field wit two outs in the ninth allowing the tying run to score from first base and costing his team a win when Jason Bay singled home the winning run in the 11th.

Soriano’s commentary?

There wasn’t anything he could do differently, Soriano said.

I don’t know Fonz, maybe you could have tried catching the ball. That would be different. Two run homers matter not when your team loses a game they had in hand. Soriano is the one of the most overpaid and overrated players in the history of baseball and most certainly in the long and sordid history of the Cubs. While he can be an electric hitter who tears off 10 home runs in a week when he is hot, he also can cost the team games with a lack of clutch hitting and shoddy defense. If you want to collect the big money you need to be a complete player, something Soriano cannot even begin to claim. The Cubs have not won a World Series in 100 years and this is one of the reasons. Games are won with pitching and defense, not leadoff homers in a 13-2 game. And they wonder why the fans boo. If you screw up Fonzie, the least you could do is admit it.

We expect the mainstream media to continue giving Barack Obama a pass but when a good satirical strip gets into the misrepresentation game it is hard to take. As I learned from editorial cartooning so can the youth of today. The difference is the editorial cartooning is taking place in the main comics section and not the editorial page as it has in years gone by. The above strip would be funnier if it were based on truth but Obama’s own Pastor admitted quite freely that he meant everything he said and that it was not taken out of context. Further, the things Jeremiah Wright said may bother people but what really makes them uncomfortable is that Obama the anointed one has been unclear as to his association and true beliefs. First he looked at the man as a mentor, he spent almost 20 years in his church and named a book after one of his sermons yet now we are supposed to believe he didn’t really know this about the man that “he could no more disown than the black community”. Either Obama believes in the separatist and racist philosophy of Wright, he was only in the Church to build his creds with Chicago’s black community, or he is too dense to get what was really being said; all are problematic and a major stike against his credibility and qualifications to be the leader of this great country. And this before we even examine his political record…

Editorial cartoons lose their bite when they stretch too far, let’s hope Non Sequitur gets back on the path of the witty.

Barack Obama angrily disowned his former pastor and friend of 20 years, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., saying Tuesday that Wright’s recent comments about race, religion and the U.S. government were “divisive and destructive” and had undermined the purpose of Obama’s presidential candidacy.

This tells us one of two things; Obama is either lying when he claims to have not have heard similar sentiment from Wright or he is incredibly naive and poor in judgment. Either is anathema to being an acceptable and competent choice as the leader of free world. Obama cannot reasonably expect the American people to believe that he never has heard similar utterances from his Pastor, the man who married him and baptized his children over the 20 years he remained a member of his flock. No doubt the Trinity United Chiurch of Christ has done great works for the community and still does, but it is also clear that Wright’s separatist rhetoric and outwardly racist views has harmed the message of the Church and most certainly the overall campaign theme of its most famous congregant.

Obama is most certainly not stupid and thus it is hard to believe he was unaware of the philosophies of Pastor Wright. If he did not believe in the message of Wright then he is most certainly an opportunist without any real moral compass which is equally objectionable.

An op-ed in the Washington Post seems willing to believe the Junior Senator from Illinois on this one but I am not sure if the American public will be so forgiving. While the editorial board at the Post acknowledges that Obama should have known Wright’s true views, they do not question how they are at odds with Obama’s own message of unity.

But Mr. Obama is right when he says that his entire career is antithetical to the divisiveness of the Rev. Wright’s comments. We’ve found things to cheer and things to criticize about Mr. Obama during this long campaign, but we don’t see how anyone could question his commitment to transcending old racial battles and finding common ground. The Rev. Wright doesn’t speak for the candidate, and we hope the pastor doesn’t become a continuing excuse for political ads built on racial fears.

If Obama is truly committed to being the post racial candidate, how could he have wallowed in the message of Rev. Wright for so many years? If he was too blind to see the contradictions, what can we expect from an Obama cabinet? Jesse Jackson as Secretary of State? Ralph Nader as head of the EPA? It is easy to question Obama’s commitment to moving on and finding common ground because of the contradictions between his words and actions. Both in the associations he has kept as well as the thin legislative record that shows no such willingness to compromise.

Obama wants to sit down and talk to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Kim Jong Il with no preconditions yet he cannot recognize the poison within the words of his closest associates. Barack Obama is simply not ready or able to be President of the United States. Words soothe but actions shout, it is time to start listening.

Elvira Arellano and her handlers ought to be ashamed of themselves. Yesterday we were treated to this story in the Chicago Tribune.

Although he stood on an orange chair to deliver a brief statement in Spanish, the language he says he’s most comfortable with after nearly 8 months living in Mexico, the 9-year-old son of controversial Immigration activist Elvira Arellano was shy in front of the television cameras pointed in his direction.

What happened to the argument that the deportation of illegals breaks up families? Elvira Arellano is breaking up her family on her own and using her innocent son to do it. Interesting in this article is that the child is more comfortable speaking Spanish after only 8 months in Mexico. That would most likely indicate that he rarely spoke English while living in the United States though he was born here, again that is not the child’s fault, rather it is indicative of his Mother’s refusal to assimilate and learn the language, this after breaking the law twice to cross the border illegally.

“It’s very inspirational,” Lozano said after the service. “Their sacrifice to make this issue public was very great, and it made them both very strong.”

Somehow I don’t think the child chose this sacrifice, rather he is forced into it by a selfish Mother and other adults with an agenda such as Slim Coleman and Emma Lozano.

There is no doubt that immigration reform is needed but amnesty is not. Using a confused 9 year old child is no way to start looking for a solution. If you read the article, the words of the adults and their reasons for the presence of Saul is at distinct odds with the words of the child himself.

“I want to be a regular kid, but I can’t,” he said. Then, he elaborated in Spanish to Lozano.

“He said he should be a child who is free, not a child who has to continually struggle to defend his mother,” Lozano translated.

The child could be a regular kid if his mother would get out of his way and let him be a 9 year old. Now that she is deported there is no need for Saul to defend her. I wouldn’t send my 9 year old to a protest with or without me, but somehow when acting in advocacy for illegal activity, it makes it acceptable to pimp a child. Elvira Arellano is not fit to raise this child any more. Her use of him for political purposes is abhorrent and evidence that to some people the cause outweighs common sense and decency, leaving a wake of human victims.

This is yet another reason to believe we are in for a long 4 years, regardless of the outcome of November’s Presidential elections. While McCain is the best option out of the three contenders we are still looking at the most appealing pile of excrement out of the lot and that leaves us with excrement. Fortunately this country is strong and will overcome any one person, though this might be a good time for the Republican grass roots to get active. Elect strong conservatives to Congress and the President’s ability to do harm will be marginalized.

I then was treated to another frequent event, one I have seen so many times. Another Cubs reliever, Bob Howry came in for the top of the 10th to immediately surrender the game winning run. The Cubs went down quietly in the 10th as the top of the order didn’t even come close to threatening. Is there any team in the history of baseball that has more 9th inning comebacks followed by extra inning collapses? Has any franchise equaled they playoff inability to close things out when needing to win only one out of three games to move to the World Series? This is not a curse, it is typical bad baseball from teams who accept this type of performance from themselves and fans who accept it by continuously selling the joint out. I won’t give them my money by buying a ticket until they justify our faith by actually playing smart and winning ballgames but I somehow get hooked into watching them or listening on the radio. It is an addiction worse than most and one that has no 12 step program to help her victims.

Please, someone start a support group. My head hurts and it is only opening day.