"Maybe It's Just Me..."

Few would dispute the inherent truth found in the old adage "All is fair in love and war." And has been increasingly evident in the national elections of the past couple of decades, "and politics " could be inclusively amended to that statement. It is apparent to me, at least, that candidates for elected office are of the opinion that it is "okay," in fact, advisable, to use any tactic that will place them in good stead with certain demographic groups of voters, regardless of the contradictions that are rampant in their shotgun pronouncements, believing, I suppose, that the voters are too stupid or too lazy to see through their veil of inconsistencies.

Case in point... The Barack Obama presidential campaign is in the process of requesting selected radio stations in the larger metropolitan cities of Ohio to run pro-Obama advertisements that attempt to portray their candidate in a more favorable Christian light. The group behind promoting the ads, the "Matthew 25 Network," has designs to position Obama as the candidate who when elected could best bring an end to the economic woes plaguing not only in that state but the entire nation. All well and good. A promise of a "Chicken in every one's pot" has long been a stable of expected electioneering. Where I take personal exception to these particular ads is the narrator's utilization of Biblical scripture, specifically quoting selected verses from Matthew 25. "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed you?' they (the Disciples) asked. Jesus said, 'Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, you have done it to Me.'"

Candidate Barack Obama has made repeated efforts to distant himself from his family's well documented Muslim heritage and to assure potential evangelical protestants and Catholic voters that he is a "believing Christian." Since I again took the time to check out my reflection in the mirror this morning and came away convinced still that I am not God, I'll take Obama at his word and give The Almighty the responsibility to discern Obama's heart on his Christianity claim. Here's the rub...the ad's narrator, a former Democrat congressman and an avowed pro-life (emphasis mine) advocate, is supporting Mr. Obama because he would be a president "who sees those who are suffering and cares for the least of these." A review of Mr. Obama's voting record in the Senate and his many voiced policy statements and personal viewpoints would indicate that he upholds a very narrow definition of who is to be included as eligible to be among the least of these, specifically his voting record that clearly aligns him as being an outspoken proponent of abortion in all its ghastly methodology. If, for the Love of God, the existence of an unborn child does not immediately qualify to be included in the least of these, then there are no other categories that need be placed forward. Maybe it's just me, but I find these latest proposed Obama political ads to be blatantly contradictory and deplorably hypocritical.

One final note... Senator McCain announced that due to the omnipresent economic crisis that is now facing our nation, he has elected to immediately suspend his presidential campaign to return to Washington in order to take a more active leadership role in obtaining a bi-partisan resolution and requested of Mr. Obama to do likewise. Mr. Obama declined, responding that it is his opinion that both he and Mr. McCain could perform their legislative duties effectively while still remaining actively engaged in their respective campaigns. Sounds to me that Mr. Obama is making a claim that he is a professed master at multitasking. His Senatorial voting record would indicate otherwise, he having missed 107 roll call votes during his one and only tenure in office.

In all truthful candor, I hold to the personal opinion that Mr. McCain possesses numerous political opinions that leave me less than enamored with his candidacy. But I do not believe that Mr. McCain entertains the notion that he can walk on water, as I suspect Mr. Obama would like those who ardently support his candidacy to unconditionally attest. Abraham Lincoln said, "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time." Our current President, George W, further refined Lincoln's quote, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." Mr. Obama has obviously taken this advice to heart.