The Masterpiece Of A Disaster

by Wesley Pruden - March 21, 2008 - Washington Post

"A speech we have all been waiting for for a generation." The punditocracy, having overdosed on nuance, seared by supple and sore from all those wrenched guts, is fresh out of exclamation points, now on back order in newsrooms everywhere.

A day after that, reality intrudes. Pundits only observe. Pollsters take the first true measure of events, and yesterday the first polls taken since the speech reveal that the remarks that Obamaniacs call the greatest speech since Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address look like a disaster.

Barack Obama should have been what America was looking for when they were hoping for Colin Powell to run for President a few years back. A black man of great intelligence, articulate, educated and endowed with the "fire" to run that Colin did not have. There is in all parts of our political landscape a desire to get past race. Barack Obama could have been that man if he had understood our nation and what makes us great. I don't think he does. As smart as he is he has blind spots about our nation that have led him astray.

Three things now stand in the way of him becoming the national healer he proclaims he wants to be. The first two have been obvious for a while, but only mattered to those of us who hate government tyranny.

First, Barack Obama is a socialist and does not understand anything about how an economy works. He thinks that the amazing wealth of America is just luck. He wants to tax "the rich" to pay for fixing all of the shortcomings he sees. He sees a poor person and does not see someone who has made bad choices. He sees someone who has been robbed of his just rewards. Barack Obama is going to take from the rich and give to the poor and this time it is not going to destroy the nation's economy in the process. However though Obama makes 10 times the average American's earnings, he feels poor and wants to take from the average man a portion of his earnings to give to what he sees as poor.

Second, Barack Obama is a pacifist and does not believe that a strong military is needed to protect our freedoms. Since he sees only the shortcomings of our nation, he thinks every other nation's dislike for us is our fault. He is convinced if we just retreat into pacifism and offer them money they will leave us alone. He wants to shut down our military and use the savings to buy love from the world. He is convinced that being weak will not invite our enemies to attack. He insults those our nation has asked to die for our country and wants to bring our troops home, not as victors, but as losers.

However it is the final misunderstanding that is imploding his campaign. Barack Obama believes that black racism is justified. He feels white America will not be offended when told that his message of unity is about white America agreeing that blacks have been wronged. He sees the guilt of liberal white America and assumes that all whites feel the same guilt. He fails to appreciate that much of white America does not see affirmative action as a permanent fixture of government. Most whites who are denied opportunity today for what some other white did 50 years ago, or in some cases 500 hundred years ago, resent it.

America is about equality of opportunity, not equality of results. Equality of opportunity does not permit blacks to refuse to get an education and then blame whites for that failure. It does not even allow poor whites to blame "the rich" for their problems as Obama does.

Barack Obama's speech had two diametrically opposed reactions. Admiration from those who shared some portion of his love for socialism, pacifism and belief that blacks deserve the right to blame whites for past transgressions. Rejection from those who believe in free enterprise, national defense and a return to equality under the law without regard to race.

Right now race is as important as it ever was since we have simply replaced special rights for whites with special rights for blacks. Whites took it as their just deserts when government favored them. Blacks take it as their just deserts now when affirmative action gives them preference. The American ideal is equal treatment . . . which we have never reached for sad reasons. It is best for the future if we reach that ideal.

The pathological hatred of Pastor Wright will not sell to someone who has themselves never acted against blacks. Arguing that someone who has never harmed blacks should feel sympathy to black feelings of entitlement due to the past sins of others is a non starter.

As a result, Barack Obama is plunging down in the polls. I think in his heart Obama knew this was a problem, which is why he has tried to hide the racial hatred that drives Pastor Wright and his many followers. I don't think he yet understands that America is never going to be a socialist or pacifist country either.

Obama has these 3 problems. If he wins the Presidency this nation will be at war with itself over all 3 issues. Since we are also at war with global socialism, illegal aliens and radical Islam, I believe the results will be catostrophic. However unless something changes, Obama will not be President and our nation will have missed a great opportunity to reach the goal of equal treatment under the law for all. We need a black President who is not a racist so we can put race behind us.