OpEdNews » Obama – His Message of Hope Clashes with his Lies and Hypocrisy on 527 Groups

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Tag(s): 527 Groups; Assassination; Benazir Bhutto; Benazir Bhutto; Clinton-Hillary; Edwards John; Edwards-Elizabeth; Foreign Policy Failure Pakistan; Foreign Policy Failures; Hope Hopefulness; (more...) Hypocrisy; John Edwards; Lies; Naive; Obama-Barack; Pakistan; Pakistan; Vote Hope (less...)
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December 31, 2007 at 09:16:41

Obama – His Message of Hope Clashes with his Lies and Hypocrisy on 527 Groups

by Steven Leser Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Barack Obama is hoping that the people in Iowa don’t look at the two conflicting messages he is putting out and start wondering what kind of person he is. On the one hand, you have a person who is out there delivering this pretty speech on hope and political change. On the other, he is a person who has a 527 group out there called Vote Hope, http://www.votehope2008.com that is running ads in his favor even though he is not in favor of 527 ads.

So far, that is fine and understandable because a candidate cannot control what independent groups like 527s do, but then he is out there criticizing Hillary Clinton and John Edwards for having 527 groups running ads in their favor. Edwards has also asked 527 groups not to run ads on his behalf.

A week ago, according to this article in the Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-dems23dec23,1,4586681.story?track=rss Obama and his chief strategist issued this pointed attack on Edwards:

"You can't say yesterday you don't believe in them, and today you have three-quarters of a million dollars being spent for you," Obama said… David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, said the 527 group known as Alliance for a New America just bought $756,000 worth of airtime to run ads in Iowa from Wednesday to Jan. 3, the date of the caucuses

Yesterday, the Washington Post’s Chris Cilliza wrote this article, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/12/obama_and_outside_money.html , which discusses an Obama campaign memo to the press that has more attacks on Edwards regarding 527s and has attacks on Hillary Clinton for her 527 groups.

Neither Obama nor Axelrod or anyone else in the Obama campaign has mentioned the 527 group Vote Hope raising and spending money on Obama’s behalf. I wonder how Iowans would feel if they knew about that. I look at it and say, this person is not only not interested in political change; he is embracing the worst of the worst in contemporary political campaign hypocrisy and rhetoric.

Obama flubbed the initial response to the Bhutto Assassination raising questions on Presidential Readiness

The initial knock on Obama was that he didn’t have enough foreign policy experience to be President. Hillary Clinton made a particularly telling blow earlier on in the campaign when she referred to Obama as being naïve after he made an embarrassing comment on an international issue. If you have that perception out there, the last thing you want to do is confirm the naïve perception again but that is exactly what happened with Obama’s initial response to the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Instead of contacting Pakistani officials and offering condolences or making comments consoling the people of Pakistan or even expressing concern about the political situation there, Obama’s reaction was to attack Hillary Clinton and her Iraq war vote as shown in this article in the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/27/AR2007122702514.html . At a campaign stop, the post quotes Obama as saying, "I've been saying for some time that we've got a very big problem" in Pakistan, Obama said. "We were distracted from focusing on them.” The same Post article has Obama not offering any remotely Presidential reaction for over 24 hours after the assassination, long after Edwards had spoken with Musharraf and expressed concern for the democratic process in Pakistan.

A disturbing picture of Obama is starting to emerge in these last few weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses. Obama appears to be a man who after many months on the campaign trail and doubtless dozens of briefings and coaching by experts on foreign policy cannot come up with a timely and appropriate response to a foreign policy crisis. In terms of integrity and change, Obama’s hypocritical attacks regarding 527 groups reminds me of the kinds of things that came out of the 2000 and 2004 Bush campaigns. Those are not the kinds of things I want coming out of someone who hopes to represent my party or me.

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9 comments

anonymous coward
Mr Stqanonymous coward

Some details

Contrary to the statement is this article that "he[Obama] is a person who has a 527 group out there called Vote Hope", the fact of the matter is that this isn't his group, exactly "because a candidate cannot control what independent groups like 527s do" as written a few sentences later.

The difference is that Obama has explictly called on people not to contribute Vote Hope, but to contribute directly through his campaign, and that was months ago. Unfortunately, this article misses such points.

The Iowa-based Des Moines Register has published a more balanced piece on the subject, which you see here.

by Mr Stq (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 20 comments) on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 11:43:35 AM

Steven Leser specializes in Politics, Science & Health, and Entertainment topics. He has held positions within the Democratic Party including District Chair and Public Relations Chair within county organizations.

Steven Leser writes for www.opednews.com, an internet only media site that has grown to become one of the highest traffic news sites in America, reaching more traffic, according to alexa.com, than all but the thirty largest daily newspapers in the US. Mr. Leser is one of t...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Steven LeserSteven Leser specializes in Politics, Science & Health, and Entertainment topics. He has held positions within the Democratic Party including District Chair and Public Relations Chair within county organizations.

Steven Leser writes for www.opednews.com, an internet only media site that has grown to become one of the highest traffic news sites in America, reaching more traffic, according to alexa.com, than all but the thirty largest daily newspapers in the US. Mr. Leser is one of t...

to see more of bio, click on member name

The article does not miss any of those points...

lets make it even clearer:

There is a 527 working on behalf of Edwards
There is a 527 working on behalf of Obama
There is a 527 working on behalf of Hillary
Edwards asked the 527s working on his behalf not to do anything on his behalf.
Obama asked the 527s working on his behalf not to do anything on his behalf.
Obama then criticized Edwards for supposedly being against 527s and then having a 527 out there doing things on his behalf.

If there is anything that the Obama campaign has to refute any of that, I would like to hear it. I dont want to hear degrees of things 527s are doing or any other side arguments or distractions. Is anything in these six points incorrect?

I already know the answer and that is why I penned the article.

by Steven Leser (212 articles, 45 quicklinks, 33 diaries, 1391 comments) on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 11:53:17 AM

I am a simple person who has viewed politics, government, social and personal changes over sixty years. From the McCarthy era to today the 22nd century. I venture my opinion on various topics based on being a witness to history.
Margarita FoxI am a simple person who has viewed politics, government, social and personal changes over sixty years. From the McCarthy era to today the 22nd century. I venture my opinion on various topics based on being a witness to history.

Inexperience in foreign matters

I must agree with one very telling point. I enjoy hearing what Mr. Obama has to say, as he is very articulate and his rhetoric is pleasing to the ear and in my mind "how the world should be". However, I will not be voting for him because in my opinion he does not have sufficient experience in world issues to be able to handle the diplomacy that will be necessary in the coming years. I am hoping that many fences will be mended world-wide by the "new" President, for that experience in international diplomacy is a big plus. I am one of those uncommitted voters and look to the Democratic Party to come forth with such a candidate. I did not vote for our current President, but have been a voting member of the Republican Party in the past. Never again. I am firmly a Democrat now and hereafter.

by Margarita Fox (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 5 comments) on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 1:28:38 PM

A proud gay man
fouA proud gay man

Even More Hypocrisy

Obama welcomed the support and active campaigning of an anti-gay minister. Even though the candidate professed to be pro-gay -- an obvious pander to a constituency he would love to have.

When questioned about his association with the bigot, Obama refused to fire the man, refused to disavow himself of the man's remarks.

I called the Obama people and got the answers first hand. He will not fire the anti-gay bigot. He will contiue to allow him to spew his message of hate dressed in religious syryp.

How can anyone not see through this and many of the other flaws this candidate has?

by fou (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 90 comments) on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 1:59:03 PM

anonymous coward
Mr Stqanonymous coward

Too much spin - when in reality the onus is on Edwards

The 527 is run by Edwards' former campaigner manager who only left his payroll a short while ago (when he announced that he will take public financing), only to go and setup that 527. It is why the NY Times writes that: "The real question all this poses, though, is whether John Edwards is serious about reforming American politics. The idea that he never knew of all this money coming his way — or that he couldn’t possibly do anything to stop it now, when his closest political ally is in charge of the effort — is a little insulting."

by Mr Stq (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 20 comments) on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 2:12:28 PM

more lying spin from the Obama campaign

So your assertion is, it is worse because the fact that this person was once a close associate of his means that he can control the person and make them do anything he wants. Right

Can you control your friends and make them do anything you want?

Of course not. Obama's actions and statements are lies and hypocrisy.

by Steven Leser (212 articles, 45 quicklinks, 33 diaries, 1391 comments) on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 7:57:16 PM

And one more time, this time with feeling...

There is a 527 working on behalf of Edwards
There is a 527 working on behalf of Obama
There is a 527 working on behalf of Hillary
Edwards asked the 527s working on his behalf not to do anything on his behalf.
Obama asked the 527s working on his behalf not to do anything on his behalf.
Obama then criticized Edwards for supposedly being against 527s and then having a 527 out there doing things on his behalf.

There isnt. As we all can see from the responses, Obama and his campaign are trying to spin this a myriad of ways to make it not appear as if Obamas attacks are hypocritical. But they are.

by Steven Leser (212 articles, 45 quicklinks, 33 diaries, 1391 comments) on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 2:15:10 AM

anonymous coward
Mr Stqanonymous coward

The take home message

If Edwards can't do anything about his own FRIEND 527, then he shouldn't promise on the campaign trail that he will do something about ENEMY corporates. That's the take home message. No amount of spin can hide this fact.

by Mr Stq (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 20 comments) on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:36:31 AM