The War Of Words Begins

Every now and then, I like to hear what "Conservative America" thinks... if for no other reason, to compare viewpoints and come to an intelligent decision. As I have gotten older, I have come to realize that everything is not black and white (and I'm not talking about race). There are grey areas and what is perfectly good in one area, might not be so good in another. I don't allow myself to have tunnel vision and just go in one direction... I listen to both or in some cases, three sides of a particular situation and decide on what makes sense for me.

All that said, I happened to come across an article in today's paper and it touched a nerve. It made the hairs on the back of my neck rise. I posted it here so you can read it, then I'm going to take it apart. Here it is...

I'm Immune to the Obama Swoon
Christine M. Flowers, Lawyer
Philadelphia Daily News

Just like every other kid, I endured the battery of shots that inoculated against the diseases of childhood: Diptheria, Whooping Cough, Typhus, Measles, and Polio.

The marks have faded after more than 40 years, but there is still enough definition there to remind me of my parents' concern and my doctors' wisdom. Thanks to them, I was immune to anything but the passing cold.

I wonder if, in that pharmacological mix, they slipped in a vaccine against hype. It occurred to me that this must be the only explanation for my complete and utter immunity to Barack "Yes We Can!" Obama. When he stands at the podium and delivers those words of hope and uplift, the crowds roar back in support.

And here I sit, trying to figure out what it is that keeps me from succumbing to the enchantment of this political messiah when so many intelligent people are falling in line and in love. After all, if even some conservatives are in sync with his siren song, like the farmers in Kansas and the denizens of the Louisiana bayous, why am I indifferent to his manifest charms?

Well, I never understood the attraction of those old-time revival meetings, either... where people with personalities even bigger than the churches they were preaching in, could sway the crowds by the sheer force of their passion. I need actual red meat, not the wispy promises of a sweet-talking neophyte.

So, perhaps I should ask the candidate myself: Tell us, Sen. Obama, how would your plan for withdrawal from Iraq keep that country from devolving into a fratricidal cesspool, threatening surrounding nations and our own?

Don't just say, "I was against the war when Hillary voted for it"... that ship has sailed. What in your experience qualifies you to sit at a table with other world leaders and inspire confidence that you know what you're doing, not just that you know how to say it eloquently?

Explain, in simple terms for the non-believers like me, how being a community organizer in Chicago, your friend Oprah's hometown, prepared you to deal with al Qaeda, the looming crises in Lebanon and Syria, the ominous rise of a nuclear Iran and the threat to Israel? And, you might have heard that your father's homeland Kenya is having a few problems these days.

Any suggestions on how to approach the ethnic cleansing there, not to mention the genocide in Sudan, the continued conflicts in Sierra Leon, the highly combustible situation in Algeria, the deterioration in Chad?

I'm waiting to hear some solutions, not just a trite slogan like "Yes We Can", which is beginning to sound like "Can't we all just get along?"

And, speaking of getting along, you pretend to be a unifier but, have little patience for conservatives like me. You make scurrilous attacks against the current administration and conservatives in general.

You pretend to appeal to all of us as "Americans" but have a palpable disdain for those who don't buy the Democratic narrative. You aren't above taking pot shots at a certified war hero because he said we'd have to maintain a presence in Iraq for years to come.

So, I suppose you also have a problem with our 60+ years in Germany since WW II? Our 30+ years in Korea? Our NATO bases in the Mediterranean?

And, I hope you'll tell some of your acolytes to cool their jets when they start accusing we who are immune to your charms of racism. When I last wrote about you, I said that I thought you lacked the experience for public office. Many of those who e-mailed me afterward suggested that, as a white woman, I had a problem with a black man. One went so far as to say that "lack of experience" was code words for "something else." So, let's get this straight... "Lack of experience" means (1) you're too young, (2) you're completely untested, (3) you have an insignificant Senate record, and (4) your soaring rhetoric won't protect us against soaring missiles. It does not mean "I don't like you because you're black."

Frankly, there are a lot of reasons why I could never pull the lever for you, but race isn't one of them. And, yet I'm a racist because I'm immune to your appeal? Please tell your supporters that some people really don't cast their vote because of or in spite of race and gender. The irony is that white folks who embrace your candidacy are viewed as inclusive since this plays right into your narrative as a "unifier", while those who take issue with your, well, serious lack of issues are foot soldiers in the army of Gen. Jim Crow.

The truth is, senator, I don't think I'll be needing a booster shot anytime soon.

Okay, let me say this...I'll go along with Christine's assertion that because she is not voting for Obama, it doesn't mean she is a racist. She has a right to vote for whomever she chooses.

Let's look at her assertion that he's "too young". He's 47... not exactly someone who might need a fake ID card, yet not so old that he might fall asleep during a meeting. (Excuse me, uh, I believe the Republican, so often called "The Greatest President" often did that.)

She says that it doesn't seem like Obama has an "Exit Strategy" for Iraq? Is she serious? We've been waiting for one from the current President since 2004!

As far as "experience to sit at the table with world leaders", I would hope that anybody could sit at this table and do a better job than the current administration has done. Bush and Rumsfeld succeeded in aileanating every Nato ally, except the British against theUnited States. No one with any common sense can say that the Middle East is more stable today than it was in 2000. Here we had a sitting President and his staff, who invaded Iraq not knowing that there were three distinct Islamic groups co-existing who were kept from each others throats only because they feared Saddam Hussein and his cronies more. Not that I'm endorsing Saddam, but with him gone... it is virtually impossible to control these three groups who are now free to kill each other (and Americans) at will. So, is she saying that the current so called experienced administration has done a good job of making the world safe from terrorism? I think the British, The French, The Spanish, and the people of Denmark would beg to differ.

She compares our occupation of Iraq with our occupation of Germany, Japan, and other Nato bases in Europe. I was in the Air Force for 22 years... I visited every last one of the places she named and I'll tell you what the difference was... at no time was my life in danger. There were no bombs buried on the highways in any of those countries. Iraq is dangerous and Americans are in danger every minute they are there.

Obama and Clinton may lack experience in certain areas... but, you only get experience by getting in there and doing the job. If you want my opinion, the Bush administration has performed as though THEY didn't have any experience. Look at this country right now... the economy is on the fritz, there's a quagmire of a war that nobody understands, people are losing their homes, etc. Does she really want more of the same?

I'll go out on a limb and take my chances with Obama, Clinton, or even McCain doing a better job than what I've seen.

That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it!!!