Obama and Bomb Bomb McCain – A Contrast

The contrast of Obama and Bomb Bomb McCain is best explained by two different adages: 1) Obama – WHEN AN EAGLE SOARS, IT BECOMES A BETTER TARGET; 2) Bomb Bomb – THE FURTHER UP THE FLAGPOLE THE MONKEY CLIMBS, THE MORE YOU SEE HIS ASS. The last week events provide the opportunity to test this folk wisdom.

Obama's recent grand tour was a tour de force. His trip took him to the Middle East, Afghanistan, Germany, France and Great Britain. He succeeded in pushing his Iraqi withdrawal plan forward; he focused more attention on Afghanistan; he signaled a future new diplomatic era for the US; and finally, he did manage to look presidential, whatever that means.

Looking presidential is normally an abstraction. It is certainly in the eye of the beholder. In Hillary Clinton's case she tried to achieve it with an ad of a red telephone ringing in the night; it was lampooned. Her most egregious ploy was to concoct her Bosnian sniper story which ended as a documented lie. It only added to problems with her credibility. Apart from Obama's sense of presence and calm self-assurance during the trip, he delivered a speech in Baghdad immediately after meeting General Saveus Petraeus. Thrust of the speech was that he met with Petraeus and he understood his position, but Petraeus is responsible for one aspect of US policy. He further added: a commander-and-chief is responsible for the security of the whole country, that as such he must be careful not to over-emphasize one aspect of national security, and in the process, endangering the whole country to include economic stability. It is a concept incompetent GWB seriously overlooked. For George Bush, after nearly eight years in office, appearing presidential is still a work in progress. Just goes to show you all the feathers in the world will never make a crow a peacock.

A refrain picked up by some of the vapid elements of the mainstream media was that Obama was too presidential on his trip; that, he displayed hubris. Anybody who believes that is painfully suffering from an inferiority complex. Sure Obama looked better than wobbly GW Bush and spastic Bomb Bomb ever could, but what the hell, he created a pro-American enthusiasm by those who despised Bush with his brand of Kiss-My-Ass foreign policy. If Obama wins, American tourists will not have to pretend they are Canadians when visiting Europe.

While Obama was busy charming the world, Bomb Bomb was suffering temper tantrums as the Democratic candidate regularly scored points. Part of it may have been those forty-foot jump shots Obama made before an enthusiastic military crowd in Kuwait. Obama appears fresh, vigorous and young. Bomb Bomb is stale, crippled, and old... most importantly Obama is smart and Bomb Bomb is not. Observing Obama in Berlin at the Tiergarten speech, he appeared as a thoroughbred. On the other hand, Bomb Bomb delivering gaffes in front of a supermarket cheese display or in a German um-papa, wurst restaurant in the Midwest, made him appear as a broken down nag ready for the glue factory. There was nothing presidential about him. His chronic gaffes make him a fraud or senile – take your choice.

Bomb Bomb hit below the belt when he asserted that Obama would lose a war to win the presidency; that is typical neocon screed coming from McCain's staff that is riddled with these permanent war pro-Likud crack pots. This squalid stuff followed the NEW YORKER's cover diatribe insulting Obama dressed as Osama, and his wife, Afro-coifed, depicted as a revolutionary Angela Davis carrying an AK 47. All this while an American flag burned in a fireplace with a portrait of Bin Laden over the mantel – both the editor and cartoonist are American Jews – what they were trying to prove is beyond me. Did Likud strike again? Perhaps they are upset that 67% of the American Jews favor Obama and he has serious Jewish congressional support as well as Jews within his campaign staff. The Israeli Likud Party, with their running dog neocons, fear Obama, because it cannot exert the control over him as it does over Bomb Bomb.

Bomb Bomb is a foul character who employs foul tactics. My sense is that Bomb Bomb deserves the same treatment. When four-star General W. Clark scoffed that Bomb Bomb's military record poorly prepared him as commander-in-chief, he squealed like a stuck pig. Bomb Bomb's military record is a vulnerability and he understands this.

His campaign enjoys projecting him as a wounded hero in an enemy hospital. This draws pity, but it obscures the fact he provided aid and comfort to the enemy by signing a propaganda statement for them. Also he is projected as a hero, because he refused to be repatriated ahead of prisoners who served longer in captivity – nonsense! Military Code of Conduct precludes him from accepting favors from the enemy. The guy served his country the best he could, but not heroically unless you redefine heroic. Pay him for his retirement and disability as he stood in harms way for America, but dismiss him as president. Wrapping himself in flag continuously stinks of chauvinism; he is substituting this for his lack of substance.

Obama does not have the silver bullet to arrest the decline of America, but by changing course there is a good chance he can slow it down. Bomb Bomb, who will stay the Bush course, has a dumdum bullet that will augment the slide, ripping the nation apart – take your choice America. Colonel Robert E Bartos USA Ret