Character
by James Glaser
June 23, 2008

When we think about if a person would make a good President, one of the first things we think about is his or her character. When Bill Clinton was elected we didn't know what a real slim ball he was, because we all assumed that anyone put up by one of the major parties would be of good character. We now know how wrong we were to assume that.

The same has been true for George Bush #2. People with a good character do not lie, and George W. has repeatedly lied throughout his two terms. Those lies have caused tens of thousands of Americans, and hundreds of thousands Iraqis and Afghanis to be killed or maimed.

The following are two definitions for the word "character." One came from Merriam- Webster, and the other from an on line dictionary.

: one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual

The combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another.

John McCain is now the Republican candidate for President and the man has been around in politics for a long time. I don't want McCain elected, but I can honestly say that I have never heard anyone question his character. I don't agree with the policies he would push if elected, but I do believe he is an honorable man.

Like I said, John McCain has been in the public arena for a long time. Both Bill Clinton and George Bush sort of came out of nowhere to become President. They were both governors, and maybe the people in their States knew what they were like, but to most of the nation they were brand new.

Today, Barack Obama is pretty much brand new to us too. Unlike McCain, who ran a national primary campaign in 2000, Obama has only been on the national scene for this primary season.

For me, when I judge a person's character. One of the first things I look at are a person's friends, and see how they talk about him, and how he treats them. So far I haven't heard of any friends that Barack Obama has, other than the guy that blew up some Police Station with the Weather Underground back in the 60s, and the guy who he had the shady land deal with Obama, who was just convicted on something in Chicago.

Then there is Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who Obama said was his friend and spiritual advisor for the last 20 some years. Rev, Wright said some things that got everyone upset, and Obama said this:

"I can no more disown (Jeremiah Wright) than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother" — Barack Obama

I liked that. Barack Obama was ready to stand up for his friend and pastor no matter what. However, then he remembered that he was running for President, and a lot of voters said they were upset with Reverend Wright. So, Barack Obama threw out over twenty years of friendship, and disowned his pastor. To me, that said volumes about Obama's character, and none of it good.

Then last fall Barack Obama, who has been saying that he is one of us, just a normal American, went to a fund raiser in San Francisco and gave a talk to the wine and cheese crowd there, and he said the following about the poor rural people of Pennsylvania, where he was in a primary election.

"You got into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are going to regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." — Barack Obama

I didn't like that. I cling to my guns, and I am against some of our trade policies, and I am anti illegal-immigrant, and without a doubt, I cling to the lord. You know what, I worry about anyone who wants to be President, and who thinks it is weird to cling to your religious beliefs. I also worry about candidates who say one thing to one group, and another thing to other groups.

There is a pattern developing about Barack Obama. Last year Obama was the champion of public financing of elections. He told Larry King that public financing of elections worked. In February of this year he said that he would aggressively pursue spending limits for the campaign, but now all bets are off.

Obama realized that he could have four or five times more money than McCain if he didn't go with the public financing guidelines. He didn't say that is why, no he said it was McCain's fault, because the Republicans were going to have all these soft money groups spend money against him. So far in the election it is the Democrats who have the soft money people campaigning against McCain, and the Republicans are having a hard time getting anyone to pony up money for their side.

Now like I said, I don't want John McCain to be elected as our President. I think he is a man of good character, but I don't like his ideas.

Barack Obama is another story. I like his idea of change, but from what I have seen of his character, I don't believe that I can trust the man to follow through with his ideas. He says he is going to work with the Republicans to get things done, but he has never done that in the past, and come to think of it, John McCain has. Campaign Finance reform is the McCain-Fiengold Bill. Russ Feingold is a Democrat from Wisconsin, and campaign finance reform was pushed by the Democrats.... and John McCain.

Also, when Obama ditched his pastor, that left a bad taste in my mouth for him. I always believed you stuck with your friends through thick and thin. He could have said he disagreed with the Reverend Wright, but Obama made the pastor look like a criminal.

So, I can't vote for McCain on the issues, and I can't vote for Obama because I don't have any faith in his character. I guess I am going to have to take a good look at Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate.

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