Why Obama will lose
David Deming
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — When Benjamin Franklin was dispatched to France as ambassador
of the United States in 1776, he won the hearts of the French through
his authenticity. Rather than take on an affected and phony
continental style, Franklin eschewed the powdered wig of the European
gentleman and donned the fur cap of an American frontiersman. Original
genius and polymath, Franklin understood that the French would see
through any false pretension but respect an authenticity that sprang
from an unpretentious and naive love of country.

What a contrast there is between Franklin and Barack Obama. Obama is a
Harvard lawyer who is a mile wide and an inch deep. He is only the
latest in a long line of shallow elites that consider it stylish and
intellectual to despise their own culture and heritage.

Nothing exemplifies Obama’s antipathy for American culture better than
his statement that Americans “cling to” religion and guns out of
frustration or bitterness. We only can suppose that Obama regards
religion or firearms as aberrations that need to be eradicated.

Of course, both guns and religion are essential aspects of American
culture. The United States was founded by people seeking religious
freedom. Does the word “Pilgrim” ring a bell with anyone? Our freedom
and the right to self-government were won by farmers with guns.

The American Revolution started when the British marched to Concord
with the intention of confiscating colonial arms. Both the right to
“keep and bear arms,” and the right to “free exercise” of religion are
enshrined in the Bill of Rights. We have come a long way when the
presidential nominee of a major political party regards the exercise
of fundamental rights as a mental aberration.

When Obama refers to “my Muslim faith,” the verbal gaffe resonates as
a Freudian slip because of Obama’s thinly veiled hatred for this
country’s unique culture and institutions. Obama sat for 20 years in a
church where the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr preached “goddamn America.”
He only resigned from the congregation when it became politically
expedient to do so. When earlier this year, Michelle Obama said “for
the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country,” can we
conclude that her husband disagrees? Is it not remarkable that
Michelle Obama can be so small-minded as to find nothing in the
history of the United States that merits her admiration but the
personal success of her husband?

What is Barack Obama for? His campaign motto is “change.” But even a
6-year-old child understands that “change” can be either good or bad.
Lacking specifics, the invocation of “change” as policy is completely
empty. As we witness Obama’s minions mindlessly endorse the
meaningless maxim of “change,” it only can call to mind the barnyard
animals in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” chanting “four legs good, two
legs bad!”

The choice of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate has been
devastating for the Obama campaign precisely because she is everything
Obama is not. Palin is not ashamed of her culture or country. She is
not embarrassed by being an American, but naively embraces her
birthright. Unassisted by affirmative action, Palin has risen to
national prominence on the basis of her character, intelligence and
natural gifts. In a word, she has guts. This is a woman who is proud
of her country, not because it has granted her personal success, but
because she respects what America stands for: freedom, opportunity,
and individualism.

Obama is a vapid demagogue, a hollow man that despises American
culture. He is ill-suited to be president of the United States. As the
weeks pass, more Americans will come to this realization and elect
McCain/Palin in a landslide.

DAVID DEMING is an associate professor of Arts and Sciences at the
University of Oklahoma