The Legend of Barack

Well every story has a hero,
Or at least someone who's main,
But to say that [Barry] was anything less than grotesque
Was bordering on the insane

I don't have the author or the title of that piece I just cannibalized (should be Larry, not Barry), but it's a cowboy poem I first heard when I was a kid. I've always enjoyed old stories, legends, tall tales, and such. I guess it's a reflection of my childhood, growing up hearing great stories told exceptionally well. Sentiments like "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story," or the line from a John Wayne movie, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend," seem to live in us all. But as citizens in a free society, there are times when a story must be exposed for the falsehood that it is, no matter how much we may want to believe it.

Senator Barack Obama has made many statements during this political cycle. Some of his words have undoubtedly been true. But how much of his rhetoric is based in fact, and how much is pure legend?

The first claim to examine is that he is a new type of politician, running a new type of campaign. It is true that I can't remember any other candidate who was afforded the opportunities to speak on broad topics as part of his or her campaign. Obama's early speeches about hope and change were admittedly stirring. But how has he conducted himself on the campaign trail? Has he abstained from negative campaigning? Has he transcended race and focused on issues? Has he maintained promises? Here are some facts:

• Despite the fact that Obama has asserted that McCain has been running a smear campaign (which is in itself a negative attack, if you think about it), Obama has been running negative ads since before the first of the year. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/12/obama-launches.html
  
• According to John Geer of the Washington Post, "Recent data from Nielsen suggest that the campaigns have aired roughly the same number of negative ads." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002449.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
• Obama and his surrogates in the media have done far more to bring up race than any of the senator's opponents. Take, for example, the AP story from this week about Sarah Palin's comments regarding Obama and Bill Ayers. The AP characterized Governor Palin's words as having "carried a racially-tinged subtext". I'm not sure how bringing Ayers into the discussion is racist, since he and most of his Weather Underground followers were white.
  
• Obama is running a privately-financed campaign, despite his commitment over a year ago to fund his bid with public monies. So much for keeping the special interests out of it!
  
• In his 2003 bid for the US Senate, Obama both wrote and spoke of his commitment to vote against renewing the USA Patriot Act. However, when the vote came up in the Senate in 2005, he voted to renew it with what he considered to be only "modest" changes. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/14/575746.aspx

Recent Obama ads I've heard on the radio have implied that Obama would protect the rights of firearm owners. However, these ads appear to be nothing more than an attempt to capture votes in the battleground state I live in, which is fairly gun-friendly. Note there are no links to NRA pages here:

• Obama supported a proposed ban of handguns and assault rifles in the state of Illinois. http://www.ontheissues.org/2008_Dems_Philly.htm
• Obama has expressed support for the 2nd Amendment to be subordinated to local regulations, as in the unconstitutional Washington D.C. handgun ban. http://www.ontheissues.org/2008_Politico.htm
• Obama co-sponsored legislation in Illinois to limit handgun purchases to one per month, and he voted against the necessity doctrine. John K. Wilson, 10/30/07
  
• Obama voted against the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. 7/29/05, S-397
• Obama said this spring that guns are what bitter people cling to when they have no hope. http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/891685,CST-NWS-obama12.article
• Obama does not support concealed carry rights, saying (despite evidence to the contrary) that they could cause innocent people to be shot more often. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_560181.htm

And the biggest legend I'm hearing these days is that Obama the Reformer will fix the financial crisis, while McCain the Incompetent made it happen in the first place. If the truth hurts, Senator, may I recommend aspirin for headaches and Midol for cramps?

• The financial crisis is largely a result of the collapse of the subprime lending industry.
  
• Obama was a community organizer. ACORN, a group of community organizers, has pushed subprime lending as a means of getting low-income people into loans for homes, cars, and consumer goods. This push has come in the form of protests, lawsuits.
• When the housing market began to skyrocket, the subprime mortgage industry was a big profit center in financial institutions and on Wall Street. Thus, its growth was politically expedient.
  
• Despite assurances from Congressional Democrats that all was well in the mortgage industry, John McCain sponsored the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, which would have put some controls on the subprime lending industry. Needless to say, the Act did not pass.
• Democratic Congressional leaders - who profited from subprime industry campaign donations - are quick to point the finger but not interested in holding hearings to get the facts on the record. http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081010/OPINION03/810100314
  

Like I said, I love a good yarn, even if it's completely implausible. It's a phenomenon called the suspension of disbelief. And while I can keep that suspension going to overlook plot holes, inconsistencies, and downright nonsense for a good story; one has to draw the line somewhere. Senator Obama has certainly become legendary on the political scene. But it's time to pick the plot apart and see how much of the legend has basis in reality. If it isn't done soon, we'll be suspending disbelief for the next four years.