No, He Can't Because Yes, They Will

Obama's mantra, "Yes, We Can" is inspiring and heartwarming, but in the end is an empty phrase that will founder once the Republican political attack machine spins up. I realize that most Obamatons are so wedded to his vision of hope that any effort to point out the cracks in the foundation of the new Democratic Savior are met with fury and disdain.

If you think for a minute that the Republican party -- who used Willie Horton on Michael Dukakis to devastating effect, who portrayed triple amputee and veteran Max Cleland as a bosom buddy of Osama Bin Laden, and convinced many voters that decorated combat veteran John Kerry was a fraud -- will give Obama a pass come the fall then you are in serious denial.

But, unlike the attacks on Dukakis, Cleland, and Kerry, the ammunition that Obama has provided to his political foes is significant and deadly. But try telling that to Obama disciples. You get name calling and character assassination (just read the reaction to this piece). At the same time, Obama is treated with a reverence and fawning that I have never seen in my life for a political figure. What in the world was Chris Matthews talking about with his tingling leg adulation heaped on Obama:

During MSNBC's live coverage of Tuesday's primary elections, after the speech of Barack Obama aired, Chris Matthews breathlessly expressed his admiration... and extreme excitement for Barack Obama by saying "I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."

So, while Democrats engage in self-censorship and promote the worst kind of affirmative action pandering in promoting the myth of Obama, the Republicans are keeping mum and, like Brer Rabbit, begging not to be tossed into the briar patch and face the fearsome Obama. (Want to bet how many accusations of racism I will get for referring to Brer Rabbit?)

Obama's untested achilles heel is his relationship with three men -- Tony Rezko, William Ayers, and Rashid Khalidi. These names will become shorthand for Corruption, Terrorism, and the Destruction of Israel. Oh yes, I know. I am going to extremes. Well, let me lay out the facts and explain how the Republicans will likely use these relationships to bludgeon Obama's presidential aspirations into dust. My challenge to you Obama supporters is to explain to me and other readers of this blog how Obama will defuse these issues.

The Tony Rezko Problem:

There is a growing body of material in the blogosphere on this issue (looseheadprop has an excellent overview), but the mainstream media has paid little attention and most Americans know nothing of Rezko's bribery and corruption trial. Not yet. But that will change starting February 25, when Rezko goes on trial in Chicago. The best Obama can hope for is an acquittal or mistrial. He cannot deny his longstanding friendship with Rezko. A man who has played a significant role in raising funds for his political campaigns and a man who helped Obama and his wife get the home of their dreams.

But it is highly unlikely that Rezko gets off. He just got nailed for lying to the judge about his alleged poverty and was promptly arrested for hiding millions of dollars overseas. And he is up against Patrick Fitzgerald. Pat Fitzgerald does not go to court unprepared and does not have a record of losing, particularly in Illinois. Remember, this is the guy who nailed Scooter Libby and the former Governor of Illinois. The boy plays to win.

When Rezko is convicted and, the details of the corruption and bribery charges are fleshed out and the public learns that Senator Obama got some of that dirty cash, do you really believe the public won't care that the Democratic nominee for President is involved with a convicted felon? Hell, this is a political attack ad that writes itself.

The William Ayers Problem:

William Ayers is an unrepentant terrorist, though he is normally described as a distinguished education professor. One does not necessarily rule out the other, but he himself acknowledges planting bombs in U.S. Federal buildings. There is now undeniable proof of a longstanding relationship between Barack Obama and William Ayers. We are not talking about two guys who just happened to bump into one another on the street. We are not talking about a secret admirer (Ayers) who quietly sent $200 to an aspiring politician.

No, we are talking about William Ayers hosting a fundraiser for Barack Obama and actively working with him to secure Barack's first electoral victory in Illinois. But wait, there is more. Barack and Ayers also served on the board of the Woods Fund. And they worked together to give money to some other folks, including a group with ties to the PLO.

What makes Ayers so toxic is his own written record equating U.S. Marines with terrorists. Look at the beating that John Kerry took for tossing his medals over the White House fence. Ayers did not toss medals, he threw bombs. Real ones. Bombs that exploded.

Do you think that Republicans will ignore Obama's ties to Ayers? The two were serving on the same board in 2002. We are talking less than six years ago and the record will come out showing some questionable grants by these two characters. William Ayers, in the age of terrorism, will be Barack Obama's Willie Horton.

The Problem of Rashid Khalidi:

So far, the press has paid little attention to Obama's ties to Rashid Khalidi, Middle East Professor at Columbia University and PLO activist. An article in The Jewish Week from last year offers up this tantalizing tidbit:

Khalidi, now the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, and head of that school's Middle East Institute, declined to comment on Abunimah's recollections. But in an interview in Tuesday's Daily News, he said he hosted the fundraiser because he and Obama were friends while the two lived in Chicago. "He never came to us and said he would do anything in terms of Palestinians," Khalidi told the paper.

Nevertheless, one Hyde Park source close to Obama, speaking only on condition of anonymity, recalled, "He often expressed general sympathy for the Palestinians -- though I don't recall him ever saying anything publicly."

Obama has made his pilgrimage to AIPAC (funny, but in his campaign against special interests and their grip on Washington he gives AIPAC a pass) and worked to position himself as a friend of Israel. But the relationship with Khalidi has not yet received the white hot media attention that tends to occur during the dog days of July and August, when the press needs a story. And guess who helped broker the appearance of Iran's Ahmadinejad last summer at Columbia University? Professor Khalidi. The New York Times had his reaction to the event:

Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Arab studies and director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia, said, "The tone from the host of an event was uncivil and uncalled for.

"The president of the university had every right to state his differences," he said. "That was more than acceptable. But I believe it was embarrassing to the university, frankly, that they should decide to invite him and then treat him in this manner."

Now, which presidential candidate is calling for talks with Iran? You do not have to be Karl Rove or Lee Atwater to figure out how to tie Obama with Ahmadinejad using Obama's friendship with Khalidi.

I don't know what else is out there on Obama. Unfortunately, the worshipful, servile attitude of many Democrats and media personalities so far has hindered a tough look at Obama's friends and associates and his judgment. But that will come. What should concern Democrats keen on taking back the White House is whether or not these issues will be fully vetted before Obama is installed as the candidate. My guess is no.

And what do Republicans think? I only have anecdotal evidence. I asked an old friend, who served in law enforcement (I'll leave the particular agency out of it) for more than thirty years, about the William Ayers era. There are a lot of Federal agents who believe that Ayers is a terrorist who got away with his crimes and still owes a debt to society. My friend wrote the following to me today:

I think many of my friends believe Obama is beatable; however they concede that Clinton can win. Therefore, the thinking goes, WE hope Obama gets the Democratic nod and THEN flood the gates with information later.

Feelings of hope and inspiration about Obama will evaporate when the commercials tying him to a convicted felon slumlord, an unrepentant terrorist who hates the troops, and a Professor of Middle Eastern Studies who has been a PLO official spouting anti-Israeli rhetoric. Oh, YES THEY WILL! YES, THEY WILL.

Comments

[Jer1957]

Larry Johnson is on the mark.

If Dems want to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and hand the White House to some fascist-leaner like Wall Street's 'independent' Bloomberg or the late John McCain--then Senator Time-Bomb Obama is the perfect Dem nominee.

I know Chicago politics and so do Karl Rove's friends.

The right wing's only hope is Barry Obama as Dem nominee--that is why they and their media friends hype him so.

[veracity]

Mr. Johnson... you are joking, right? Try this little comparison on: "Because the South WILL rebel if Lincoln is elected president... YES THEY WILL!... we American voters MUST NOT elect Mr. Lincoln to be president" !!
Mr. Johnson, IT IS A FACT that the Republican smear machine has ALREADY tied Bill & Hillary Clinton to Yasser Arafat and other assorted PLO ("") terrorists. WTF, Menachem Begin was a terrorist, and we know damn well that Bush's buddies the Saudis fund terrorists as well. (Heck, the Righties gave bush a _free pass_ for flying the bin Laden family & other Saudis OUT of America in the 3 days after 9-11-01.)
Speaking of, where are Bill & Hill's OUTRAGE over Cheney shipping HALLIBURTON's corp. offices - complete with secret plans for every US military base the company ever worked on... over to DUBAI? Or where are Bill&Hill's outrage over the "sell US ports to Dubai conglomerate" deal?
Mr. Johnson, as much as I respect your past posts, you certainly seem to be falling into the "inside-th­e-beltway" black hole of insider-worship. Where is Speaker Pelosi's or Hillary Clinton's outrage over the CIA-outing scandal, Bush's commutation/pending pardon for Libby's CONVICTION in that scandal, the Purge-gate/false prosecutions scandals, the vast wartime corruption and profiteering scandals, etc?
Get a grip, Larry! As Robert Parry writes, BILL CLINTON _ENABLED_ the Bush2 RESTORATION when he helped Republicans sweep on-going CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS into Repub. criminality under the rug and out-the door... IN EARLY 1993!
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/100307.html
And we only now realize (and only learn as a result of this unexpected primary battle) that Hillary was a quiet, dutiful member of the WALMART board... during the period that they were ferociously busting unions!
I could go on, but please don't degrade yourself by becoming a Hillary hatchet-man, when Hillary has had 8 long years to SPEAK OUT AGAINST Bush WH outrages, and not only has she refused to do so, but her husband has been running around with Bush Sr., all but holding hands.

[StrategicThinker]

The Republicans are perfectly fine with Clinton or Obama, just like they were perfectly fine with Kerry or Dean in 2004.

They said in 2004 they were afraid of Edwards, and said in 2007 that they didn't want to face Edwards, so Dumbocrats had to give them either of the ones that they wanted, just like the idiot Dumbocrats in Congress give Bush everything that he wants.

Republicans have been planning for Clinton since 2001. If she is the nominee, not only will they destroy her, but they will use her to rip apart Bill Clinton's legacy. I wonder what dirt Rove has on the Clinton Presidency that no one knows about.

[CalliDem]

The Repugs are also giving MILLIONS of dollars to BO and show up by the 1000's to "VOTE" for her. Just wait ... this is the worse political mistake this country has ever made. We are ONE VOTE away from Rove V Wade. When you THROW your vote away it is a return to back ally abortions ... all thanks to your obsession with nothing more than an American Idol.

[CalliDem]

Not to mention the fact that the RePigs have VOTED for BO ... given BO millions of dollars
WHY ... why do you think??? They are doing EVERTHING in their power to get him nominated
Because they will BEAT HIM.

Wake UP
Use your BRAINS
Get out of the TRANCE

[ChimpmasterDJ]

Hey Larry, I realize that you're a genius and a maven amongst political thinkers, but you've probably been too busy with your new task force, searching far and wide for the slightest bit of possible dirt on Obama, to have much time to ponder the following questions:

How is Hillary going to attack McCain and his party for their criminal prosecution of an illegal war, when she went out of her way to enable them at every step of the way, and when they can use her lie about the Levin Amendment against her, to prove either gross incompetence, or a very strong desire indeed to back the war?

How is Hillary going to bring up the corrupt behavior of McCain and his S&L buddy Keating, or the general corruption of the Republican Part's exploitation of the war, when only just now she has come forward with a "health plan" that is but an unfunded mandate to force people to buy crappy coverage from her largest donors?

How is Hillary going to convince blue collar workers that she cares even a little bit about them, when she supported NAFTA and now pretends she didn't while still refusing to condemn it, claiming instead that it was "just improperly implemented"?

Come to think of it, perhaps you're not such a political genius after all, are you?

[research]

If this is the worst that Obama has done; friends with three less then perfect people, Obama may have a chance.

[jerseybeth]

Less than perfect? C'mon. Really.

[kristin]

"Whatever his past, Ayers is now a respected member of the Chicago intelligentsia,and still a member of the Woods Fund Board. The president of the Woods Fund,
Deborah Harrington, said he had been selected for the board because of his solid academic credentials and "passion for social justice." "This whole connection is a stretch," Harrington told me. "Barack was very well known in Chicago, and a highly respected legislator.
It would be difficult to find people round here who never volunteered or contributed money
to one of his campaigns."

Obama's 'Weatherman' Connection - Fact Checker
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/02/obamas_weatherman_connection.html?hpid=topnews

[cgpit]

Thank god someone did not drink the Kool Aid!

Where the hell are the investigations into Obama?

Everytime Hillary Clinton even blinks, the media is all over her. Can you imagine if any of this stuff was out there in her past? She would be tar and feathered!

Democrats, i implore you once and for all, please at least come up for air just for a minute. Take a look at Obama closer. What do you know about this man other than he makes you feel good? Ok, just like when you start dating someone, the crush wears off and reality hits. Maybe he just has bad breath and you can live with that. But maybe he is a convicted felon, will you still love him then?

I am assuming that Democrats who support Obama want to win the White House more than they want to love Obama. Remember, once you pick this man to be our nominee to go up against the Republican machine and then find out you made a mistake, you can't ask for a re-count.

He has been on the national scene less than 2 years. I understand the inspiration because Bush has made us all have bad self esteem, but come on. Do we really want to hand over our party and more importantly our country to a man with NO experience? Will his inspiration help you find a job? Will it help you get health care? Will it get us out of debt? Will it protect us against terrorism? I know Oprah endorsed the book "The Secret", in which if you believe hard enough, all your dreams will come true, but her endorsement here ain't the same thing. If nothing else, her endorsement of him should send up the red flag. After all she did say James Frey was the greatest writer of this century, only to be duped when she found out he was a fraud.

Hmmm, interesting timing since Obama just fraudulantly lifted the exact speech from his buddy the Governor of Massachussetts, Deval Patrick.

Just take a moment and think.

[VespaGirl]

Gets your facts straight! He didn't "fraudulently" lift the speech. Duval Patrick told him to use it in response to Hillary's "only words" attack.

[laocoon]

When Kerry was nominated I thought well they are nominating the candidate who should be least attackable on military issues. when you can have an immediate 15 hours a week from Limbaugh, another x number from Hannity etc. you create perceptions. No one is immune and the solution is to plan ahead how to deal with the inevitable attacks. We need to remember that the airwaves are a public forum already regulated by the government.

[foreffectivegovernment]

Google "Sun Myung Moon" to see if you see any similarity to what os happening today. Check out the Washington Post part.

[KSH]

If George W. Bush could write - this post would be credited to him.

[KSH]

THere is NO WAY on this earth that we have seen ALL there is to see about the Clintons. I just don't believe it!

[jerseybeth]

What does this have to do with the Clintons? If BO is the nominee, he won't have HRC to hide behind anymore. Stop being naive. These issues are not going away.

[KSH]

Oh man if we are going to scrap the bottom of the barrels on candidates it would best suit you to scrap John McCain's barrel instead of Obama. It would serve Democrats good to attack the real nemesis...the Republican party. And I am sure you ran out of screen to type on once you started pulling Hillary's card and friends and donors and associates - I suppose you are not hiding the fact that you are a Hillary supporter - and I guess that millions of Obamabots are brainwashed liberals...that's funny

[starboymikey]

So we are supposed to believe that the "thoroughly vetted" Hillary Clinton will be able to stand up to the Republican slime machine?

If so, then why are so many neo-cons pulling so hard for her to get the nomination? C'mon, they are literally salivating at the chance to run against her. It's basically their only chance of hanging on to power in 2008.

[Susan1968]

Why are the neo-cons pulling for Hillary.

Two words: REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY.

In this way, they get YOU to vote against her.

They want to go up against BO.

Why else would they send out Coulter to say she will support Hillary.

REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY -- you baby Obama voters are so naive!

[SShaw490]

You sound like the George Custer character in "Little Big Man". And you know what happened to Custer.

[PinkoAttic]

...They are pulling for Hillary because they're terrified at not being able to use the massive cache of dirt they've collected against her over the years. They would be pulling for her even if Edwards or someone else were the other Democratic candidate. Just look at the polls, none of which foresee Hillary beating McCain. Enough with the warped psychology already...just accept the fact that Hillar is done.

[obama4america]

Democrats really are the biggest collection of pussies in the history of mankind. You keep nominating these people who are supposedly "electable" and keep having your asses handed to you. First Gore, then Kerry, and now you are just asking to get a beat-down with Clinton. The American people don't vote for people who are so obviously uncomfortable in their own skin, and all of those people are ASSUREDLY not comfortable in their own skin. Why the HELL would I vote for someone who I can't possibly know, because they don't know themselves.