“ASSUMPTIONS VERSUS TRUTH”

Or, What Is Asserted about Obama and What Is Reality

1. ASSUMPTION: Obama is a Muslim and was sworn into office using the Koran instead of a Bible.
TRUTH: No, he’s not and never has been anything except Christian. He was sworn in using a Bible. The only so-called “evidence” to the contrary is a photo of him as a young man wearing a native costume that looks vaguely arab. If costumes are “proof,” then every Shriner seen wearing a Fez must be one too.
QUESTION: Even if true, should a religious test determine who should be president?


2. ASSUMPTION: Obama is Black.
TRUTH: No, only half right. Short of a paternity test, it is hard to be conclusive of who a father is, but passing through a womb is always conclusive of who the mother is. And, Obama’s mother is as white as McCain.
QUESTION: Even if true, should the amount of melanin in the skin determine who should be president? And, if the skin color should be considered, wouldn’t it help restore trust in the rest of the world that we really believe what we said in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence by electing a “Black”?


3. ASSUMPTION: Obama is an elitist because he eats Arugula and is thin. TRUTH: McCain apparently prefers designer bread.
QUESTION: Even if true, should a food preference test determine who should be president? And if it should, shouldn’t the president be a role model for healthy choices, especially in our obesity plagued nation?

4. ASSUMPTION: Obama is not a “patriot” because he doesn’t wear a flag pin 24/7 and because he questions the president’s decisions.
TRUTH: Anyone who says such nonsense ought to look up the definition of “patriot” and ponder exactly what our Founding Fathers were doing in 1776. Sewing the flag on the bottom of shorts is not proof of patriotism. And, the flag pins seen on most lapels are made in china.
QUESTION: Besides, shouldn’t the test of patriotism be more than blindly following orders or acting in conformity to others in fashion? If obedience is the test, that would mean the guards at Auschwitz were supremely patriotic.


5. ASSUMPTION: Obama can’t bowl.
TRUTH: Bet he can beat McCain bowling and would kill him in basketball. QUESTION: Even if true, except to insure the candidate is healthy enough to survive the rigors of the office, should an athletic test determine who should be president?


6. ASSUMPTION: Obama is young.
TRUTH: McCain is old.
QUESTION: Which is a greater risk – that a person will get ill in office or that a person will look too young?


7. ASSUMPTION: Obama is a celebrity.
TRUTH: Got me on that one. The first Black selected by any party ever to run for the highest office in the land can’t help but be a celebrity. Of course, most of our best presidents have been celebrities. One, idolized by conservatives, was even an actual “star” of movies (a B-movie star perhaps, but clearly a celebrity nonetheless). Besides, for every Brittney there is a Bono.
QUESTION: Isn’t to some extent determine, a popularity contest exactly what voting is about?


8. ASSUMPTION: Obama is popular with foreigners and attracts huge crowds.
TRUTH: Got me on that one too. Could it be jealousy because the crowds dwarf the small audiences McCain attracts?
QUESTION: Since we cannot go it alone in the world, wouldn’t it help to have a president who was popular abroad with both the leaders and their countrymen? Wouldn’t is be better if he was not distrusted or hated?


9. ASSUMPTION: Obama is rich.
TRUTH: By any test, McCain is far richer than Obama.
QUESTION: Should wealth disqualify an individual from the presidency? Shouldn’t the test be whether the individual uses the wealth to assist others or serve himself?


10. ASSUMPTION: Obama owns a house worth more than a million.
TRUTH: McCain owns several houses worth more than a million and can’t seem to remember how many he owns.
QUESTION: It is hard to find a good sized home for less than a million these days. On the other hand, how many homes does one person really need?


11. ASSUMPTION: Obama is uppity and egotistical.
TRUTH: Based on what?
QUESTION: Even if true, is it even possible for there to be a candidate for the office of president


12. ASSUMPTION: Obama is immoral because he does not want to ban or punish gays.
TRUTH: Obama is still with his first and only wife and did not abandon her because she was ill or not rich enough. McCain cannot say the same thing.
QUESTION: Shouldn’t the morality test for president be how they conduct their own life and not what they tell others to do?


13. ASSUMPTION: Obama is inexperienced.
TRUTH: Ah, at last a substantive issue raised by opponents to Obama. Obama obviously has spent less time in the Senate than McCain. Fair enough. McCain however has spent his time in the Senate voting for Bush fiascos 90% of the time.
QUESTION: Shouldn’t the test be whether the decisions derived from “experience” were intelligent ones? Perhaps better an unknown in office, than to continue a known candidate who continually courts disaster.


14. ASSUMPTION: Obama did not get shot at in combat serving his country.
TRUTH: Neither did great war leaders like Franklin Roosevelt. Or for that matter, neither did lousy war leaders like the current president.
QUESTION: Should being unskilled enough or unlucky enough to get shot in combat be the test for an administrative leader?


15. ASSUMPTION: Obama thinks he is smart.
TRUTH: Obama is smart. No one graduates from the top law school in the court and is selected to edit its law review unless they are proven smart. McCain graduated among the bottom of his class and still supports Bush and Bush’s ideas.
QUESTION: Shouldn’t we want a recognizably intelligent person in office?


16. ASSUMPTION: Obama is going to increase taxes.
TRUTH: Yes, the uber rich do need to worry. They will not be able to buy the second yacht if Obama is elected and will have to look at Mercedes for a new car each year instead of a Rolls Royce, but for almost everyone else, a tax cut is promised. McCain intends to transfer wealth from the lower and middle classes to his own kind by cutting benefits to those who can least afford it and shifting the costs of war to the children and grandchildren.
QUESTION: Shouldn’t the test be whose taxes are increased and why? Shouldn’t we look at benefits cut as well as taxes since both come out of the pocket in the end?


17. ASSUMPTION: Obama doesn’t want to drill off shore or in wildlife refuses so he must not care about high gas prices.
TRUTH: Such drilling will have little or no effect on gas prices for literally years. On the other hand, conservation and renewable energy sources like wind power will have more immediate affect not just on prices, but also on global warming.
QUESTION: Shouldn’t the question be reducing the dependence on oil, not just foreign oil?