The Audacity of Nothing At All

Since allegations have been made by some Obama campaign staffers that certain media outlets have intentionally darkened Senator Obama's image, I took a look at the cover of one of the good senator's books.

Now, is it just me, or is his skin tone lightened in that picture? OR, has every other image I've seen of the man been darkened?

Just wondering. I couldn't care less what the man's skin color is. But if his campaign of swooning sycophants and mumbling myrmidons is going to make skin color an issue, then I say this is a good opportunity to point out the dirty tricks in their own mirror.

I guess it was only a matter of time before his people started race-baiting. This is what you can expect of an Obama presidency, and here's why I say that:

1. The candidate himself isn't telling us anything substantial, but making grandiose speeches about restoring diplomacy with our enemies.

2. What he is promising is either so insane or so far outside of the president's sphere of influence that it's never going to happen. Laws aren't made by the executive branch, but by the legislative branch - which is where Obama has been for the last two or three (or is it four?) years.

3. His supporters, between swooning and fainting at his rallies, will not, under any circumstances, engage you in discussion about his policies. I have yet to meet an actual Obama supporter who has even the foggiest clue what he actually stands for, beyond political catch words like 'change' and 'hope'.

4. According to a Washington Post article by Michael Gerson, Obama's First 100 Days, an Obama administration would make a quick mess of what's left of American foreign policy, largely because there is no real foreign-policy understanding in place within the Obama camp. It's all buzz-words and PR spin, followed closely by regionalism and largely empty promises.

See, all too often in politics, what gets done isn't what would be best for the country or its people, but rather what produces the best PR, the most feel-good media buzz. When Rick Perry (current governor of Texas) promised to do something about illegal immigration, what he ended up doing was pledging $100 million to cities like Houston to take care of the problem. Looks good, sounds good - but accomplishes nothing. Cities like Houston and San Antonio are left to fend for themselves, in a political climate wherein Border Patrol agents are routinely prosecuted for defending the border and trying to stop illegal immigrants. $100 million is a lot of money, but without meaningful policy reform, it's completely pointless - and could have been better used elsewhere.

The same thing is happening with the Obama campaign. Millions are being spent on huge rallies and TV spots (leading up to the Texas primary, Obama campaign ads were running every eight minutes from 6PM until midnight on every goddamn channel) - but there's nothing substantial, not one single sensible word, being said.

The above-linked article is a great example. I forwarded it to a friend of mine who volunteers in the local Obama campaign headquarters, and asked for her opinion. She read the first two or three lines and misunderstood them, thinking the article was about Hillary Clinton. Once it was explained to her that the article is about Obama, she summarily declared it "crap" and closed the link. She wouldn't even read it.

Who needs an understanding of the real issues, when you have people fainting at your rallies? Right? Who needs the technicality of an actual ability to get things done, when you have millions of people all over the country who will defend bitterly your campaign, without even trying to understand what they're defending?

Much easier to debate whether or not Obama has purple lips, or whether or not this moonbat or that moonbat has the right ideas about Obama being good-looking enough to be president - you should hear some of the conversations that go on around here. But there's little conversation about his actual platform, because there's no actual platform to discuss.

So they make it about race. About exclusion. About class struggle. And they accuse others of making it about race, exclusion and class struggle.

Which brings us back to color. A foreign friend of mine asked me last week if this country is really ready to elect a Black man as president. I said yes - but that I don't think Obama is actually Black. I think he's see-through, invisible, like clear plastic. Because after all is said and done, it's not the color of your skin that defines you in this life - it's the color of your actions.

And Obama's actions, so far, have been nothing at all.