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CHANGE: From a self-described junkie to a "hope"
and "change" candidate.
From his own book:
"I had
learned not to care," he wrote. "I blew a few
smoke rings, remembering those years. Pot had helped,
and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.
Not smack, though. ..."
"Junkie. Pothead. That's where I'd been headed"
- read Washington Post story
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CHANGE: Obama told Americans he was against NAFTA,
but told the Canadian government he wasn't.
Obama's campaign secretly met with a Canadian government official.
Barack's spokesperson said Obama would denounce NAFTA
during his debates, but in reality he would be supporting
it if elected.
Obama initially denied the story, but his campaign later confirmed
it had made these statements (after it was confirmed by
the Canadian government).
- read The Nation story
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CHANGE: From a non-commital bystander to an outspoken
opponent of the Iraq war:
July '04, Barack Obama in terms of how he would have voted on the
war: “I’m not privy to Senate intelligence
reports. What would I have done? I don’t know.”
(He wasn't in the US Senate yet, and didn't have a vote.)
- read LA Times story |
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Also in '04, on the proposition of war:
“There’s not much of a difference between my position
on Iraq and George Bush’s position at this stage.”
- Barack Obama
His excuse in 2008? "...it probably was the wrong
time for me to be making a strong case against our party’s
nominees’ decisions when it came to Iraq."
(John Kerry supported the war)
- read LA Times story |
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Obama's CHANGE: Iraq Promises
July '07: We'll be out by March '09
Jan '08: 11 months after election
Sept '08: 16 months after election
Feb '09: 19 months after election
His latest plan leaves 50,000 troops
to "train" and "advise" the Iraqis.
That's more than 1/3 of the current troops in Iraq. There
still is no timeline for withdrawal.
AP Story |
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CHANGE: Truth and integrity, to good old-fashioned political
speak:
2004: "I can unequivocally say I will not be
running for national office in four years, and my entire
focus is making sure that I’m the best possible
senator on behalf of the people of Illinois."
2006: Tim Russert: "So you will not run for president or vice
president in 2008?"
Obama: "I will not."
- read Politico story
- read TownHall story |
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CHANGE: From "post-partisan" to Chicago-style
politics
Obama's Senate voting record was the 16th most-liberal in 2005, the
10th in 2006, and #1 in 2007, according
to National Journal. He was also ranked #1 by the NAACP,
NARAL, ADA, and CDF.
Obama
has Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, but
still can't get many of initiatives passed. So much for
"governing from the center."
- read National Journal
story |
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CHANGE: From Mentor and Pastor to rejected outsider
Obama called Jeremiah Wright his "mentor" and "spiritual
advisor" of 20 years. When media questions arose
about this radical preacher, Obama said he could not denounce
the man.
Wright's quotes from the pulpit:
“G*d d*mn America”
"USA started AIDS virus to kill black men..."
"US KKK of A"
- read Wall Street Journal story |
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CHANGE: From 20 year devotee to selective amnesia
Obama and his children sat through Rev. Wright's sermons for years.
Yet under media questioning, Barack said he had never
heard any of Wright's controversial statements while he
was in church.
As pressure intensified, Barack and his wife "resigned"
from their church to quiet the stories. Apparently, they
haven't found a new church yet.
-Read CNN Story |
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CHANGE: From a secular upbringing, to joining Trinity
Barack described his parents as "secular", though the LA
Times found that he was registered as a Muslim at his
childhood schools. His mother was an atheist, and his
father was a "non-practicing" Muslim according
to Obama.
At the age of 30, Barack joined the highly controversial Trinity
United Church of Christ in Chicago.
- Trinity United
Church's Web Site
- read LA Times story |
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Are you sorry that you voted for Obama yet? Look at who
else endorsed him:
Hamas
Farrakhan
Michael Moore
Hugo Chavez
Fidel Castro
Jane Fonda
Kim Jong Il |
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CHANGE: From some "guy in my neighborhood" to
a close work associate and contributor
Bill Ayers is a domestic terrorist and founding member of the Weather
Underground. His group bombed the Pentagon and killed
police officers.
Obama denied any real connections to Ayers for a year, until it was
uncovered that the two worked together for years on the
board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge and Ayers hosted
a fundraiser for Obama at Ayers' own home.
- read Wall Street Journal article |
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CHANGE: The reality of his upbringing changed for his
speeches.
Barack's grandfather's family was politically-connected with the
ruling British government. His father lived on the family-owned
farm as a child, before being sent abroad to attend Ivy
League schools in the U.S.
The truth was far from the poor goat herder and domestic servant
that Obama had claimed.
- read Free Republic story |
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CHANGE: From supportive voters to bitter religious simpletons
Obama told a group of millionaire supporters in San Francisco that
small town voters are "bitter" about losing
jobs, so they "cling to guns or religion
or antipathy to people who aren't like them."
- Read NPR Story
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CHANGE: From defiant liberal to patriotic candidate
Barack Obama said he wouldn't wear a flag lapel pin, because it's
"a substitute for, I think, true patriotism."
After
polling numbers went down, Obama decided to wear the pin
again.
- read MSNBC story
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CHANGE: More and more contact with convicted slum lord
Tony Rezko, but only after the press digs it up.
When Obama launched his bid for the Illinois Senate in 1995, Rezko
was his first substantial contributor. Obama said it was
his "best guesstimate" that Rezko raised $10,000
to $15,000..." The number turned out to be more like
$250,000 total.
Rezko
was involved in a questionable land deal that helped the
Obama buy a mansion in Chicago.
- read Chicago Tribune story
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CHANGE: Publicly chastising Illinois executives while
taking their donations in private.
"Obama spoke yet again of 'the Maytag worker who is now competing
with his own teenager for a $7-an-hour job at Wal-Mart
because the factory he gave his life to shut its doors.'"
At the same time, Barack was taking donations from the
executive who sent the jobs out of the U.S.
- read Chicago Tribune story
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