Stan Geiger

Obama's Straw Man

An incredible story about Obama's fabulous campaign wealth hit the news yesterday. I say incredible not because of the content but because of the source. The story was published by CBS Evening News.

The report noted Obama's September windfall of $150 million. It also noted he has raised $600 million over the course of the campaign. Those are stunning numbers---and people should have serious concerns about them.

The Obama camp claims he is a man of the people, and that 90 percent of his massive influx of cash comes from Average Joe and Average Jane. The campaign balks, however, at releasing any information at all about contributors of $200 or less.

Let's examine Obama's claim.

Retail sales are in the tank---indicating people are getting more discerning when it comes to letting loose of money. Unemployment is on the rise. Gasoline prices have come down but are still high. And people have gotten bitch-slapped by gas prices all year. Home foreclosures are running rampant. The average household, they say, owes over $8,000 in credit card debt---and default rates are up. People can't afford to send their kids to college. The average graduate walks off campus with a mountain of student loan debt. Food prices are high and expected to go higher. Working-class wages are in the crapper. The IRS says half of the tax returns it receives show an adjusted gross of less than $31,000.

But, amid all of the above, Obama claims average folks in this country are throwing money at his campaign like it's going out of style.

Uh-huh. And Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny get together and party on Super Bowl Sunday.

The CBS report also took a look at Wall Street contributions. Obama has received more---a lot more---than McCain in contributions from firms like Goldman Sachs and the now defunct Lehman Brothers. The greedy, capitalist, unregulated Wall Street A-holes that Obama tells the public he hates seem to like him a whole lot.

Among the names of Obama backers are Warren Buffet, George Kaiser, Oprah Winfrey, Babs Streisand and David Letterman---all of whom are filthy rich. Obama promises the poor redistribution of their wealth, supposedly, yet they back him. Hmmmm.

Obama has, at least, two faces. When he speaks of redistribution of wealth, in order to get the votes of the downtrodden, he's talking about redistribution of the "wealth" of the middle class. He has no intention of affecting the state of the really rich. The amount of money he has raised and his list of supporters clearly show that.

Obviously, Obama isn't drawing in all that campaign money from average folks. He wants everybody to believe so. But, pardon my French, that's bullshit. Obama's money is coming from big, big, money interests, and is, in essence, being laundered. Large chunks of money are being busted up and donated through straw donors.

Putting the special interests of our domestic wealthy aside, hypothetically, how hard would it be for a foreign nation, say, Iran, to pump, say, $200 million or $300 million into a preferred candidate's campaign using straw donors as a beard?

In the modern world, I'd say, not too hard at all.

John McCain may not be Mr. Perfect, but I wouldn't vote for Obama if his were the only name on the ballot.

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