Barack ObamaI’ve listened to several of Barack Obama’s speeches from beginning to end. Some of them get pretty long winded, but I’ve stuck it out and listened. Its not hard to listen to him with an emotional ear, but it is more difficult when you are listening for substance.

I’ve noticed that over time he has begun to invoke images of great men who have come before him. He uses a lot of phrases about having a dream for our future, for instance. Its subtle, but its inevitably there. Its almost a subliminal image he invokes that associates him with greatness. I’ve even heard him hijack some of John McCain’s phrases. That leads me to believe that this is a man on the national stage much too soon. He sounds like a man who hasn’t clarified his own identity much less his own belief systems.

I’ve also noticed that he is indeed the great orator that everyone praises him to be. He elicits emotion and good feelings. Unfortunately, he doesn’t really say anything. His key words are hope, change and ‘Yes we can’. What exactly does that mean? When I hear people interviewed about their reasons for supporting Obama so fervently they always talk about the emotions they feel when listening to him speak. They always talk about the same words he uses repeatedly in his speeches, hope and change. Still, I have no idea what that means. I have no idea what HE means by that. I have yet to hear him tell us what kind of change, what hope is he offering up to the people? I’ve heard no one answer those questions.

Oh, I’ve heard him talk about what he plans on doing for the people. Everyone will be taken care of from cradle to grave. Everyone will be given money to go to college, everyone will get free health care, everyone will be able to live the American dream, no matter what. I have yet to hear him explain just exactly how he’s going to do all that. I fear that if he becomes President those of us who work for a living will be looking at huge tax increases to pay for all these feel good programs he wants to be available for everyone. Are we ready for 50% of our incomes to be taxed to pay for free college for the poor? I’m not. I want everyone to have opportunity and an equal chance to live the American dream - but the money has to come from somewhere and I’m already paying too much in taxes. But he says he’ll lower taxes. I would seriously like an explanation about how he will lower taxes AND give every one every thing he is promising. It doesn’t compute in my little mind.

Then there’s the war. He tells his rallies that he will pull our Troops out of Iraq immediately. He doesn’t say how or what he intends to do in order not to leave a disastrous mess in the Middle East upon our precipitous withdrawal. Never mind the specifics, the crowd reacts with thunderous applause and even tearful worship at his feet. Obamessiah as a friend of mine calls him. He speaks and the masses worship. But what are they worshiping. They don’t even know. They are just worshiping his charisma.

What a fortunate position he is in. He hasn’t been in public office long enough to have had to make enough tough decisions that he has to defend his position on anything he’s voted on over the years. He gains the rapt adulation of his followers by promising them whatever they want without any concern for how those programs will be obtained and funded. He promises to end war without regard to the consequences of showing weakness to the world. Or worse, having the world think that once again the United States has abandoned a commitment made and left the people who supported us to the mercy of our enemies. That’s a habit we unfortunately started in the 1960s with Vietnam.

He states he will embrace long-time enemies of our country regardless of the fact that they have sworn to wipe our good friend Israel off the map and would very much like to do that to us as well. He claims we haven’t done that before because we are afraid. Perhaps he hasn’t heard what those enemies have said. Its not about fear. Its a kindness. Those enemies would not come out the better in an open confrontation with us. Hopefully our tough stance with them will keep them at bay. They will perceive kindness as weakness and will use that against us. We are a kind people and really don’t want to have to squash them like the gnats they are. It doesn’t seemed to have occurred to Obama that opening those doors will lead us down dangerous paths.

Oh, never mind, what does it matter? He speaks so well and he’s charming and charismatic. He speaks of hope and change. He claims a kinship to the people of the ghettos even though he wasn’t raised in this country. He tells them ‘Yes we can’. He makes them feel good. Do his actual politics really matter then? As long as everyone feels good why should they care what his beliefs are?

Its the feel good, sound bite politics that has him on top in the democratic race right now. Its about feeling, not thinking.

I think his wife said it best when she listened in on a conference call not too long ago.

“Barack,” she interjected, “Feel — don’t think!” Telling her husband his “over-thinking” during past debates had tripped him up with rival Hillary Clinton, she said: “Don’t get caught in the weeds. Be visceral. Use your heart — and your head.”

Exactly.