The Unseriousness of Gun Control Advocates

The gun control debate is burning again as it does every few years or so. Like the abortion debate, both sides dig in and eventually it settles down with no real change but return to stasis.

This time things are different and the outcome now is not as certain as it has been in the past.

This topic has been beaten to death throughout the blogosphere and twitter world but one thing I haven't seen is a liberal stand up and tell us what will happen if they get their dream of a "gun free America". They tout statistics about places that have confiscated weapons like the UK and Australia but they never seem to compare that to what an America free of legal weapons would look like.

It's pretty easy to look at a place, right here in the good old USA that has tried to ban weapons and see what the effects have been: Rahm Emanuel's Chicago. Some intellectually challenged libs like to throw the Chicago card out but then not to seriously debate the topic but to use that final, desperate bit of ammo; the race card. It's funny that liberals have used the race card so much over the last 15 years that it's affect has been blunted to the point of boredom. It's akin to having a bag full of kick-ass fireworks from Ohio and lighting them off. You light all the big ones off first and hear oohs and aahs from everyone. But in the end, you look in the bag and you have nothing but a pack of twenty bottle rockets you got free when you bought the big stuff. You light it off and it whistles and pops but it's kind of anti-climactic.

Anyway, let's imagine the perfect liberal fantasy world where America is transformed into what they want, a place where guns are illegal, illegal aliens are legal and abortions are free. Barack Obama has managed to subvert the Constitution even more than he already has and has managed to confiscate every legal gun in America and ban their sale. His new effort is the much-heralded War on Guns, which is modeled after Nancy Reagan's War on Drugs. If you are caught with a gun, you receive a mandatory minimum of 5-years for each weapon and an additional 2 years for every magazine over five rounds. Will places like Chicago be safer?

Now let's take this further; imagine that weapons are illegally smuggled into the US through Mexico using existing drug tunnels and other distribution means. Imagine hundreds of thousands of weapons flowing north through Juarez and Tecate. Who will buy these weapons? The government has already confiscated the formerly legal weapons using names from lists the government accumulated in the years leading up to the gun laws.

What the hell would America look like then? When only criminal have weapons, they will prey on those who don't. The law would have about as much affect on crime and mass shootings then prohibition and the War on Drugs has had. If you want to see the end result, just look at Mexico or, closer to home Chicago. Chicago has the strictest gun laws in the nation and has seen a huge increase in violent crime caused by guns. Roughly 25% of those crimes are ever solved. Imagine if that were to spread out south east and west. America would soon look like the Australia portrayed in the Mad Max series.

Those very same people who are advocating for repeal of our constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms would be the very same ones screaming for the government to "do something!!! The problem is that those who could do something will be unable to assist in stopping it.

Obama Ad Linking Romney To Death of Woman So False Even WaPo and CNN Can't Lie About It

The liberal media has pretty much marched in lockstep with the Obama campaign since 2008 (and yes, the campaign for this year began on January 20, 2009). But every once in a while they try to justify a talking point by Obama or his surrogates and that last little inkling of non-partisanship still alive in their brains makes it impossible.

The latest ad by an Obama-supporting super PAC is the latest example. A guy named Joe Soptic links Romney to the death of his wife because Bain Capital bought a company and six years later closed a plant owned by the company. The plant closed 6 years after Romney left Bain. Add to that the fact that one of Obama's biggest bundlers was a manager at Bain at the time of the closing and Romney had no control. Soptic's wife died of cancer and he blames the loss of his job and health insurance. Facts released show she still had insurance and today it was revealed that Soptic told the story to Obama campaign insiders such as Stephanie Cutter. Cutter and former Obama spokes-idiot Robert Gibbs have denied they've seen the ad and had no comment as did current spokes-idiot Jay Carney. They are caught lying through their teeth.

CNN obliterates the ad and the timeline but the PAC has said that even though it's been proven to be false on every count, they will still run it. This in spite of the rules stating that campaigns cannot legally coordinate with PAC's and it appears strongly they did in this case.

We've seen gutter politics before and will see them again but we've never seen a campaign that will knowingly run a false ad accusing a candidate of the death of another person.

Back in 2004 we heard fringe groups talking about the evil things Bush would do (or had done) if given another four years but this is the first time we've seen a sitting president actually allow an ad to be broadcast without denunciation by a major supporting group that's patently false and disgusting to boot.

I guess we should have seen Obama's desperation when he failed to denounce Cutter when she called Romney a felon or Senate Leader Harry Reid when he spread a false rumor based on a fictional phone call.

He's not smart enough to steal the election the Democratic way so he's just going to steal it using the Chicago way.

Is Rahm Emanuel on th Way Out?

I would say he stick around a bit longer since every Democrat who bitched about him did it the way pussy libs always do it...anonymously:

Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform.

The emerging consensus among critics in both chambers is that Emanuel’s lack of Senate experience slowed President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.

The share of the blame comes as cracks are beginning to show in Emanuel’s once-impregnable political armor. Last week he had to apologize after a report surfaced that he called liberal groups “retarded” in a private meeting.

While Emanuel has quelled that controversy by meeting with advocates for people with disabilities, on Capitol Hill he’s under fire for poor execution of the president’s healthcare agenda in the Senate.

"I think Rahm ran the play his boss called; once Obama called the play, Rahm did everything he could to pass it, scorched-earth and all that,” said a senior lawmaker, who added that Emanuel didn’t seek a broader base of Senate Republicans. “I think he did miscalculate the Senate. He did what he thought he had to do to win."

Blah, blah, blah. Emanuel is a vile political animal out of the gutters of Chicago. He cares about nothing else but ramming through the policies that mean the most to him and Obama. Obama was and remains an amateur and Emanuel was the one who supposedly knew the ropes. He famously said "You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste" when discussing the recession. He was the one who dictated the strategy of ramming through the stimulus and healthcare. He's the one who instructs Obama to play every side of an issue and to bail when the going gets bad. He's been bad for Obama and bad for the country.

Now if any Democrat would actually grow a pair and come out against him on the record we'd see a nice melee in the party of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

Obama, Oprah & the Olympics = Epic Fail

The number one rule of politics; whether it be a guy running for mayor of his town or the President of these great United States is to ensure that you don't put yourself in a position to fail. You script everything to the minutest detail and if you don't do so, it's at your own peril. Think Bill Clinton jetting to North Korea to get the two American women away from the vile Kim Jong Ill--do you for one second believe Slick Willy is getting on that plane, posing with the shrimp North Korean dictator and not coming home with those women?

Obama--with great fanfare and his wife and Oprah in tow--went to the vote where they were awarding the 2016 summer Olympic games. Michelle made it clear that it was a "sacrifice" to do so mind you. Anyone who follows politics thought that it was a lead-pipe lock or The One wouldn't have wasted our tax dollars, polluted the atmosphere with the emissions from Air Force One and belittled America for the last eight months.

Er, wrong. Obama's home town lost on the very first friggin' vote.

But wait; you knew the sorry-ass libs would find some way to make the whole laughable event Bush's fault:

In spite of President Obama’s lobbying efforts, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) may have chosen to reject hosting the 2016 summer olympic games in Chicago due to the post-9/11 visa tourist policies established by his predecessor, George W. Bush. Michael Froomkin, Professor at the University of Miami School of Law, is convinced that the “the same stupid anti-visitor policy that is destroying American higher education” also sunk Chicago’s Olympic bid.

Oh, OK. Try to rephrase that first sentence to read "Because of Obama's lobbying efforts" since he's the one who has essentially been telling the world that America sucked until he was elected. We've put on incredibly successful Olympics in Lake Placid (twice), Los Angeles, Atlanta, Salt Lake City and Squaw Mountain in the past and are the most qualified by far.

The world loves Obama, or so we've been told. Er, not so much from this ridiculous stunt by the Obamas. Even in the ridiculous Nobel Peace Prize awarded to noted anti-Semite Jimmy Carter charade an American at least won. Today Obama has shown just how far his criticism of America and belittling of our exceptionalism has degraded us in world opinion. Hope and change my friends, hope and change.

When Did Cubs Fans Become Such Pussies?

There once was a time I had admiration for fans of the Chicago Cubs. They were lovable diehards who packed Wrigley field and lived and died (always) with their team every season. They were people you could respect because they seemed to respect the game.

Unfortunately, it turns out they are ill-tempered and thin-skinned Chicagoans of the Obama mode where I had them as more of the tough Al Capone mode.

Earlier this week some cretin poured his beer on Phillies Shane Victorino as he was catching a ball at the wall during a 12-2 ass kicking the Phightin's were dropping on the Cubbies. Number 8 made the catch anyway. Here's the vid (from a sorry Mets fan, btw):



Cowardly and representative of what the media portrays Phillies fans like myself as when it's not true.

Now we have word that a few fans in the right field section are perturbed that Cubs rightfielder Milton Bradley allegedly gave them the finger. Their own player gave them the finger? They probably deserved it.

Quit whining, pussies, I got the finger about eight times today alone driving down the NJ Turnpike for crying out loud. Suck it up you formerly lovable losers and start showing at least an iota of class. Just because Obama is a president from Chicago who asks like a San Franciscan doesn't mean you have to.

For the record, I hope the Cardinals win the NL Central by ten friggin' games.

Burris Once Sought Death Penalty for Innocent Man

What a nice guy Blago selected:

Illinois attorney general Roland Burris, embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to replace Barack Obama in the Senate, is no stranger to controversy.

Public fury over the governor's alleged misconduct has masked the once lively debate over Burris' decision to continue to prosecute, despite the objections of one of his top prosecutors, the wrong man for a high-profile murder case.

While state attorney general in 1992, Burris aggressively sought the death penalty for Rolando Cruz, who twice was convicted of raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. The crime took place in 1983.

But by 1992, another man had confessed to the crime, and Burris' own deputy attorney general was pleading with Burris to drop the case, then on appeal before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Raise your hand if you believe that The Politico would have even printed this if Burris was supported by Obama. If Obama wanted Burris, this story would have buried deeper than the John Edwards banging Rielle Hunter investigation.

Anyway, nice guys they have in Chicago politics, huh? Blagojevich could have selected someone without the baggage of this guy but Burris fit the profile he wanted: black, not supported by The One and a history of some unsavory doings. Blago wants a battle and this guy was a means to an end for him.

Savor the Schadenfreude: Jesse Jackson Jr. Claim Blago Shook Him Down

Jesse Jackson Jr, was a rat for the government against Blagojevich for quite awhile according to published reports. The fact that he would break the code of omerta in Chicago is stunning but not nearly as stunning as this:

In addition, two sources close to Jackson told CNN that, in 2002, Blagojevich -- then running for governor of Illinois -- solicited a $25,000 campaign donation from Jackson, which he did not get.

At the time, Jackson's wife, Sandi, was a candidate for the job of director of the state's Lottery Commission, a post she did not win, the sources said.

After Blagojevich took office, in early 2003, he told Jackson something to the effect of, "You see what $25,000 would have done?" the sources said.

In 2006, Jackson reported the incident, which he believed to have been an attempt at a shakedown, the sources said.

Um, Junior? Your old man made shaking down people an art form. He'd play the race card and promise to bring them bad press if they didn't play along with him--the ultimate shakedown.

I find it quite ironic that JJJ was on the shakee end and not the shaker.

45% Believe Obama Involved in Blago Scandal

That isn't very reassuring for the incoming president. Americans are generally not stupid people and have seen more than enough scandal coming out of Chicago to know that winning elections there requires some shenanigans and a you scratch my back mentality. Hell, JFK had his election bought for him there.

Still, a man who was elected on a platform of hope and change isn't too respected if 45% believe he or someone in his staff was involved with Blago:

Forty five percent (45%) of U.S. voters say it is likely President-elect Obama or one of his top campaign aides was involved in the unfolding Blagojevich scandal in Illinois, including 23% who say it is Very Likely.

Just 11% say it is not at all likely, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken Thursday and Friday nights.

Voters nationally are more skeptical than those in Illinois. Thirty-two percent (32%) of Illinois voters said in a survey late last week that there is no way Obama was involved in the Blagojevich case, while only 13% said it is Very Likely that the president-elect was involved, with another 13% saying it is Somewhat Likely.

This is a textbook example of how not to handle a scandal. This story should have been forgotten by now but Blagojevich isn't playing along and Obama is stammering with his answers or not answering at all. He looks guilty of something and ignoring it isn't going to make it disappear.

US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald will play it straight and start talking about a reduced sentence for Rezko who's talking and once Blago realizes that he's not going to win and a jail term awaits, he'll start screeching too.

That's all fine and good with me.

Update: This is another example of how amateurish the Obama transition people are. They have completed their investigation, of course found no one did anything wrng but won't release it until next week. Another week for a scandal that could have been taken care of within a day or two. If this is how his administration is going to be, the GOP will gain back majority status in both the House and the Senate in 2010.

As an added bonus, Rahm Emanuel was cordial but still hasn't said squat to the press.

Drip, Drip, Drip; Emanuel Gaves Blago Senate List

It's been a long week for the President-elect with the Blago scandal breaking and his amateurish handling of it. Todays news on the scandal includes the fact that Emanuel gave Blago's people a list of what they considered "acceptable" Senate replacements:

Emanuel, who has long been close to both Blagojevich and Obama, has refused to respond to questions about any involvement he may have had with the Blagojevich camp over the Senate pick. A spokeswoman for Emanuel also declined to comment Friday.

One source confirmed that communications between Emanuel and the Blagojevich administration were captured on court-approved wiretaps.

Another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor's administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4 election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris. The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the high-level White House post should Obama win.

Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be "acceptable" to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats.

Can any of those people now be considered to take the seat with these revelations? Of course they were not involved as far as we know but aren't they now tainted?

Second, let us hear what they have Emanuel on tape saying. I'm sure the transcript would make for entertaining reading with plenty of expletives and quid pro quos discussed.

Fitzgerald can let this thing linger until January 20th and beyond because the scandals are always worse when hot confronted directly. Rahm Emanuel has allowed this to stain the transition team and the President-elect by clamming up and avoiding answering questions and has given us a glimpse into just how secretive the new administration will be. It's evident that hope and change will mean duck and weave instead.

Rahm Emanuel Up To His Neck in Blago Scandal

And don't be surprised if he's not the most senior administration official to be exposed.

This Fox News Chicago report says that Emanuel spoke to Blagojevich "numerous times" about the open Senate seat, which has to lead one to suspect that Fitz has him on tape. What did he say and when did he say it?

If Emanuel is proven to have offered anything or even done anything shady, Obama will have to oust him and his first few months will be ugly. Let's hope Fitz gets him under oath and asks the tough questions.

This could easily lead to Obama as it's already up to his Chief of Staff. The media makes it a point to note that Obama had nothing to do with this as they are covering for the man like they always have (like Johnathan Alter on Imus this morning saying Obama was too smart and too honest to get caught up in the muck of Chicago politics) but if there's even an inkling he was involved, it'll be a rough start for The One.

Laugh of the Day: Left-Wing Rag Says Media Biased

Savor the schadenfreude my friends:

There's just no reason for reporting like this. Is Obama connected to Blagojevich's scandal? No, but the scandal is "threatening to dog him." Has Obama done anything wrong? No, but Republicans are going to "try to link him to the scandal."

Well, yes, of course they are. That's what political opponents do. We're supposed to have an independent, professional press that helps the public cut through the nonsense and explain why baseless attacks are wrong. Instead, we get an "analysis" piece like this one.

If we had an "independent, professional press" the country have known that Obama supported Blago, all about the Rezko scandal, Ayers, Rev. Wright and the myriad other seedy folks Obama has hung with over the years. But no, they chose to protect him and not properly vet him because they wanted him to win, plain and simple.

How ironic that the medias utter lack of professionalism and failure to live up to their collective responsibilities results in a scandal before Obama can even take office.

What a joke that this clown is down on the media for reporting a scandal where the governor of a state offered to sell a Senate seat to the highest bidder and had a previous relationship with the President-elect. Even they couldn't avoid the utter disrespect for the sanctity of everything America holds dear Blago just pissed on.

Welcome to our world, a world where we deal with this daily.

My heart pumps piss for The One.

More on Obama and Blagojevich

Too much damn fun for one blogger to have. The coronation is only weeks away and The One is forced to answer unseemly questions about corruption.

My favorite is this relic dug up by Jake Tapper:

On the Chicago TV show "Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz" on June 27, 2002, state Sen. Obama said, "Right now, my main focus is to make sure that we elect Rod Blagojevich as Governor, we..."

"You working hard for Rod?" interrupted Berkowitz.

"You betcha," said Obama.

"Hot Rod?" asked the host.

"That's exactly right," Obama said.

In 2004, then-Gov. Blagojevich enthusiastically endorsed Obama for the Senate seat after he won the nomination, and Obama endorsed Blagojevich for his 2006 re-election race in early 2005.

"You betcha"? Obama channeled Sarah Palin before she was even known? Does that mean that all those who busted on Palin for using such plain English will now apologize?

Doubtful, but I digress.

There's a thread in here where Obama will be tied and it will be revealed that he was in with all these dirtbags. Clinton's staff feared "bimbo eruptions", Obama's staff better sure as hell fear Blago eruptions because the dude is now tainted.

Order me up one serious special prosecutor, pronto.

The awesome awesomeness of this is too much. If the media had actually done their job and vetted BHO, they'd have found the connection or at least be able to report that there was none. Instead, they were too busy opining just how great this guy is. Now they'll have to report for the next month his involvement or non-involvement instead of feel-good stories about the inauguration.

Second piece of awesomeness, the libs aren't even trying to find a good side because they know...they just know.

Better yet: did Rahm Emanuel sell out the guv to protect The One? That would be Chicago politics on a grand scale. Is this why Blagojevich isn't stepping down so he can rub it right back in their faces?

Awesome.

This is a right-wing bloggers dream.

Update: Sean Hannity's punching bag soft-peddles it and says that Blagojevich is "being accused" of selling a US Senate seat. No Alan, he was indicted. Any idiot who made it past third grade can see from the transcripts that the governor was actively selling the seat to the highest bidder and clearly was shitting on what many Americans consider one of the greatest parts of our nation. Alan, of course, is covering for this scumbag.

A New Fitzmas? Obama's First Scandal

And the dude isn't even in office yet. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald--a friggin' bulldog if there ever was one--indicted Obama confidant and Illinois Guv Rod Blagojevich:

Governor Blagojevich has been arrested in the middle of what we can only describe as a political corruption crime spree. We acted to stop that crime spree.

The most appalling conduct Governor Blagojevich engaged in, according to the complaint filed today or unsealed today, is that he attempted to sell a Senate seat, the Senate seat he had the sole right to under Illinois to appoint to replace President-elect Obama.

Emphasis mine.

Let me repeat that, the Illinois governor was selling the recently vacated Senate seat of Barack Obama. Obama is trying to distance himself but his top people are already making huge mistakes and handling it like the amateurs they are.

The sheer incestuous nature of Chicago politics all but ensures that Obama's name will continue to come up and a Special Prosecutor will have to be named. Fitzgerald will continue to dog this case relentlessly and Obama will look like he's covering up if even remotely interferes. That leaves Rahm Emanual to intercede the "Chicago way" and I don't see Fitz backing down. They had their "Fitzmas" and it left them dejected and sullen. I suspect ours will not.

This will make White Water pale in comparison and Obama will have some serious 'splaining to do in the first weeks and months of his campaign. Call them all to testify; Rezko, Axelrod, Obama. Put them on the record and under oath and let's here how they really play politics in northern Illinois.

Dude's a scumbag, even by Chicago standards and even the most-liberal of fishwraps are calling him out. Sweet!

An Aussie Invasion

Tim Blair is making his way to the states again:

I’m headed for the election excitement in friendly Chicago, where respected Midwestern political authority Iowahawk will join me in a frenzy of change, belief, community organising and rampant wealth redistribution. Posts to commence shortly – and please read this Saturday’s Daily Telegraph for your complete Ayers-to-Zogby US election primer.

Tim should feel free to vote while in Chicago as the election laws we have have been greatly relaxed--but only if you're an Obama supporter. When they try to question you about your selection of McCain instead of The One, just start saying things like "vegemite" and start talking about cricket and you should have them confused enough that they'll allow you to continue.

Update: Better yet Tim, just say "...that's the Chicago way" like Sean Connery in The Untouchables. Most Americans don't know a Scottish accent from an Australian accent anyway

Obama on Ayers: "I assumed he had been rehabilitated"

Ben Smith at Politico has the story including audio:

In an interview with the sympathetic conservative talk radio host this afternoon, Obama offered the clearest explanation yet of how an extremely careful politician allowed himself anywhere near a former '60s radical who would become a Republican target in this year's presidential campaign.

Obama "had assumed" from Bill Ayers' stature in Chicago, he told the Philadelphia-based Michael Smerconish, that Ayers had been "rehabilitated" since his 1960s crimes.
In the interview, which was taped this afternoon and will air tomorrow, and which you can listen to above, Obama recalled moving back to Chicago after law school, and becoming involved in civic life there.

"The gentleman in question, Bill Ayers, is a college professor, teaches education at the University of Illinois," he said. "That's how i met him -- working on a school reform project that was funded by an ambassador and very close friend of Ronald Reagan's" along with "a bunch of conservative businessmen and civic leaders."

"Ultimately, I ended up learning about the fact that he had engaged in this reprehensible act 40 years ago, but I was eight years old at the time and I assumed that he had been rehabilitated," Obama said.

Where to start.

First, Michael Smerconish is a lawyer and worked for the campaign of Bush 41. He's not a Conservative but is conservative on some issues. Call him Republican lite and he strives to be the guy who's fair. I listen to him daily and sometimes in his quest for fairness, he allows some questions to go unanswered by those he's interviewing. It seems to me that those who get off easier are Democrats because he wants to have them back on so he can continue to be perceived as fair. The fact that Obama chose a local Philly radio station and Smerconish to talk about Ayers says quite a bit.

That said, let's parse this for a second. Imagine if we weren't talking about William Ayers but were talking about Eric Rudolph. Rudolph placed a bomb at an abortion clinic that killed a security guard, one at a gay nightclub and another at the Atlanta Olympics that killed an attendee. He did it for political means in a war against the United States. Rudolph is in jail for the rest of his life.

William Ayers placed bombs at police stations, the Pentagon and during their escapades, a police officer was killed. He did it for political means in a war against the United States. Ayers is a tenured professor in Chicago having gotten off on a technicality.

Now imagine if John McCain was known to have associated with Rudolph actually having met and got his blessing before entering into politics. Further imagine McCain sitting on a board with Rudolph and setting up programs that doled out millions of dollars. What would you imagine the media would say? They would question his judgement and say he was not qualified to lead. It would be a story that would be splashed across the front pages of our major papers daily and would lead every newscast for the rest of the month.

Back to Obama. He said that he thought that Ayers had been "rehabilitated". Exactly what type of rehab is recommended for a left-wing zealot who waged a terrorist war against his own country? What therapy would one prescribe for a man who married a woman who participated in his crimes and was a fugitive for years? Is there a drug that turns one from a leftist radical who plants bombs into a person one would wish to serve on a board with and share lunch?

Both Rudolph and Ayers used bombs to further their political agenda, people died because of those actions and one is rightfully sitting in jail while the other was busy teaching and holding luncheons for a future presidential candidate. There's no difference between Ayers and Rudolph with the exception that one was a right-wing radical and the other a communist radical. Their aims were different but their tactics were identical. Ayers tactics were perhaps worse because Rudolph acted alone while Ayers was the leader of an organization and his followers were also committing violent crimes.

For Obama to say he thought Ayers had been rehabilitated is scandalous and for this reason alone should preclude him from winning the presidency. It's a sham that Obama says he didn't know of Ayers' past and then to say he believed him to be "rehabilitated" when anyone who knew any history of Chicago knew of Ayers. Obama chose to meet and serve with Ayers because Ayers was his ticket to winning elections and it was politically expedient for him to do so. Just as Obama knew of Rev. Wright's racism, he also knew exactly who he was dealing with in Ayers and chose to continue that association because it was beneficial to him. Either that or Obama truly was ignorant of Ayers terrorist past in which case he is too stupid to be be president. Obama may be alot of things but stupid is not one of them.

As for Smerconish, he tossed out softballs and let Obama take batting practice. Instead of following up with something like: "Senator, you say you thought he was rehabilitated, so that means you knew of his past activities when you met him?" (Obama has intimated previously that he didn't know of Ayers past) Smerconish asked about the Phillies-Dodgers series. Granted, it seemed as though he was pressed for time but if you were the one who scored this interview when the Ayers scandal was blowing up, wouldn't you have at least pressed him on it?

Update: I guess Obama didn't watch TV in 1998. It sure sounds as if Ayers and Dorhn were "rehabilitated", doesn't it?:

Chicago Politics Writ Large

Chicago has always been known for it's brutal political battles and dubious voting legalities. This is the Chicago of ballot-box stuffing that led to JFK beating Nixon by a few votes. The birth of the old saying "vote early and often" and voter rolls filled with dead people are an intrinsic part of the Windy City's history.

Now that win at all costs attitude has hit the national stage and spread like a cancer. Barack Obama learned well from the Daley's and Ayers's and has incorporated the Chicago way into his campaign nationwide. Today, we have our example from Missouri:

KMOV aired a story last night, that stated that St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch and St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, both Obama supporters, are threatening to bring criminal libel charges against anyone who levels what turns out to be false criticisms of their chosen candidate for President.

Add to this the apprehension people have of being called a racist for even criticizing Obama and you have a toxic landscape where Americans are having that most precious of rights--free speech--curtailed by thug tactics. It's un-American in the extreme but par for the course for the Democrats who have always placed party above country and winning above anything else.

Expect a lot more of this over the next five weeks.

Update: An Instapundit poll on just this subject.