Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Change agent for the common man

I no longer harbor illusions that most Americans possess the critical thinking to parse ideological differences between candidates for president. What has me concerned, however, is that when one candidate says one thing, like he's an agent of change, but at every turn, acts exactly like most other candidate for public office (as in saying one thing, and doing the opposite), then have the honesty to say you're voting for the guy because your an ideological hack, not someone that really believes your candidate will be any different than what your party has been offering for decades.

Take for instance Lord Barack Obama's 47th birthday party.

About 850 people attended the gala celebration, held in the ballroom of a Boston skyscraper, the 33rd floor to be exact, overlooking Boston Harbor. The guest of honor was serenaded first by singer Harry Connick Jr. and then his 10-year-old daughter, Kate. Afterwards, the entire room joined in what was described as an "animated" rendition of "Happy Birthday."

The cost for guests was between $1,000 and $4,600 per ticket. Among those, 250 also ate dinner with Obama — for $15,000 per ticket or $28,500 for a couple.

This is nothing new; candidates routinely shake down supporters for having the honor to be in their presence. It's how you become president in America, in the 21st century, and how it was done for the latter part of the 20th. Heck, Lord Obama left with $4 million in loot.

Interestingly, for a guy that seems to demonize oil, and is a member of the party of Al Gore and smaller carbon footprints, I wonder how many of the limousine liberals in attendance biked to the event, with their high end clothing and all. Come to think of it, I don't think Mr. Gore's spent much time on the bike, of late. Obama, on the other hand, looks like a cyclist, one that keeps his tires properly inflated.

The main course included porcini-crusted sea bass, which isn't the kind of cuisine that the working class, or John McCain was chowing down on, out in Sturgis.

Check out this link for the rest of the menu.

[Note: For the purposes of full disclosure, and in fairness to Mr. Gore for my crack on his weight, I'm carrying a few extra pounds on my own frame. At the same time, I'm not urging my fellow Americans to park the SUV, bike to work, and move to a cave without electricity.--JB]

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