Ignorance, Ideology, Cult Of Celebrity

When this was first published immediately after Election 2008, I wrote the following:

It’s over! To the astonishment of millions of informed Americans, Barack Obama—arguably the least qualified presidential candidate in U.S. history—is now the 44th President of The United States of America. He is also Commander-In-Chief of the most powerful military force on Earth. Therefore, he is the most powerful man in the world. But how did he do it and what does it say about the current state of American politics, our media, and the health of the American electorate?

Well, it said a lot about who we were back then. But we cannot afford to make the same mistakes again. So I think it is instructive to revisit how Obama got elected in 2008 so we can do our best to prevent it from happening in 2012.

First, let’s look at a video for some background information. It is a sampling of voters who were interviewed after they cast their votes for Obama in 2008. It is a small part of a much larger, more extensive survey conducted by the highly regarded, non-partisan pollster, John Zogby. If you react like I did, you will shake your head and think, “Is this really what we’ve come to?”

http://www.youtube.com/v/mm1KOBMg1Y8&hl=en&fs=1

Now, on the assumption that you watched the video, let’s add some perspective.

“Promote then as an object of primary importance, Institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.” – George Washington, Farewell Address, September 19, 1796

and …

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free it expects what never was and never will be.” – Thomas Jefferson

and …

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” – John F. Kennedy, 1963

So you can clearly see what happened. Many Obama voters were hardcore Democrats who always vote the party line. Others voted strictly on race. Some were white Americans who voted for Obama simply because he is an African American and they just wanted to elect the first black president. Then, of course, about 97% of African Americans voted for Obama. But far too many—especially young voters—had little to no knowledge of who or what they were voting for or against, nor did they have even a rudimentary knowledge of who our current leaders were or what the presidential candidates said or what they stood for. For them, Election 2008 seemed to be just one more “American Idol” contest and they simply chose Barack Obama for his charisma and his populist (demagogic) message of “change.” Sadly, it was the young voters who made the difference and were ultimately responsible for the election of Barack Obama.

I said “responsible for” because in America we the voters are ultimately responsible for our own destinies. Our power is in the vote and, therefore, the health and welfare of our nation is dependent on the choices we make about who will lead and govern us. This is precisely why George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Kennedy, and many others, instructed us on the importance of being well informed before we cast a vote for any candidate who seeks power over us. Ignorance is our enemy and, unless corrected, it will, ultimately destroy us.

But how is it that so many Americans are still so politically ignorant? How did this happen? Once again, the answer is neither obscure nor complex. There is an unequivocal reason and many culprits: We call them “The Media.” For years, they have uninformed and misinformed the American public about virtually everything political. Think back to the video for a moment and remember how many people assigned so many remarks to Sarah Palin when in fact they had been made by Barack Obama or Joe Biden.

Ignorance is an enemy of democracy and ignorance helped elect Barack Obama. Washington, Jefferson, and Kennedy along with countless others knew all too well how serious is the matter of educating our citizens. Ignorant people can be manipulated, educated people cannot.

We must do all we can to make certain that Barack Obama is not re-elected.

See “The Presidential Election of 2008” for a more detailed analysis of how Barack Obama got elected.

Let’s review them

Barack Obama and the Democrats repeatedly use the phrase “The Bush failed economic policies.” Yet the facts reveal their dishonesty. Here is a brief review.

President Bush’s Economic Policies Resulted In Creation Of 8.31 Million Jobs Beginning August 2003 In The Longest Continuous Months Of Job Growth On Record

November 2, 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released new jobs figures. From August 2003, 8.31 million jobs were created, with 1.68 million jobs created over the 12 months that ended in October. The economy added jobs for 50 straight months – the longest period of uninterrupted job growth on record. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.7 percent.

The U.S. Economy Remained Strong, Flexible, And Dynamic

• Real GDP grew at a strong 3.9 percent in the third quarter of 2007. The economy experienced six years of uninterrupted growth, averaging 2.8 percent a year from 2001.

• Real after-tax per capita personal income rose by 12.7 percent – an average of over $3,800 per person – from when President Bush took office.

• Real wages rose 1.2 percent over the 12 months that ended in September. This rise was faster than the average rate during the 1990s.

• From the first quarter of 2001, productivity growth averaged 2.6 percent per year. This growth is well above average productivity growth in the 1990s, 1980s, and 1970s.

• The deficit was at 1.2 percent of GDP, well below the 40-year average. Economic growth contributed to a 6.7 percent rise in tax receipts in FY 2007, following an increase of 11.8 percent in FY 2006.

So Obama and the Democrats continue to lie about the Bush economic policies. It is just one more important story that the Obama Media do not want you to hear.

A Foolish, Corrupt, Childish Display

It’s over and there is no getting around it: The presidential election of 2008 was a first-time-ever “American Idol Presidential Contest.” Never before have we elected a president who was so demonstrably unqualified to run for the presidency of the United States of America. So how did this happen?

A brief review

Obama’s win was the result of many factors.

1. Barack Obama’s exceptional rhetorical skills and his vague and often disingenuous, populist message of “Change you can believe in. “
2. Money: He had the largest “war chest” in U.S. political history.
3. His campaign team: It was one of the most effective ever. They strictly and adroitly managed every aspect of the campaign so their populist rhetoric stayed on message and was disseminated when and where it was the most needed. Additionally, the media’s access to candidate Obama was carefully restricted. All considered, it was a masterfully run propaganda machine.
4. A corrupt media: Despite their very limited access to the candidate—something that normally would have turned responsible journalists against a candidate—never before have the U.S. media been so blatantly biased in favor of a presidential candidate. This factor alone may have contributed 10% or more to an Obama victory. At times, their favoritism for Obama was so complete that it was often hard to tell the difference between media product and output from the Obama campaign itself. Honest historians will have to record this period in U.S. history as one during which American journalism died.
5. Race: To think that race did not work in Obama’s favor is to deny the stats. 96% of African American voters chose Obama as did a huge majority of Hispanic voters. Add to these, the unfounded guilt factor among many misguided liberal Democrats and the deal was done! Moreover, there is no evidence of an offset by an anti-black vote.
6. The financial-markets crisis: With the help of the media, Barack Obama successfully and dishonestly placed the blame for the financial-market crisis on “Bush’s failed economic policies” and the Republicans in general. In fact, Bush’s economic policies were extraordinarily successful given the massive hits on our economy during his presidency. The real culprits were Democrats, not Republicans. Beginning perhaps with Jimmy Carter and culminating with Democratic stonewalling of institutional reform by the likes of Chris Dodd and Barney Frank the financial meltdown of 2008 was a veritable fait accompli. It is a matter of record that both President Bush and Republican members of congress repeatedly warned that we were headed for a financial meltdown unless the corrupt and irresponsible practices at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were reformed and that the Democrats stonewalled all efforts to enact such reform. (See “Obama Blames Bush For Financial Crisis.” But thanks to the corrupt media, these facts were kept from the main body of the electorate, most of whom to this day, still don’t know the real causes of our current financial problems.
7. Hardcore Liberal Democrats: They vote the party line no matter what.
8. Cultism: It is not an exaggeration to say that a “Cult of Obama” developed and was nurtured by the media during the campaign. The details and depth of this mania will be documented and examined later on this site.
9. Ignorance: Post-election polling and surveys revealed that millions of Obama voters were woefully ignorant of even the most basic facts about Barack Obama the candidate, current events, national politics in general, and even American history. In fact, it became shockingly clear that ignorant voters were some of Obama’s most ardent devotees.
10. Irresponsible behavior: Many informed voters simply ignored their normal tendencies to rational thought, went into denial mode and voted for Obama because “He is black and it would be nice to have a black president”, or “I like the way he speaks”, or whatever. Without hesitation, when his supporters were asked a series of rational, fair questions such as “Does his inexperience concern you?” – “Do his long-standing radical associations trouble you?” – “Is the fact that he has not even completed four years of his first term in the Senate an issue for you?” or “Can you name just one significant legislative accomplishment of his?” the answer was “no” every time.

And so, Barack Obama won The American Idol Presidential Contest of 2008.

See also: How Obama Got Elected

By MacPundit

Bush warned us but the media and the Democrats ignored the warnings.

Barack Obama continues to blame the Bush Administration for our current financial crisis. He charges President Bush with incompetence for his failure to identify the problems and for not seeking reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Is this accurate? The answer is: Not even close! Here are the facts:

President Bush warned us of a potential financial crisis, repeatedly. So did other members of his administration.

For many years President Bush and his Administration not only warned of the systemic consequences of financial turmoil at a housing government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) but also put forward plans to reduce the risk that either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac would encounter such difficulties.

President Bush publicly called for GSE reform. Unfortunately, these warnings went unheeded. The President’s repeated attempts to reform the supervision of these entities were thwarted by the legislative maneuvering of congressional Democrats who emphatically denied there were problems.

Here is the record:

2001

April: The Administration’s FY02 budget declares that the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is “a potential problem,” because “financial trouble of a large GSE could cause strong repercussions in financial markets, affecting Federally insured entities and economic activity.”

2002

May: The President calls for the disclosure and corporate governance principles contained in his 10-point plan for corporate responsibility to apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (OMB Prompt Letter to OFHEO, 5/29/02)

2003

January: Freddie Mac announces it has to restate financial results for the previous three years.

February: The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) releases a report explaining that “although investors perceive an implicit Federal guarantee of [GSE] obligations,” “the government has provided no explicit legal backing for them.” As a consequence, unexpected problems at a GSE could immediately spread into financial sectors beyond the housing market. (”Systemic Risk: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Role of OFHEO,” OFHEO Report, 2/4/03)

September: Fannie Mae discloses SEC investigation and acknowledges OFHEO’s review found earnings manipulations.

September: Treasury Secretary John Snow testifies before the House Financial Services Committee to recommend that Congress enact “legislation to create a new Federal agency to regulate and supervise the financial activities of our housing-related government sponsored enterprises” and set prudent and appropriate minimum capital adequacy requirements.

October: Fannie Mae discloses $1.2 billion accounting error.

November: Council of the Economic Advisers (CEA) Chairman Greg Mankiw explains that any “legislation to reform GSE regulation should empower the new regulator with sufficient strength and credibility to reduce systemic risk.” To reduce the potential for systemic instability, the regulator would have “broad authority to set both risk-based and minimum capital standards” and “receivership powers necessary to wind down the affairs of a troubled GSE.” (N. Gregory Mankiw, Remarks At The Conference Of State Bank Supervisors State Banking Summit And Leadership, 11/6/03)

2004

February: The President’s FY05 Budget again highlights the risk posed by the explosive growth of the GSEs and their low levels of required capital, and called for creation of a new, world-class regulator: “The Administration has determined that the safety and soundness regulators of the housing GSEs lack sufficient power and stature to meet their responsibilities, and therefore…should be replaced with a new strengthened regulator.” (2005 Budget Analytic Perspectives, pg. 83)

February: CEA Chairman Mankiw cautions Congress to “not take [the financial market’s] strength for granted.” Again, the call from the Administration was to reduce this risk by “ensuring that the housing GSEs are overseen by an effective regulator.” (N. Gregory Mankiw, Op-Ed, “Keeping Fannie And Freddie’s House In Order,” Financial Times, 2/24/04)

June: Deputy Secretary of Treasury Samuel Bodman spotlights the risk posed by the GSEs and called for reform, saying “We do not have a world-class system of supervision of the housing government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), even though the importance of the housing financial system that the GSEs serve demands the best in supervision to ensure the long-term vitality of that system. Therefore, the Administration has called for a new, first class, regulatory supervisor for the three housing GSEs: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banking System.” (Samuel Bodman, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Testimony, 6/16/04)

2005

April: Treasury Secretary John Snow repeats his call for GSE reform, saying “Events that have transpired since I testified before this Committee in 2003 reinforce concerns over the systemic risks posed by the GSEs and further highlight the need for real GSE reform to ensure that our housing finance system remains a strong and vibrant source of funding for expanding homeownership opportunities in America… Half-measures will only exacerbate the risks to our financial system.” (Secretary John W. Snow, “Testimony Before The U.S. House Financial Services Committee,” 4/13/05)

2007

July: Two Bear Stearns hedge funds invested in mortgage securities collapse.

August: President Bush emphatically calls on Congress to pass a reform package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying “first things first when it comes to those two institutions. Congress needs to get them reformed, get them streamlined, get them focused, and then I will consider other options.” (President George W. Bush, Press Conference, The White House, 8/9/07)

September: RealtyTrac announces foreclosure filings up 243,000 in August – up 115 percent from the year before.

September: Single-family existing home sales decreases 7.5 percent from the previous month – the lowest level in nine years. Median sale price of existing homes fell six percent from the year before.

December: President Bush again warns Congress of the need to pass legislation reforming GSEs, saying “These institutions provide liquidity in the mortgage market that benefits millions of homeowners, and it is vital they operate safely and operate soundly. So I’ve called on Congress to pass legislation that strengthens independent regulation of the GSEs – and ensures they focus on their important housing mission. The GSE reform bill passed by the House earlier this year is a good start. But the Senate has not acted. And the United States Senate needs to pass this legislation soon.” (President George W. Bush, Discusses Housing, The White House, 12/6/07)

2008

January: Bank of America announces it will buy Countrywide.

January: Citigroup announces mortgage portfolio lost $18.1 billion in value.

February: Assistant Secretary David Nason reiterates the urgency of reforms, says “A new regulatory structure for the housing GSEs is essential if these entities are to continue to perform their public mission successfully.” (David Nason, Testimony On Reforming GSE Regulation, Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 2/7/08)

March: Bear Stearns announces it will sell itself to JPMorgan Chase.

March: President Bush calls on Congress to take action and “move forward with reforms on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They need to continue to modernize the FHA, as well as allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to homeowners to refinance their mortgages.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The Economic Club Of New York, New York, NY, 3/14/08)

April: President Bush urges Congress to pass the much needed legislation and “modernize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [There are] constructive things Congress can do that will encourage the housing market to correct quickly by … helping people stay in their homes.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With Cabinet, the White House, 4/14/08)

May: President Bush issues several pleas to Congress to pass legislation reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the situation deteriorates further.

·“Americans are concerned about making their mortgage payments and keeping their homes. Yet Congress has failed to pass legislation I have repeatedly requested to modernize the Federal Housing Administration that will help more families stay in their homes, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance sub-prime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/3/08)

·“[T]he government ought to be helping creditworthy people stay in their homes. And one way we can do that – and Congress is making progress on this – is the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That reform will come with a strong, independent regulator.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With The Secretary Of The Treasury, the White House, 5/19/08)

·“Congress needs to pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance subprime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/31/08)

June: As foreclosure rates continued to rise in the first quarter, the President once again asks Congress to take the necessary measures to address this challenge, saying “we need to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks At Swearing In Ceremony For Secretary Of Housing And Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 6/6/08)

Also see Obama Blames Bush For Our Financial Crisis