Last month, Ahmed Yousef, a top Hamas adviser, said “we like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the election.” When Senator McCain was asked what he thought about the endorsement, he said “I think it is very clear who Hamas wants to be the next President of the United States. I think that the people should understand that I will be Hamas’ worst nightmare. If Senator Obama is favored by Hamas, I think people can make judgments accordingly.”
Senator Obama’s campaign immediately rebuked Senator McCain for his remarks, saying “This type of politics of division and distraction, not only lead to a campaign not worthy of the American people, but also has failed to help our families for too long.” Excuse me? This seems to be a stock answer used by the Obama campaign whenever somebody points out something Senator Obama would prefer to ignore. What do our families have to do with Hamas endorsing Senator Obama? Or with Senator McCain acknowledging that fact? Senator McCain didn’t make it up. He didn’t take it out of context. He didn’t even bring up the issue. He was asked a question, and he answered it candidly. Is that out of bounds?
Obama supporters have pointed out that Obama didn’t solicit the endorsement and, just because Hamas endorses Obama doesn’t mean Obama endorses Hamas. In fact, Senator Obama was just as quick to disassociate himself from the Hamas endorsement as he was earlier to disassociate himself from the Farrakhan endorsement. But the nagging question remains, why do such people and organizations endorse him?
I wonder if it’s a coincidence that the man Obama claimed as his spiritual mentor for 20+ years published articles on the Pastor’s Page of his church’s newsletter by a Hamas leader (who had an indictment against him for coordinating and financing terrorist activities while living in Chicago in the 1980s). Of course, that Hamas connection is to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, rather than directly to Obama. And Obama finally did repudiate the Rev. Jeremiah Wright when he went so public with his views that Obama could no longer pretend ignorance of them with any credibility.
And Obama did reject Farrakhan’s endorsement. In fact, Farrakhan’s endorsement came as a public embarrassment at a time when Senator Obama was trying to convince American Jews that the anti-Semitism expressed by his mentor didn’t reflect his own views, and that he does believe Israel has a right to exist, even after having publicly expressed sympathy with the Palestinian cause in the past.
The fact that Hamas endorses Senator Obama may be totally beyond his control, and even embarrassing to him, but the question it raises is why does Hamas endorse him? The obvious answer is because they have reason to believe that they, and their agenda, would fare better with his administration in power than with either a McCain or a Clinton administration. Whether he agrees with their “cause” or not, I think it’s as clear to Hamas as it is to me that McCain is going to be a lot tougher on terrorists than Obama would be. Obama thinks you can negotiate with them, and has stated his intention to do so. Negotiating with terrorists is like negotiating with extortionists. It’s common knowledge that it doesn’t work. But Senator Obama thinks he can pull it off.
I’m not suggesting that I believe Senator Obama actually sympathizes with terrorists. But I do believe that he has neither the experience nor the disposition to effectively fight and defeat them. And, through no intentional fault of his own, it appears our enemies would be very happy to see him elected. Is it a good thing that terrorists would feel better/safer with Obama as our Commander in Chief?
The question is not whether he reciprocally endorses them. The question is, intentions aside, is what’s best for Hamas what’s best for America? Personally, I don’t think so.
Government is Not Your Daddy 
One of Obama’s biggest weaknesses is his judge of character. From Jeremiah Wright to Antoin Rezko he’s consistently shown poor judgment in who he associates with. The Clinton campaign has not attacked on some of these associations, the RNC and the 527’s, and possibly McCain will.
It will be fun to watch!
This feckless desperation on the right wing’s part has been extremely entertaining. Since you are unable to find anything legit on Obama himself you are forced to focus on others NOT running for office to try to give your thin arguments come legitimacy. (But…but…but…He was his Pastor! Ha ha.) Some of you on the right have even supported HILLARY CLINTON of all people in hopes of sabotaging Obama.
All of this comes while you simply ignore the endorsements that McCain, in many cases sought, form extremists in our own country. This is the irony that your conservative minds are unable to fathom as you flock to these ‘simple minded political distractions’ like flies to poop.
These standards that you apply to the candidates of the other party are standards that you refuse to apply to your own.
You have a better chance of dying in your bathtub than dying in a terrorist attack. You neocons CLING to your fear of terrorism and you are easily manipulated by those fears.
Oh, we have plenty on Obama just on his political stands. He’s a true socialist and his character has been and rightly will be called into question during the election. There is an old saying. “You are judged by the company you keep”. It was true then and it’s true now. There is a more modern one that a teacher used when talking about setting up pairs and small groups for his classes. “Jerks always pair up with jerks”
hehehe, no doubt, one thing we can say for sure is that Obama has never associated with a Republican, which makes him a saint in the eyes of the left, but makes his claim to want to “bring everyone together” specious at best. Moderates will see this right away and move towards McCain, who is the only person, besides Clinton, who is anywhere near the center. The left’s weak attempts to try and cast McCain as some kind of Bush conservative are laughable, certainly nobody on the right seems him that way, I just hope they can hold their nose and vote for him. Clinton understands how this is an impending disaster which is why she has not quit. If Obama gets elected he’ll last 1 term and accomplish nothing, it will be Jimmy Carter Part II.
about 9 months ago I was hoping for a McCain-Lieberman ticket, I know, that makes me a poor excuse as a conservative, but I want the pendulum to swing to the middle, and not go all the way to the left. I’ll get screwed with any tax increase, so I’m being selfish (I’m at least a good enough conservative to have the virtue of selfishness). Obama is a leftie, there is no doubt, he needs to go down in flames.
Die liberal yuppie scum!
Anyone who fell for the Bush con job, not once but twice, is unlikely to and give any actual consideration to their choice for president. They vote as they are told to vote. They vote out of fear, not love for their country.
The only things you know about Obama are the things told to you by the right wing noise machine. You have not done any research of your own. In order to maintain your political stances you must absorb all of your information through an ideological pinhole. This filters out the things that interfere with your delicate dogma.
“a true socialist”?!? — Hardly. Clearly you know very little about socialism.
“You are judged by the company you keep”?!? — True. McCain has surrounded himself with creepy preachers and lobbyists. But a pact with Satan himself wouldn’t drive you right wing sycophants away from your assigned candidate.
“Jerks always pair up with jerks” ?!? — True. Calling your wife a “cunt”, as did McCain, is a sure sign that you are a jerk.
“weak attempts to try and cast McCain as some kind of Bush conservative” ?!? — McCain has done this to himsself by stepping into line and adopting the Bush platform and abandoning nearly ever stance he ran on in 2000.
“Die liberal yuppie scum!” You very clearly display your lack of character with this line. Are you calling for the death of your fellow Americans? Why do you hate America? Or is this a threat to Obama?
Kenney says :
Anyone who fell for the Bush con job, not once but twice, is unlikely to and give any actual consideration to their choice for president. They vote as they are told to vote. They vote out of fear,
not love for their country.
Tuco says : Yawn. Are you sure you are real Kenny, or just a script that randomly grabs strings off DailyKos and pastes them here? I give actual consideration to my choice, and it is clear in my case that McCain will make me better off than Obama. Very simply stated, I will make more money with McCain than with Obama. This has nothing to do with your rants about terrorism or whatever, I don’t care much about terrorism aside from thinking that shooting them is a good idea.
What right-wing noise machine is telling me things? CNN or NPR? those are my major sources of news, Kenny. I watch Larry King and Assderson Cooper every night.
Kenney Says :
“a true socialist”?!? — Hardly. Clearly you know very little about socialism.
Tuco Says : yeah, right, I have a BA in the Humanities from a Catholic University, socialism is the political system of choice there.
Kenney says :
“Jerks always pair up with jerks” ?!? — True. Calling your wife a “cunt”, as did McCain, is a sure sign that you are a jerk.
Tuco Says : that’s not true according to McCain’s wife. This one has been debunked. Can you think for yourself or are you a parrot? Would you like a cracker?
Kenny says :
“weak attempts to try and cast McCain as some kind of Bush conservative” ?!? — McCain has done this to himsself by stepping into line and adopting the Bush platform and abandoning nearly ever stance he ran on in 2000.
Tuco Says : McCain has adopted a few thing from the right, but he very clearly has major differences with Bush. The good think about this election is that I’ll make a lot of money on my environmentally oriented stocks, because now the race is packed with people who lean that way.
Kenney Says :
“Die liberal yuppie scum!” You very clearly display your lack of character with this line. Are you calling for the death of your fellow Americans? Why do you hate America? Or is this a threat to Obama?
Tuco says :
I’m just adopting the liberal cry of “die yuppy scum” and applying it to liberals. Liberals, especially Obama supporters, are the new yuppie scum.
Tuco said : Yawn. Are you sure you are real Kenny, or just a script that randomly grabs strings off DailyKos and pastes them here? I give actual consideration to my choice, and it is clear in my case that McCain will make me better off than Obama. Very simply stated, I will make more money with McCain than with Obama.
What right-wing noise machine is telling me things? CNN or NPR? those are my major sources of news, Kenny. I watch Larry King and Assderson Cooper every night.
Kenny says:
DailKos? Never really been there. Not interested in simpleton partisan circle jerks. I’d rather duke it out with people like you. But that is one of the sites that O’Reilly regularly references in the EXACT context in which you present it here. You recite the right wing talking points with absolute precision and I know where those come from. Nice try. For you this is about greed, love of money, not love of country. “McCain will make me better off than Obama.” Unless you are in the National Guard, of course.
Tuco Said : yeah, right, I have a BA in the Humanities from a Catholic University, socialism is the political system of choice there.
Kenny says:
Har har. More like a BA in BS from your local AM radio talk show. You right wingers typically overplay your qualifications in order to bolster your poorly thought out arguments (often lacking in any specific details) and regurgitated talking points.
Catholic, huh? So if we were to apply the “Obama guilt by religious association” standard to you, that would make you responsible for a lot of abuse. That sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? That’s because this partisan witch hunt is ridiculous.
Tuco Said : that’s not true according to McCain’s wife. This one has been debunked.
Kenny says:
Got reference? When was his wife asked about this? Do we believe the woman that wants into the white house? Or the reporter that claims to have heard this first hand and published it. If this is slander than I am sure that the McCain lawyers are on it, but I doubt they are.
Tuco Said : McCain has adopted a few thing from the right, but he very clearly has major differences with Bush. The good think about this election is that I’ll make a lot of money on my environmentally oriented stocks, because now the race is packed with people who lean that way.
Kenny says:
Nope! Wrong! You cannot offer one of these differences, you can only mention them even in passing as they are non-existent He’s full on sucking up in order to ‘stay the course’ so those not truly paying attention will vote for him.
Tuco said :
I’m just adopting the liberal cry of “die yuppy scum” and applying it to liberals. Liberals, especially Obama supporters, are the new yuppie scum.
Kenny says:
Oh, is that what you are doing? How cleverly un-clever of you to call for the deaths of your fellow Americans in such a way. I don’t want anyone to die. Not even you. That’s another one of the differences between you and I.
In all seriousness, Tuco. I enjoy these jousts. I find them to be informative and entertaining. No hard feelings here.
I need people like you in my country otherwise the liberals would take over. Checks and balances.
Kenney says :
Got reference? When was his wife asked about this? Do we believe the woman that wants into the white house? Or the reporter that claims to have heard this first hand and published it. If this is slander than I am sure that the McCain lawyers are on it, but I doubt they are.
Tuco says : his campaign denies it
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cliff-schecter/john-mccain-accuses-me-of_b_95613.html
and the ‘evidence’ for this is pretty thin, 2 unnamed sources from 1992. I guess no-one wants to stand behind this.
Kenney says :
DailKos? Never really been there. Not interested in simpleton partisan circle jerks. I’d rather duke it out with people like you. But that is one of the sites that O’Reilly regularly references in the EXACT context in which you present it here. You recite the right wing talking points with absolute precision and I know where those come from. Nice try. For you this is about greed, love of money, not love of country. “McCain will make me better off than Obama.” Unless you are in the National Guard, of course.
Tuco Says : Kenny, I rarely watch Fox, I’m not a fan of Orielly, he’s a bit of a freak. Believe it or not, some of the ‘talking points’ of the republican party are actually, true, good things, to deny that is foolish.
Greed is a virtue, coughing up my money that I earned for thing that do me no good is pretty much the same as robbery. Helping poor suckers – just because they are poor – is robbery. I have no moral obligation to help them, there is nothing in the constitution that says I’m obligated to help them, and if I did want to help them (which I actually do of my own accord occasionally) there are plenty of charities around that I can use to do this. I don’t owe the poor a damn thing, and if they think they have a ‘right’ to take from me I have only 2 words for them: “Fuck Off”
Kenny says :
Har har. More like a BA in BS from your local AM radio talk show. You right wingers typically overplay your qualifications in order to bolster your poorly thought out arguments (often lacking in any specific details) and regurgitated talking points.
Catholic, huh? So if we were to apply the “Obama guilt by religious association” standard to you, that would make you responsible for a lot of abuse. That sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? That’s because this partisan witch hunt is ridiculous.
Tuco Says : Kenny, I underplay my qualifications if anything. I don’t listen to right wing radio, I do have a degree from a much respected Catholic university, and I’m quite capable of thinking for myself. Unlike you, I do actually know what is good for me; you need some shyster lawyer politicians like Obama to tell you what is good for you.
I don’t go to church, but if some priest came up to me and wanted to be my special buddy, or my kids special buddy, he might meet Mr. Silenced .45, and at the very least I’d write the local bishop and archbishop about the problem and have him taken care of. Obama, on the other hand, clearly tolerates hate speech. I’m sure he did this to get elected in Chicago. I’m sure Jeremiah Wright did not make his hatred of whitey a secret.
Kenney says:
Nope! Wrong! You cannot offer one of these differences, you can only mention them even in passing as they are non-existent He’s full on sucking up in order to ’stay the course’ so those not truly paying attention will vote for him.
Tuco says : Kenny, you are foolish and uninformed. Bush and McCain are very different. I’ll list a few of them, I’ll keep it simple so that you can understand.
McCain wants to do a lot more work on global warming than Bush does.
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/climate/2004-11-17-mccain-warming_x.htm
McCain has 2 sons in the current wars, Bush has 0.
McCain wants to close Guantanamo Bay.
McCain supports the Kyoto treaty, Bush does not.
McCain is much more of a multilateralist than Bush on foreign policy.
shit, maybe McCain is a liberal! Maybe I better not vote for him! Oh wait, the alternative is worse for me, far worse…
Kenny says:
Oh, is that what you are doing? How cleverly un-clever of you to call for the deaths of your fellow Americans in such a way. I don’t want anyone to die. Not even you. That’s another one of the differences between you and I.
Tuco says : “Some people should die, that’s just unconscious knowledge”
[…] presents Obama’s Unsavory Endorsements posted at Government is not your Daddy., saying, “Through no intentional fault of his own, it […]
“The fact that Hamas endorses Senator Obama may be totally beyond his control, and even embarrassing to him, but the question it raises is why does Hamas endorse him? The obvious answer is because they have reason to believe that they, and their agenda, would fare better with his administration in power than with either a McCain or a Clinton administration. ”
True, Hamas would fare better with Obama as president, but isnt this a reason for not endorsing him? Dont they know that this is disadvantageous for Obama? or do they just not know how an election works?
Given the context, I don’t think Hamas expected it to become a major news story. It wasn’t an official announcement, but a candid response to a question that came up in an interview last month about Jimmy Carter’s visit. During the interview, the chief political advisor to the Prime Minister of Hamas was asked about Obama, and he said “We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the election.”