Well, finally, it has begun.  The election season I mean.  In about nineteen weeks (or 130 days) the American People will elect a new president.  And we finally have narrowed our choice to only 2 candidates.  You know who they are.

I believe this is the most important election of my lifetime.  Never has so much been at stake. 

So, today I would like this post to kick off a series of posts that I am going to categorize as "Don’t Drink the Cool-Aid".  This entire series will be concerned with dissecting the Obama candidacy with a view of understanding what his presidency will look like. 

I want these posts to be objective…I really do.  So I want it to be concerned with understanding him not based on third party pundits but his own public comments, his public writings, and voting record. 

A couple of weeks ago I had a long and helpful chat with my brother Scott (FT 1) who is a big fan of Obama.  I am glad I did because it helped me to understand not only him better but Obama’s devoted public.  I promised in that discussion to read Obama’s two books, "The Audacity of Hope" and "Dreams from My Father."  I am very willing to be shown that my understanding and personification of Barack are wrong or misguided.  (I guess that is what blog comments are for.  Feel free to chime in.) 

At this point I confess that I am operating out of impressions and casual reading.  But I would like this one post to NOT be objective but rather an admitted brain dump of my impressions of the Obama candidacy.  My "sense" of the man.

There is no question that Barack Obama has appeal.  He has drawn support from a wide spectrum of people including some who would call themselves conservatives or evangelicals.  And for them and perhaps many others it reduces to the fact that Barack claims that he really does want to change American politics for the better (according to his definition of better).  HE is a consensus builder who listens to opposing viewpoints.  He expresses a willingness to cross ideological lines.  He wants to be a uniter not a divider. 

Which brings me to the main point, the LARGEST issue facing voters in November is TRUST.  Can Barack Obama be trusted?  I don’t ask this question to impugn the man’s character.   He may, indeed, be a man of unimpeachable character.  He may really WANT to solve problems by building consensus.  (I am not conceding that there are NO reasons to question his sincerity…there ARE.)  I am only saying that he is promising a lot that is VERY DIFFICULT to deliver.  Nevertheless, I am conceding that, if he really believes his own rhetoric, that Barack is a sincere and earnest man who cares about the country. 

For me, however, I don’t care about any visions he has about re-casting America into a promised land of togetherness.  I will ask the Obama question with only ONE THING IN VIEW.  What are his policy beliefs?  What kinds of laws would he pass if his party is given complete control of congress?  How will he re-shape America?  What does he believe about the role of government?  I think that an objective analysis of his speeches, voting record, and past policy initiatives will reveal Barack Obama to not be left-of-center (as my brother believes) but to be FAR-LEFT.  You may ask, FAR-LEFT of what?  What will form a baseline standard for evaluating his policies?  Relative-to-what do I consider Barack to be on the FAR-LEFT. 

And my answer, put simply, is the constitution.  The REAL Contract With America that should form the basis of ALL political discourse and policy building is the constitution.  Every elected official swears to uphold it.  In a later post I will explore this question more thoroughly and I know that, per my discussion with Scott, that progressives think they ARE upholding the constitution.  I hope to show that they are not.  And to do that, we will have to discuss, the Founders intent in establishing the country and the MIRACLE that the Constitutional Convention was able to produce a workable document.  Why, exactly did the Sons of Liberty throw the tea into the Boston Harbor?  And, in fairness, by this standard how have the Republicans fared?  How has George W. Bush done?  How would John McCain do?  I want to discuss those question, too.

I believe that what Obama has in mind for the country is extreme.  I hope to show, by constitutional standards, that on the issues in which he should want an assertion of government power (the protecting of innocent human life) that Obama is on the extreme WRONG end of the spectrum.  And that on issues in which he should desire a shrinking of government and infringement of federal power into our daily lives, Obama is, again, on the extreme WRONG end of the spectrum.

Seth

Last year I read about an ultra-cool technology coming from Microsoft that would transform translucent tables into interactive computers that would detect PDAs and cameras and allow people to order tickets, drinks and meals. It is called Microsoft Surface computing. Check it out by clicking here. The downside of Surface computing is that it is VERY expensive.

So it was interesting to hear this week about similar technology coming out of Microsoft that was similar but VERY CHEAP. This technology will convert any flat surface into a multi-touch display. To read about it click here. Cool.

Seth

We have discussed the flat tax a bit here on Fat Triplets. Here is a nice little video from Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute on the growth of the Flat Tax:

HT to Don at  Cafe Hayek

Is their any other class of species with a nastier or more notorious list of bloodsucking, stinging and biting members:

Spiders                                                                 Ticks                                       Scorpions

I find discussions of Introversion vs Extroversion to be fascinating. I found this great article on how to sell to introverts. (HT to the JollyBlogger.) If nothing else this article confirmed that I am an introvert. It also reminded me of an article I read a while back over at StevePavlina.com about how to move from being an introvert to an extrovert. You can look for my comment there. I still argue, despite Steve’s reply, that such movement is not required. I (still) actually prefer the company of introverts to extroverts. (No offense to all my wonderful extroverted friends.) And I like my introversion.

And yet…and here is my main point…I have found that my extroversion rises and falls, to some extent, with my levels of personal happiness. The happier I am in any given moment the easier it is for me to enjoy people. Furthermore, I believe that we DO need to develop within us, as Christians, an “extroverted impulse”. In other words, I have come to believe that I DO NEED to enjoy people to be the best kind of Christian that I can be. So I am granting that my introversion does give me opportunities for personal growth. Even if my “wiring” might incline me to a greater enjoyment of privacy and alone-time, the responsibility to “love my neighbor” gives me a reason to operate outside my comfort zone. Given these two insights, (extroversion rises with my happiness and some extroverted-behavior is a responsibility and duty) then the way to grow in this area is to work on increasing my enJOYment of God.

Seth