“I blew a few smoke rings, remembering those years,” Obama wrote in “Dreams From My Father,” in a section of the book about his college days. “Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.”

Hey, A little weed ain't so bad. It made me popular!

I guess it’s too much to suggest anymore that we expect our leaders to be held accountable for their actions.  We have given an admitted felon an opportunity to be President.  As far as I know, cocaine is illegal.  And I thought lawyers had to pass a separate written ethics examination.  Don’t they have to exibit good moral character?

Just for a moment, let’s forget his drug habits.  Let’s examine a little closer just how BO made his way up the political ladder.

In 1996, the state Senate seat for the 13th District in Illinois was left open by a retiring state senator, and Barack jumped at the opportunity to run for the seat representing the Democratic Party.

In 2002, when word came out that Senator Peter Fitzgerald was retiring, leaving his seat open, Barack saw that opportunity had once again shined on him. He embarked on a campaign to win the Democratic Party nomination for the vacant Senate seat.

Obama’s Republican opponent for the seat was slated to be Jack Ryan, but when Ryan’s divorce records were unsealed, some very unsavory behavior was revealed and the conservative Ryan was forced to leave the race, leaving the floor open for Alan Keyes to join as Barack’s opponent.  Keyes’ strong conservative viewpoints and issues with Keyes being viewed as an out-of-state candidate (since his primary residence was in Maryland) led to Obama winning a large victory.

I have a deep faith; I’m rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there’s an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived.      ~ B. Obama

Blowing even more smoke!

photo caption not necessarily quotes BO.

Former Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee has said that growing up in his hometown, the only people who were Republicans were those who “got messed with.”

In the current Presidential Campaign, Democrats are messing with a lot of Republicans. Democrats have correctly identified their position on cultural issues is killing them with many Cultural Conservatives, but they just can’t seem to help themselves.

Barack Obama’s recent ad in response to an Independent group attacking him on his vote against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act seemed to go after the star of the ad, Gianna Jessen. Jessen’s a 31 year-old survivor of abortion who suffers from cerebral palsy. Maybe going after someone like that plays in Chicago politics, but in the rest of America, it’s considered cheap and low.

Obama’s response fittingly sounded like it was written by a legal weasel, inferring things that were untrue without saying something that was technically false. The big false inference: John McCain had no responsibility for, or ties to, the Born Alive Truth ad.

This pales in comparison to McCain’s Spanish language ad in that it tried to tie John McCain to Rush Limbaugh. The Limbaugh ad is dumb as Limbaugh has spent countless hours lampooning McCain over immigration. The two are polar opposites on this issue. Worse, though. The ad takes Limbaugh out of context to make him sound racist when in context, he was clearly being satirical. In essence, the Obama campaign is messing with Limbaugh fans. Big mistake.

Limbaugh’s audience is not all on board the Straight Talk Express, but I can’t help but imagine a few more people holding their nose to vote for McCain after Obama’s whopper on Rush Limbaugh. Rush makes his audience feel like they know him with the personal anecdotes he inserts at the beginning of the show, and Obama’s folly is attacking a man who, while hated by the American left, is a beloved and welcomed guest into the homes of nearly 20 million voters.

Finally, there’s Obama’s instruction to his supporters to be his ambassadors and to get in the face of Republicans and Independents who aren’t going to vote for him. Giving advice like this to young supporters who have more zeal than tact is as likely to turn voters off as they are to turn voters on to the campaign.

Of course, beyond Obama’s official sphere, there exists some people ready to “help” the campaign by making despicable and vile statements attacking Sarah Palin’s faith and motherhood. The liberal media and liberal politicians like Charlie Rangel are taking every opportunity they can to slam Sarah Palin.

The problem is that, in attacking Palin, the left has gone too far, declaring an unholy war on Cultural Conservatives, Christians, and small town America. In an election where prudence and past election defeats suggest Democrats would be wise to downplay their support of abortion, it’s become front and center in this campaign despite the hopes of Democrats to keep the issue out of the spotlight.

By all historical measures, with the unpopularity of President Bush, and the state of the economy; the Democrats ought to win by a tidy margin. Instead, it’s neck and neck. This says a lot about the Obama campaign’s failure to close the deal.

The big question is: what will happen on election day? Perhaps the sour state of the economy will drag Barack Obama across the finish line despite the fact that his claims of being post-partisan and capable of reaching across party lines have been proven empty rhetoric.

However, a lot of people have been messed with in these past few weeks. Some of them may not have planned on voting or to vote Democrat. But they’ve seen their values, their faith, their families, and their homes attacked by an elitist American left. They haven’t said a whole lot, but a simple vote could send a powerful message to the Democrats and the liberal media establishment: They have no prayer of winning as long as they continue to mess with the dearest values of the American people.