A Socialist in Sheep's Clothing

Posted by LM Stansbury on Thursday, October 16, 2008 12:00:00 AM

After listening to the opinions of the post-debate pundits last night, I feel as though I must have been watching a different event. In my estimation, McCain was ready for this fight and seemingly as frustrated by Barack Obama’s free ride through the media as we have all been. I was beginning to believe that I was the only person who remembered the tenants of Socialism from my college days. Though there was justifiable concern that Senator McCain might refrain from the tough talk in an effort to maintain a higher standard, he seemed to appreciate that this debate was the last great hope. Were it not for his introductory reprimand of Senator Obama’s incessant comparison of McCain to President Bush, I am not sure that the debate would have taken the path that it did. But delivering a solid punch in the first round afforded McCain the offensive position he so desperately needed just a few weeks shy of the election.

For many months now, devoted conservatives have been listening to Sean Hannity hammer on issues pertaining to Senator Obama’s choice of associations and thus his judgment. It was refreshing to finally witness a forced response from the Illinois Senator on the hard-hitting issues without the usual protective filter of the national media, the lesser known branch of the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign. Eloquent as Barack Obama most certainly is, the issues were bigger than his oratory and I am confident that the truly candid voters, endeavoring to evaluate the candidates uniformly, were able to see beyond Senator Obama’s rhetoric last night. Some say that Senator McCain did not press the Ayers issue as well as he might have. I whole-heartedly disagree. With the financial crisis dominating the airwaves to a greater extent than the Presidential Election, it was imperative that Senator McCain address the issue and press Obama to elaborate a bit more than he otherwise might, but then drop it for the more ubiquitous economic discussion.

I held my breath for the first set of respective economic criticisms and then sat back with ease as it became evident that Senator McCain had arrived aptly equipped with condemnation of Obama’s economic solutions. Though I hoped he might overtly identify Senator Obama as the Socialist we all know him to be, I listened appreciatively as John McCain elaborated on the dangers of Barack Obama’s Herbert Hoover plan for the next Great Depression. I felt as though McCain delivered a substantial victory in the process, at least for those of us who have been attempting to highlight the big government reality of Barack Obama’s agenda. Obama’s political philosophy reeks of Socialism during a time in our nation’s history when expansion of the welfare state and reapportionment of our wealth has the potential to cause unprecedented and potentially irrevocable damage. If the Senator from Illinois manages a victory in November, I cannot recall another Presidential Election where a candidate won while promising to raise our taxes.