We must understand how Obama operates

The Washington Rebel blog once again knocks one way out of the park with a post entitled Death of a Strawman. I reprint it here in its entirety,because it is just so relevant and important for us all to understand how Obama operates.

08/13/2010
Death of a Strawman

You know you’re making a difference when Obama views you as enough of a threat to start launching his Alinskyite smear tactics on you, by name.

I am one who can appreciate the art of the debate. It is in my nature to turn a thing backwards and forewards trying to find the crack in an argument that will let me win. This comes up many times in writing and quite often in business negotiations. It is all a matter of keeping one's head in an argument, of creating an image of right and wrong. I don't have to explain this to the contributors of this page, but it does strike me odd that the president is unable to argue without killing a fair amount of strawmen. This is something I detest about his style of debate. So, for a moment I'd like to deconstruct one of his latest speeches and point out his technique.

"And they don't have to say who exactly the Americans for Prosperity are."

Okay, let's start here. First of all, it doesn't take a heck of a lot of investigation to know who started this group. It probably wouldn't be hard to get a list of members, but that isn't the question for Mr. Obama, he wants to create an illusion of mystical, dangerous and perhaps criminal (foreign entities contributing to American campaigns is illegal) elements to this accusation, a bit of sophistry the media will allow him without challenge.

"You don't know if it's a foreign-controlled corporation."

No, the fact is, we do. The insinuation he wants is one of criminality. He likes that a lot, though he never comes out and makes that charge, because he knows it is false. Koch Corporation and it's founder run AFP and Barack Freaking Obama knows it. But, that wouldn't put the boogieman in the closet, would it?

You don't know if it's a big oil company or a big bank.

This relies on the ignorance and blindness of his intended audience. Even a supporter would have to reconcile the facts that Obama has had a big hand in both Big Oil and Big Banks since stepping into the shoes of the President. He took BP money during his campaign and to a degree greater than any other candidate, but when someone else takes the money, there is something implicitly wrong with it. He helped support AIG. The TARP program he alternately takes credit for and distances himself from, continues to fund AIG, now 21st Century, but you wouldn't know that from these accusations. With his rhetoric, he seems to be against these entities he has relied on for funding.

It's a constant strawman with this guy. "Some people don't like me, they think my name sounds funny." "Some people would like to go back to the policies of the past."

Well, let me just say to Mr. Obama: Some people would help fund a Mosque on the graves of American citizens killed by Islamist Jihadist. Some people would prefer to see grandma die a peaceful, morphine-laden death than to give her medical treatment. Some people would let the economy melt down rather than use supply-side economics.