With the historic 2008 election rapidly approaching and the time of decision immanent, the voter must be well aware of the issues at stake and the candidates’ positions. Senator Barack Obama’s campaign is a historic one; not only has he shattered racial barriers in the quest for the most powerful position in the free world, and not only did he beat the presumed contender Hilary Rodham Clinton, he has managed to go this far without laying out a specific set of ideas to the voters of what kind of ‘change’ he will be introducing to Washington.

     There is so much at stake this election, such as: the dangerous state of the economy, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the threat of a nuclear Iran, and the crippling state of health care and social security. This is not the time for the media’s choice, who is a candidate of hope and change and on-the-spot training.  Rather, it is the time for a leader of experience. The Senator from Illinois constantly speaks of a change that we can believe in, but it is not good enough to campaign on the idea change. There needs to be a fundamental plan with real strategies and real solutions. There are real problems to be addressed and solved, not fairytale stories read from teleprompters that have happy endings and healthcare for all. The American people deserve much more than a false claim of change. Obama and his campaign preach nothing but change and a defining moment. What does this mean? What kind of change will Obama present to the American people from the White House? How will the people benefit from electing this young popular senator from Illinois?

     Let us first consider the impact of a President who has had no real job or experience outside of Chicago politics and how he proposes to lead the strongest nation in the world. With the resume of just a community organizer and a state legislator, Senator Obama would have a lot of work to do since his election to the Senate and his voting record has been nothing to brag about. During his campaign for the Senate Seat, his Republican opponent dropped out three months before the election. The Republican Party brought in an out of state candidate to run against Obama, but with only three months to prepare, it seemed helpless.  When Obama won the election with 73 percent of the vote, no one should have been surprised.

     The mere fact that this Presidential race is the first major election that Obama is in, and that he really only has 143 days of experience of legislative work on a national level, should send out a warning signal to voters. The media has done a fantastic job of hiding this fact.  Instead of focusing on the facts and trying to get a more formulated idea of who Obama really is, they instead continually report on how many people show up at his rallies and  how passionately he speaks rather than how cogent his rhetoric is or, for that matter, what he is really proposing (or not proposing) to do for this country.

     Early in his term as a United States Senator, The National Journal labeled Obama as the most liberal member of the Senate. For this coveted position, he beat out arch-liberals Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and Madame Clinton herself.  The few votes he has cast always follow the dictates of public opinion.  He originally was against wiretapping but then voted for it. He has continued this pattern throughout his short tenure in office.  A President Obama would mean a nationalized health care program that would guarantee benefits for all, including the millions of illegals in this country.  Senator Obama has been quoted saying, “The time has come for universal health care in America,” and we can be sure that the person that Obama would nominate to head up that project would be the one and only Hillary Rodham Clinton, author of the 1993 “Hillarycare” fiasco.  By introducing such a policy, it will start the total government takeover that the Democrats see as the solution to the problem.  An Obama Presidency would mean more big government, citing people’s need for help. People do not want help from the government, they want affordable insurance and health care, NOT government controlled insurance and healthcare.  An Obama White House would continue fueling our addiction to foreign oil, because even though Sen. Obama says he is for alternative fuel, he has offered no realistic solution.  He signed a letter to the President asking him to consider using ethanol as a fuel source. Obama also promotes electrical cars.  He also has consistently bashed McCain’s proposal for off-shore drilling and refuses to talk about nuclear power plants. 

     Sarah Palin put it best in her address before the Republican National Convention, “This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed ... when the roar of the crowd fades away ... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger ... take more of your money ... give you more orders from Washington ... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy ... our opponent is against producing it.”