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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
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Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 2, 2008
/ 3 Tishrei 5769
Tom Wolfe Explains Obama's Rise
By
Bob Tyrrell
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Tom Wolfe, the eminent novelist and sociologist, has a theory that explains what the Democrats are doing to themselves and on Nov. 4 will do to the country. What they are doing is bringing to the presidency, in a time of war and financial crisis, a total novice. That would be Sen. Barack H. Obama. Oh, yes, and his running mate is Sen. Joe Biden, a total airhead.
Recently, in stentorian solemnity, this airhead declared to a bemused audience of Democrats that at the time of the 1929 stock market crash, the president of the United States was "Franklin Roosevelt," who addressed the financial peril straight away by getting "on the television." This is the same clown who we are told tapped a reporter on the chest, saying, "You need to work on your pecs." I assume the reporter was male. Though the Democrats insist Gov. Sarah Palin is a boob, she has yet to equal Sen. Biden's buffoonery.
At any rate, of the two candidates on the Democratic ticket, airhead Biden is the most politically experienced. His presidential running mate attained public office only 11 years ago, after being elected to the Illinois Senate. There his achievements were exiguous. Possibly it is churlish of me to repeat what careful readers already know about state Sen. Obama, but here are the essentials: In Springfield, Ill., state Sen. Obama voted straight Chicago machine, and he voted "present" 130 times. He took no chances and left no mark. He was not the candidate that he claims to be today, the champion of "reform" and "change." Though we now know the Prophet Obama as a ceaseless moral ham, he has since his days as an Ivy Leaguer no unique civic, intellectual or moral achievements to his credit other than two best-sellers a recent political potboiler and an autobiography that abounds with self-centered indignant passages that his campaign hopes will rarely catch the public eye.
Not to put to fine a point on it, but the Democrats' presidential candidate never became a national figure until 2005, when he became a United States senator. Moreover, in the United States Senate, he has been no more significant than he was in the Illinois Senate, possibly because he is not a particularly strong personality. Or it could be that he did not have time for the U.S. Senate. Within weeks of his arrival there, his aides were in Iowa testing the waters for a presidential campaign. He has been running for the presidency for most of the past three years.
Comparing his political experience with that of the Republican candidates, Sen. John McCain and Gov. Palin, Sen. Obama's experience most closely approximates that of Gov. Palin, whom the media adjudges unprepared to be president. Neither is comparable to Sen. McCain's experience. Yet Gov. Palin's political career began with a city council seat in 1992. She was elected mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, in 1996. That would be one year before Sen. Obama entered the Illinois Senate. All told, the Republican vice presidential candidate has served government in an executive capacity for eight years, two as governor. The Democratic (SET ITAL) presidential (END ITAL) candidate never has held an executive office. Still, the Democrats disdain Palin and exalt the novice Obama.
Here is where Tom Wolfe comes in. In his most recent novel, "I Am Charlotte Simmons," and elsewhere, Wolfe has propounded his theory of "Championism," to wit: people suffering the "real emotions" of "exultation" or "depression" over the fate of those they deem their champions. At its most absurd, Championism takes hold of sports fans who identify passionately with athletes they hardly know and truth be told probably would not want to know. Wolfe mentions, in particular, professional athletes, say New York Yankees, who might not even live in New York. The fans attribute all manner of diableries to their teams' opponents and stupendous virtues to their own stars.
Wolfe believes that it is perfectly normal for people to take sides on an issue even when they know very little about the issue and have absolutely no involvement in it. On the matter of politics, both Democrats and Republicans usually have years invested in hollering for their parties. Some have sent in financial contributions. Some have sported their parties' buttons and bumper stickers. Thus, the political supporters' emotions run even higher than those of sports fans. Nonetheless, their emotions might be equally absurd. Time and again, political messiahs have been exposed to be frauds and a danger to the commonweal.
In the case of the Prophet Obama, it is apparent that he has almost no experience governing anything. Are Democrats going to vote for such a novice in a time of war and financial crisis? If they do and he spends the next few years learning on the job, the Democratic Party could end up in the wilderness for a long time.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Bob Tyrrell is editor in chief of The American Spectator. Comment by clicking here.
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