<table id="table11" style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-collapse: collapse;" bordercolordark="#2E3B70" bordercolorlight="#2E3B70" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="1"><tbody><tr><td width="48">
Notice: The video has disappeared. Using WayBackMachine, I found two links -- both played empty videos -- a lot of stuff is being scrubbed from the web.
Here is what he said in the video:
"I think I've been very clear. Ah-ah-mumble-mumble, there's a presidential election in four years. I'm not running for president in four years."
Here is a backup story -- during a meeting with reporters at his Illinois campaign headquarters after his election to the U.S. Senate, he ridiculed as "a silly question" whether he would run for president or vice president before his term ends in 2011. "I?ve never worked in Washington," he said. "I can unequivocally say I will not be running for national office in four years, and my entire focus is making sure that I?m the best possible senator on behalf of the people of Illinois."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
But he is one of those people. He is. And wherever he is going, he has been one of them for a long, long time.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]In January, Obama is sworn into office as the junior United States Senator for Illinois (D).<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama's desk in the Senate is the same one used by Bobby Kennedy, the former attorney general, New York senator and 1968 Democratic presidential candidate who was assassinated in Los Angeles.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Shortly after Obama's swearing in, his beatification begins when Time magazine names Obama one of "The World's Most Influential People." He is listed among other leaders and revolutionaries. This same year, the British journal New Statesman names Obama one of "10 People Who Could Change the World."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005 <!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Less than two months after ascending to the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama bought more than $50,000 worth of stock in two speculative companies whose major investors included some of his biggest political donors.
One of the companies was a biotech concern that was starting to develop a drug to treat avian flu. In March 2005, two weeks after buying about $5,000 of its shares, Obama took the lead in a legislative push for more federal spending to battle the disease.
He also bought more than $50,000 in stock in a satellite communications business whose principal backers include four friends and donors who had raised more than $150,000 for his political committees.
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]A spokesman for Obama says the senator did not know that he had invested in either company.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama supports homosexual marriage, racial preferences, banning all guns, flag-burning, socialized medicine and the absolute right to abortion, including partial-birth abortions. He voted against requiring medical care for aborted fetuses who survive.
Obama is anti-war, voted against the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, against privatizing Social Security and opposes the death penalty, three strikes laws and school vouchers. He has no military service record. He strongly supports the decriminalization of marijuana.
Obama opposed the Defense of Marriage Act; would work to repeal it in the U.S. Senate; would not vote for any legislation that would restrict the ability of gays and lesbians to marry.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
As for the originality of "The Audacity of Hope," a New York Times article contains a few surprises there as well. The individuals that Obama sent first drafts to for comments comprise a Who's Who of liberal Democratic Party insiders, some of whom are now associated with his campaign: David Axelrod, Anthony Lake, Gene Sperling, Samantha Power, and Cass Sunstien.
Sunstein, in particular, notes that he made many comments on the manuscript -- a few of which made it into Obama's book. This differs from the official spin about the book, which is that it is a liberal manifesto penned solely by Barack Obama.
One wonders if eventually we will find out more about these collaborations of Obama's -- for an example see Ted Sorenson's recent admission (May '08) of what he had previously denied for 40-plus years verbally and in writing -- that he ghost wrote the book that John Kennedy used to win a Pulitzer, "Profiles in Courage."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2007<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama said, on Tuesday, January 16th, that he is taking a first step toward running for president next year by "filing papers today to create a presidential exploratory committee."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2007<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama formally announces he is a candidate for the Office of the President of the United States of America on February 10th, thirty-six years after writing the essay, "I want to be President," as a child.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2007<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]In April, the beatification of Obama begins when Time magazine names Obama one of "The World's Most Influential People." He is listed among other leaders and revolutionaries. This same year, the British journal New Statesman names Obama one of "10 People Who Could Change the World."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2007<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]November -- Obama has missed the most votes of any Democratic presidential hopeful in the Senate over the last two months, including a vote on an Iran resolution he has blasted Sen. Hillary Clinton for supporting.
The Illinois Democrat has missed nearly 80 percent of all votes since September.
Obama routinely avoids voting on any issue that is not helpful to Muslim goals.
For example, Obama missed a vote on a resolution that declared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, an elite part of the Iranian military, a terrorist organization.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]In a National Journal article, dated January 31st, Obama was identified as the most liberal senator in 2007. According to the Journal's 27th annual vote ratings, the insurgent presidential candidate shifted further to the left last year in the run-up to the primaries, after ranking as the 16th- and 10th-most-liberal during his first two years in the Senate.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]February 1st -- The Times (UK) has discovered Illinois state documents recording that Fintrade Services, a Panamanian company controlled by Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born British billionaire, lent money to an Obama fundraiser in May 2005.
The undeclared $3.5 million (?1.8 million) payment from the corrupt businessman has landed Tony Rezko, Barack Obama?s former fundraiser behind bars.
The payment, disclosed in court papers, is the first time that Mr Obama?s long-serving bagman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Syrian immigrant to the United States, has been linked to Nadhmi Auchi, who is one of Britain?s richest men. The relationship is a potential embarrassment for Obama, who has made his opposition to the Iraq war a central plank of his campaign.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]March 7th -- Obama's "commitment" to Afghanistan: He believes the US "took its eye off the ball" when we went into Iraq, and promises to refocus on Afghanistan as president.
The reality is that since Obama began chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee?s Subcommittee on European Affairs in January 2007, not a single policy hearing has been conducted on anything, Afghanistan or otherwise.
When Hillary Clinton brought this up at the Cleveland debate, Obama conceded, "I became chairman of this committee at the beginning of this campaign. ? So it is true that we haven?t had oversight hearings on Afghanistan." ?Nuff said.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]April 7th -- Obama is chair of The Subcommittee On European Affairs.
It has Jurisdiction over the countries of Europe, as well as NATO activities. "Jurisdiction: The subcommittee deals with all matters concerning U.S. relations with the countries on the continent of Europe ... and with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe."
He hasn't convened a single meeting.
Obama has never held a single policy hearing on anything, not Afghanistan, or anywhere else.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]April 14th -- U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, a Hebron Republican, compared Obama and his message for change similar to a "snake oil salesman" [at a Northern Kentucky Lincoln Day dinner].
He said in his remarks at the GOP dinner that he also recently participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama.
"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]April 21st -- While Obama has been campaigning, his duties in the Senate have taken a hit.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]"The Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Diplomacy Promotion Act of 2006," is his single legislative accomplishment since joining the Senate.
In the more than three years that Obama has been in the Senate, his first and only bill sends American taxpayer's money to Africa.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]April 24th -- Obama's call for postpartisanship looks unconvincing, when he is unable to point to a single important instance in his Senate career when he demonstrated bipartisanship. And his repeated calls to remember Dr. Martin Luther King's "fierce urgency of now" in tackling big issues falls flat as voters discover that he has not provided leadership on any major legislative battle.
Mr. Obama has not been a leader on big causes in Congress. He has been manifestly unwilling to expend his political capital on urgent issues. He has been only an observer, watching the action from a distance, thinking wry and sardonic and cynical thoughts to himself about his colleagues, mildly amused at their too-ing and fro-ing. He has held his energy and talent in reserve for the more important task of advancing his own political career, which means running for president.[/FONT]</td></tr></tbody></table>
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]year<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]event<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] <!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama's US Senate Voting Record (by issue) -- Project Vote Smart<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2004<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama runs for an open seat in the U.S. Senate. <!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2004<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama delivers his now-famous DNC Convention speech. -- Video<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2004<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Responding to questions about his intent to serve out the six year senate term, Obama says, in this video, (since removed), that he will not run for the presidency in four years.Notice: The video has disappeared. Using WayBackMachine, I found two links -- both played empty videos -- a lot of stuff is being scrubbed from the web.
Here is what he said in the video:
"I think I've been very clear. Ah-ah-mumble-mumble, there's a presidential election in four years. I'm not running for president in four years."
Here is a backup story -- during a meeting with reporters at his Illinois campaign headquarters after his election to the U.S. Senate, he ridiculed as "a silly question" whether he would run for president or vice president before his term ends in 2011. "I?ve never worked in Washington," he said. "I can unequivocally say I will not be running for national office in four years, and my entire focus is making sure that I?m the best possible senator on behalf of the people of Illinois."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2004<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]In November, Obama is elected to the United States Senate.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2004<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama?s own farewell to his colleagues in Springfield, on November 8, 2004, was less eloquent than his DNC speech, but no less heartfelt. Afterward, he faced the Springfield press corps for the last time. Someone asked why he had already ruled out running on a national ticket with Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2008. His answer was crisp and immediate. "You know," Obama replied, "I am a believer in knowing what you?re doing when you apply for a job. And I think that if I were to seriously consider running on a national ticket I would essentially have to start now, before having served a day in the Senate. Now, there are some people who might be comfortable doing that, but I?m not one of those people."But he is one of those people. He is. And wherever he is going, he has been one of them for a long, long time.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]In January, Obama is sworn into office as the junior United States Senator for Illinois (D).<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama's desk in the Senate is the same one used by Bobby Kennedy, the former attorney general, New York senator and 1968 Democratic presidential candidate who was assassinated in Los Angeles.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Shortly after Obama's swearing in, his beatification begins when Time magazine names Obama one of "The World's Most Influential People." He is listed among other leaders and revolutionaries. This same year, the British journal New Statesman names Obama one of "10 People Who Could Change the World."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005 <!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Less than two months after ascending to the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama bought more than $50,000 worth of stock in two speculative companies whose major investors included some of his biggest political donors.
One of the companies was a biotech concern that was starting to develop a drug to treat avian flu. In March 2005, two weeks after buying about $5,000 of its shares, Obama took the lead in a legislative push for more federal spending to battle the disease.
He also bought more than $50,000 in stock in a satellite communications business whose principal backers include four friends and donors who had raised more than $150,000 for his political committees.
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]A spokesman for Obama says the senator did not know that he had invested in either company.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama supports homosexual marriage, racial preferences, banning all guns, flag-burning, socialized medicine and the absolute right to abortion, including partial-birth abortions. He voted against requiring medical care for aborted fetuses who survive.
Obama is anti-war, voted against the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, against privatizing Social Security and opposes the death penalty, three strikes laws and school vouchers. He has no military service record. He strongly supports the decriminalization of marijuana.
Obama opposed the Defense of Marriage Act; would work to repeal it in the U.S. Senate; would not vote for any legislation that would restrict the ability of gays and lesbians to marry.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Project Votesmart reports that Obama supports the interests of Planned Parenthood 100%.
Obama supports the interests of NARAL Pro-Choice America 100%.
Obama supports the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 0%.
Obama supports the interests of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees 100%.
Obama supports the interests of the AFL-CIO 92%.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]Obama supports the interests of NARAL Pro-Choice America 100%.
Obama supports the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 0%.
Obama supports the interests of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees 100%.
Obama supports the interests of the AFL-CIO 92%.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2005<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama accepts rides on corporate jets, some to attend his own fundraisers.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2006<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama becomes the Senate's point man on ethics and says he will no longer accept rides on corporate jets.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2006<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Project Votesmart reprts that Obama supports the interests of Planned Parenthood 100%.
Obama supports the interests of NARAL Pro-Choice America 100%.
Obama supports the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 0%.
Obama supports the interests of the American Immigration Lawyers Association 88%.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2006<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] Here is a video of Obama enthusiastically campaigning for openly socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sanders, who won his seat in 2006, called Obama "one of the great leaders of the United States Senate," even though Obama had only been in the body for less than two years.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2006<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]In the first 18 months of his first Senate term Obama was also writing his second book, "The Audacity of Hope." Immediately after finishing that, he built up support for his upcoming Presidential campaign by campaigning for other Democrats in 2006, took part in a book tour, made a few appearances on entertainment shows, and began his campaign for the presidency. Not much time for doing what he was elected to the Senate to do -- represent the people of Illinois.Obama supports the interests of NARAL Pro-Choice America 100%.
Obama supports the interests of the National Right to Life Committee 0%.
Obama supports the interests of the American Immigration Lawyers Association 88%.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
As for the originality of "The Audacity of Hope," a New York Times article contains a few surprises there as well. The individuals that Obama sent first drafts to for comments comprise a Who's Who of liberal Democratic Party insiders, some of whom are now associated with his campaign: David Axelrod, Anthony Lake, Gene Sperling, Samantha Power, and Cass Sunstien.
Sunstein, in particular, notes that he made many comments on the manuscript -- a few of which made it into Obama's book. This differs from the official spin about the book, which is that it is a liberal manifesto penned solely by Barack Obama.
One wonders if eventually we will find out more about these collaborations of Obama's -- for an example see Ted Sorenson's recent admission (May '08) of what he had previously denied for 40-plus years verbally and in writing -- that he ghost wrote the book that John Kennedy used to win a Pulitzer, "Profiles in Courage."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2007<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama said, on Tuesday, January 16th, that he is taking a first step toward running for president next year by "filing papers today to create a presidential exploratory committee."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2007<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Obama formally announces he is a candidate for the Office of the President of the United States of America on February 10th, thirty-six years after writing the essay, "I want to be President," as a child.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2007<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]In April, the beatification of Obama begins when Time magazine names Obama one of "The World's Most Influential People." He is listed among other leaders and revolutionaries. This same year, the British journal New Statesman names Obama one of "10 People Who Could Change the World."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2007<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]November -- Obama has missed the most votes of any Democratic presidential hopeful in the Senate over the last two months, including a vote on an Iran resolution he has blasted Sen. Hillary Clinton for supporting.
The Illinois Democrat has missed nearly 80 percent of all votes since September.
Obama routinely avoids voting on any issue that is not helpful to Muslim goals.
For example, Obama missed a vote on a resolution that declared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, an elite part of the Iranian military, a terrorist organization.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]In a National Journal article, dated January 31st, Obama was identified as the most liberal senator in 2007. According to the Journal's 27th annual vote ratings, the insurgent presidential candidate shifted further to the left last year in the run-up to the primaries, after ranking as the 16th- and 10th-most-liberal during his first two years in the Senate.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]February 1st -- The Times (UK) has discovered Illinois state documents recording that Fintrade Services, a Panamanian company controlled by Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born British billionaire, lent money to an Obama fundraiser in May 2005.
The undeclared $3.5 million (?1.8 million) payment from the corrupt businessman has landed Tony Rezko, Barack Obama?s former fundraiser behind bars.
The payment, disclosed in court papers, is the first time that Mr Obama?s long-serving bagman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Syrian immigrant to the United States, has been linked to Nadhmi Auchi, who is one of Britain?s richest men. The relationship is a potential embarrassment for Obama, who has made his opposition to the Iraq war a central plank of his campaign.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]March 7th -- Obama's "commitment" to Afghanistan: He believes the US "took its eye off the ball" when we went into Iraq, and promises to refocus on Afghanistan as president.
The reality is that since Obama began chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee?s Subcommittee on European Affairs in January 2007, not a single policy hearing has been conducted on anything, Afghanistan or otherwise.
When Hillary Clinton brought this up at the Cleveland debate, Obama conceded, "I became chairman of this committee at the beginning of this campaign. ? So it is true that we haven?t had oversight hearings on Afghanistan." ?Nuff said.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]April 7th -- Obama is chair of The Subcommittee On European Affairs.
It has Jurisdiction over the countries of Europe, as well as NATO activities. "Jurisdiction: The subcommittee deals with all matters concerning U.S. relations with the countries on the continent of Europe ... and with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe."
He hasn't convened a single meeting.
Obama has never held a single policy hearing on anything, not Afghanistan, or anywhere else.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]April 14th -- U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, a Hebron Republican, compared Obama and his message for change similar to a "snake oil salesman" [at a Northern Kentucky Lincoln Day dinner].
He said in his remarks at the GOP dinner that he also recently participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama.
"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]April 21st -- While Obama has been campaigning, his duties in the Senate have taken a hit.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]"The Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Diplomacy Promotion Act of 2006," is his single legislative accomplishment since joining the Senate.
In the more than three years that Obama has been in the Senate, his first and only bill sends American taxpayer's money to Africa.<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]
</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="48"><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2008<!--mstheme-->[/FONT]</td> <td><!--mstheme-->[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]April 24th -- Obama's call for postpartisanship looks unconvincing, when he is unable to point to a single important instance in his Senate career when he demonstrated bipartisanship. And his repeated calls to remember Dr. Martin Luther King's "fierce urgency of now" in tackling big issues falls flat as voters discover that he has not provided leadership on any major legislative battle.
Mr. Obama has not been a leader on big causes in Congress. He has been manifestly unwilling to expend his political capital on urgent issues. He has been only an observer, watching the action from a distance, thinking wry and sardonic and cynical thoughts to himself about his colleagues, mildly amused at their too-ing and fro-ing. He has held his energy and talent in reserve for the more important task of advancing his own political career, which means running for president.[/FONT]</td></tr></tbody></table>
