Only as Strong as the Weakest Link

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) speaks well; he campaigns well. Sen. Obama brings youth; he brings new voters. Sen. Obama creates history; he creates a nice motto. Sen. Obama beat Hillary; but can he beat the Republicans? Yes, this year’s eternally long primary season highlighted many of Sen. Obama’s strengths, but it neglected to elaborate on his weaknesses — the inexperience, the questionable policies, the liberal extremism.

Just like the kids born when Sen. Obama entered office, the Illinois legislator still has his training wheels on. The only difference is, no one would put a 4-year-old in the Tour de France. As a result of his political primitiveness, Sen. Obama’s foreign/energy/economic strategies are reflective of an inexperienced policymaker.

Sen. Obama talks about his foreign policy initiatives — planning to withdraw from Iraq almost immediately after entering office. Yet he refuses to visit our soldiers and see the progress. The senator from Illinois claims to want to help the poor and clean up the environment, yet he supports energy policies that do little for the environment but “gradually” raise energy costs for America’s poor. The Democratic candidate asserts he will fix the ailing economy yet supports policies economists fear will derail America’s economic infrastructure.

Beyond policies, though, a president should unite, not divide; however, Obama’s severe case of liberalism segregates the country into left and right. Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) recently stated he might vote for Obama, but he refuses to endorse him. Why? Because the congressman believes Obama is the most exclusive club’s liberalist. As such, he doesn’t believe he can represent his constituency if he endorses the Democratic nominee. Others have joined the Boren ranks. Sen. Obama’s “Unite for Change” slogan seemingly calls only for liberals (actually, extreme liberals) to join, thereby polarizing a country that is already ripping apart stitch by stitch. If he can’t convince his own party to band together, how will he unite a country?

Failing to acknowledge weaknesses does not translate into an absence of flaws, and finding the strongest links doesn’t prevent the chain from breaking. We have the choice to either anticipate the weak link or we can wait … wait until the last moment when the chain is most strained … wait until the instant the country is most vulnerable … wait until it can no longer hold … wait until it snaps.

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