Gordon Doesn't Get It

Brown is set to deliver his 'carpe diem' speech of a lifetime to a joint Congress but no-one is listening. An icy wind is blowing across the US political landscape with questions about Obama's policies while his popularity remains at an all-time high. 

A frosty photo of Brown and Obama says it all. Deluded Brown just doesn't get it. He has neither the luxury of popularity nor policies. 

A recent NBC/WSJ poll shows starkly the gap between the personal popularity of the president and the popularity of his policies as the administration pretends the crises in the financial and housing sectors will go away, all on their own. 

And that shows potential dangers for Obama and the Democrats, which Brown seems blissfully unaware of. 

Obama now owns the recession. Echoing Brown, he believes massive spending and borrowing will strengthen the country, investing in health care, education, and energy. Like here, critics argue these massive programs will bankrupt the country.

But Democrats know they have a tight grip on Capitol Hill. As long as pet policies are pushed through, they are happy to go along until the wheels finally fall off the Obama bandwagon. Clinton is happy to go along for the ride. 

If the US  continues to borrow, at some point  the world won't be willing to lend, calling into question America's status as a financial safe-haven with higher interest rates the only option.

According to the poll, part of the reason why Obama's numbers remain high, despite these economic fears, is that the public doesn't blame the president for the current state of the economy.

Here Brown has no such luxury. But he's is sticking to his guns with the same tired old mantra blaming everything on global this and that and refusing to wear the hair-shirt and accept some responsibility for causing the mess in the first place. 

Both his chancellor and Brown's buddy Balls have changed the narrative and starting to come clean but those mixed messages coming from government just confuse the public. That's exactly what happens when a government is in terminal decline and collapse.

Alice Miles, writing in The Times, has already fired off a warning shot with a heartfelt plea echoed by the Orange Party yesterday: 

"Nothing will get better on Mr Brown's watch. Not even with the Pope on his side. Not even if he visits Mr Obama every week. Not even with a “partnership of purpose”. We need an election."

Yesterday's shambles finally saw Brown and a weary-looking Obama posing for a photo-op. But behind the scenes the Obama's aides continued to try to drum up support for his budget, arguing with the slick smooth message of hope that spending $3.6 trillion would prove responsible in the long run.

But while Brown addresses the joint Congress, listening politely while Twittering under the table, the US media has latched on to the return of the old warrior, McCain, who has suddenly found fire in his belly. 

Yesterday, he exploded: "I hope the American people will rise up - rise up!" he exhorted. "If it sounds like I'm angry, it's because I am."

Lashing into Obama's broken election promise to change from the wasteful, disgraceful, corrupting practice of earmark, pork-barrel spending, McCain said the pork-barrel bill is insulting to the American people.

"I want to freely acknowledge that Republicans were guilty of this as well," said the old Mac, back with full fury and wearing a hair-shirt on behalf of the GOP. 

Brown's Audacity of Hype Washington tour was carefully stage-managed to try  to ride on the back of Obama, hoping some of the magic will rub off on him ahead of an election. 

But while Obama continues to be Mr Popular, his policies are turning some into the Mr Angry of Cameron's Conservatives and voters here. 

Without popularity or policies which capture a public mood, Brown has been a dead man sleepwalking on Capitol Hill. 

Can the country really stand another 14 months of a politician obsessed with a general election and how to wrong-foot the Tories? 

The irony is Brown could probably win back a few votes if he would only act in the interests of the country and not of his own arrogant, self-serving interest. 

As Miles in The Times puts it: "Humiliated, hopeless, paralysed. Time to go." 

UPDATE: The 'speech' was finally made as part of a polite, formal, carefully staged-managed, ego-massaging event with Brown receiving exactly the same number of standing ovations - 19 - as Blair. What a coincidence!

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God Help America Now

America faces a disturbing and unsettled future after voters were taken in by the most powerful and expensive marketing machine in US history. Obama talked the talk. The media helped him sell a soap powder dream. But with false hope comes shattered dreams. 

The Orange Party was born out of the lunacy of Blair's New Labour Project but Obama quickly came on the radar.

Since the Main stream media was obviously not going to do anything about him, someone had to say something about the sham.

In the early days of June 2008, the first article was published, following a visit to friends in the US. That was a short, innocuous piece, “Is Obama Too Good To Be True?“, in which the Orange Party questioned a guy who seemed to be a product of a slick marketing machine and packaged up like soap powder. Another Tony Blair. 

"He talks the talk but his words and slogans can mean anything to anybody. Are we being manipulated? Is Obama just too good to be true? He's a PR composite. All things to all people. A figment of the ad man's imagination. The darling of the media elite."

Friends in the US from all backgrounds were enlisted and not a Republican among them. All would be happy to spit on Bush's grave. They gave the steer and the confidence to swim against the tide of increasing Obama adulation. 

At that time, issues of his funding, background, links with dodgy Chicago characters, ACORN and double speak, were all unknowns but well known by others. 

Something was wrong. About his rhetoric, the sycophancy of the media and its Faustian pact. It didn't smell right. 

It centred on the fact that selling Obama in this way was both meaningless and dangerous, when the US was facing so many complex problems at home and abroad. 

A guy who is so willing to sell empty slogans, had to be hiding something. And he was. What we know about Obama today is quite disturbing. 

Stanley Kurtz, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, writing in NRO, summed it up in the days before polling. 

"In his heart and soul, Barack Obama was and remains a radical - stealthy, organizationally sophisticated, and when necessary tactically ruthless. The real Obama the man beyond the feel-good symbol is no mystery. He’s there for anyone willing to look. Sad to say, few are."

Here, former Times and Sunday Times editor and author of The American Century, Harold Evans, was scathing about the Obama media bias as he flagged up fair and reasonable concerns. 

"The US media have been captivated by Obama, at the expense of their curiosity and scepticism... All the mainstream national outlets were extraordinarily slow to check Obama's background."

From his questionable citizenship, through ACORN and his associations with Ayres, Wright, Khalidi and crook Tony Rezko, all have now been left up in the air in the hope they'll be quietly forgotten.

Even a casual look into his background, tells you that “hope” and “change” were never on his agenda. Like a slick snake-oil salesman, he was trying to be everything to everyone.

The mere fact that so many Americans have been taken in, all for the sake of an invented promise, a deluded dream and a misguided message of hope, sends mixed messages to the rest of the world.

Obama and McCain split nearly 50-50 on the popular vote (52%, 47% at the time of writing) but it was always going to be down to the State electoral colleges (349, 163). And that's where the Republicans took their eye off the ball, chasing instead the popular vote. 

The Obama victory today, shows that half American voters simply don't want to ask questions about the man who will be their president. 

It means that most Americans want to put a false hope in a nanny state, in which all is taken care for them by the magical Wizard of Oz. 

It means they are happy to destroy the US and the core principles of freedom and liberty. 

It means they have put their faith in a man who has deliberately whipped up the race card for selfish political advantage at home. And sent a confused and unstable message abroad. 

Choosing McCain, would have salvaged a few crumbs of dignity and tradition. Instead, Obama deals a death blow to America. 

Along the way the Orange Party has been inundated with visitors from the US and beyond and made many friends and many enemies. 

Now all the arguments against Obama are firmly in the public domain and out there, in past posts here and in the blogsphere. 

If the US still has a healthy soul in there somewhere, its citizens will now do the right thing and question, question, question, while they wait for the worm to turn.

God Bless America. And God help her now.

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Reading The Runes On Election Night

Election fatigue has turned into election fever as attention nervously switches to how to read the runes. The Orange Party's advice is to get an early night and in the morning blame it all on the media, the polls and some very slick marketing - or be thankful to them. If you do play Wee Willie Winkie - watch out for the 'call'.

The tracking polls, so favoured by the media, have now closed, with the previously accurate IBD/TIPP closing at Obama 51.5%, McCain 44.3%, a 7.2% lead. (RCP Average 52% Obama, 44.2% McCain, lead 7.8%). 

Neither is a double digit lead which would ensure an out and out Obama victory in the popular vote. 

As was pointed out here yesterday, these are just snapshots of opinion. This popular vote is not how this election will be played out. 

Many are issuing warnings about the exit polls, those supposedly secret polls, skewed to the Democrat's advantage and readily leaked. 

Bill McInturff, has issued a McCain campaign memo on reading the exit polls. He says they should be treated with a pinch of salt. These exit polls do, however, fix the news agenda for the TV networks.

If you must take note of the exit polls, swing over to Drudge. He has the ear of the Republican Party, so if he links to anything positive about Obama from any leaked exit poll - it must be true!

All that matters is the electoral college votes in the individual States and the magic 270. Obamakins and McCainites should keep an eye on the 'call' from one of the networks for the president-elect. 

For election junkies, AP points out the first clues will come early, in Georgia, Indiana and Virginia. If Obama wins any of these three, he's on his way to a possible landslide. A clean sweep for McCain and he's the comeback kid. 

If any one of these three are just too close to call quickly, then it's a long night ahead and down to the wire.

Because of the time zones, a candidate can reach the magic 270 electoral college votes before all the polls have closed. 

There's a tremendous temptation by media networks  to make that call once it hits anywhere near 270. And one of them will try to be first. Then it's all over bar the shouting, legal wrangles and a long haul to January. 

Yesterday the Orange Party threw in its one cents worth with a warning to hang onto your seats as this was going to be a roller coaster of a ride. Obama is media favourite but McCain could win. That prediction still stands.

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Hold On Tight, McCain Could Just Win

Hold onto your seats. This could be a roller coaster of a ride. The fat lady hasn't even cleared her throat ready to sing, yet the media and opinion polls have all called it for Obama. But they don't count for zit. The media isn't electing a president nor are the opinion polls, American voters are. And the race is tightening by the day.  

Take away the media bias and opinion polls and the odds suddenly start to stack more in McCain's favour. 

Opinion polls, even the RCP average, are a snapshot of opinion of a very small sample. They are not voter intentions set in stone. 

There are just too many balls up in the air. Race, religion, the Bradley factor, the Florida factor, Obama's lack of experience and background. How can a snapsho opinion poll mean anything? If you want a prediction, a horoscope is far more entertaining.

Even taking opinion polls on face value, Obama needs a consistent double digit lead throughout the RCP average in order to win. The predicted landslide doesn't stack up.

Today, the Republican favoured and in the past accurate IBD/TIPP daily tracking poll shows McCain on 44.6%, Obama 46.7% with 8.7% undecided. Independents are shifting from Obama to McCain, who's making inroads in the midwest.

Obama hasn't shifted much in the polls since the summer. McCain's numbers have gone up and down like a yo-yo. 

And then there's Hillary, with her huge PUMA support base. A large number of Hillary's gals and guys may tactically vote McCain. Clinton's shot at the presidency in 2012 needs a McCain win. These Democrats, who have never forgiven Obama, are strung across the States and statistically their votes could swing it.

There's a huge mass of undecided voters too. They will decide only on the day they actually vote. 

They have been targeted by the hornet's nest of Obama's background and associations, summed up today by Stanley Kurtz of NRO. 

No matter who or what you believe, mud sticks. And there's an awful lot of mud flying around. All part of the McCain strategy to drip-feed Obama's experience, background and credibility to sway those undecided.

Former Sunday Times editor, Harold Evans, delivered a damning indictment of the blatant media bias towards Obama. American folk are no fools either. The media may think and hope they have the result in the bag. They are not the same as the regular American voter. 

Then there are the battleground States, where the election is actually decided. Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. All in Obama's bag. Now all tightening. 

Even tracking polls are putting McCain and Obama tied among independent voters. A week ago, Obama was leading.

Much has been said of the youth vote who have turned out in their thousands as Obama cheerleaders. In Florida, where 3.4 million people have already voted, only 15 per cent of them were under age 35.

The media has rightly focussed on the huge and highly successful Obama effort to actually get voters to turn out to vote. But they have ignored the almost legendary Republican effort. 

While it would be naïve to discount race, this is much more a cause for the media than voters. Regular Americans don't give a stuff about the race of their president. It is only a serious issue among a few voters in a very few States.

Many naively compare the US election to a UK general election. They are two quite different beasts. 

In the US, voters vote for a president-elect. There could easily be a Al Gore moment. Even if Obama 'wins' the popular vote, he could still lose the state by state electoral vote, the magic 270, and with it the presidency. The president isn't sworn into office until January. That's a long time in politics. And that's why Hillary is playing it cool. 

Voters vote for a president and vice-president on the same ticket. The VP's sole job is to be on standby and fill a dead man's shoes. 

Voters have to decide, whoever is president, do they want Biden or Palin as president-in-waiting. And that makes for a whole different ball game.

Each US voter jealously guards their citizenship and is intensely patriotic. Voting for McCain or Obama boils down to a straight choice. Who will make the strongest commander-in chief and who will have the most trusty hand on the economic tiller. 

And that could boil down to an equally straight choice between an experienced politician, not tarred with the Bush brush, over a smooth talking guy with hopes and dreams and a slick Chicago marketing machine behind him.

The media has completely underestimated McCain and got totally carried away with Obama. That maybe their downfall. But then journalists, like opinion polls can always get it wrong.

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McCain Hits Out At Obama Khalidi Tape

Much of the US media took a break from its blatant pro-Obama coverage yesterday, to highlight a controversial Obama video which the McCain team says is being deliberately suppressed. 

The video, of Obama at a farewell party with PLO activists and former weather underground terrorists, is causing a media fury in the closing days of the race, with both McCain and Palin accusing a Los Angeles newspaper of deliberately refusing to release it. 


The row, reported heavily on Fox News, has finally been picked up and hinted at here in the UK by the BBC's Matthew Price who is following the McCain campaign. He suggests this may be part of McCain's 'October surprise', highlighted by the Orange Party last week. 

Both McCain and Palin have accused the Los Angeles Times of "intentionally suppressing" the video which shows Obama at a going-away party in 2003 for former PLO spokesman, Rashid Khalidi, attended by radical Palestinian activists and former Weather Underground terrorists, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. 

In a statement, the Los Angeles Times said it had written about the event in April and would not release the tape because of a promise made to the source who provided it. 

McCain and Palin said this was media bias as the LA Times has endorsed Obama's candidacy.

AP news has reported a fair and balanced account of the row. The tape is causing outrage on Republican and pro-Israel web sites. 

doug ross@Journal, who has seen clips of the tape, claims Obama talks to the audience during a toast, congratulating Khalidi for his work saying "Israel has no God-given right to occupy Palestine" plus there's been "genocide against the Palestinian people by Israelis."

Meanwhile political columnist and commentator on radial Islamic terrorism, Debbie Schlussel, who first got wind of the story, says the video was obtained from Arab American Action Network (AAAN) founder Abunimah, after she'd featured photos of Obama and wife Michelle seated with LO advisor, Edward Sad, at another AAAN banquet (pictured above).

She believes the newspaper learned of the other AAAN annual banquet dinner and the existence of the tape, at which Abunimah, Obama, Ayers, Dohrn, and Khalidi were present, after contacting Abunimah about the photos. 

Khalidi is a professor of Middle East Studies at Columbia University and a long-time friend of Obama's. 

McCain also has ties to Khalidi through a group that Khalidi helped found 15 years ago. 

Palin has criticised Obama for having links with Ayers, who was a founder of the radical domestic terrorist group the Weather Underground.

The existence of the tape and its contents has been swirling around the internet for weeks. The LA Times and most of its staff are strong Obama supporters. 

What is clear, is that this is part of the McCain strategy to focus on Obama's inexperience, credibility and character in an effort to sway undecided voters. The tape, other accusations and the state lawsuits over citizenship are all part of that October Surprise in these closing days. 

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Obama Citizenship Lawsuits Sweep US

A wave of state lawsuits challenging Obama's claims to US citizenship are sweeping across the United States, as the campaign enters its final days. The surprise move comes after Obama and the Democratic Party refused to give any evidence to a Federal court, following legal action challenging Obama's citizenship and eligibility to run for president.

Lawsuits have been filed in nine states at the time of writing – Hawaii, Washington, California, Florida, Georgia. Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Ohio. Could this be McCain's 'October Surprise'?

All the lawsuits are: "Seeking to Require Barack Obama to Provide Certification of Birth in U.S. before the Presidential election Or Be Removed as Presidential Candidate on State Ballots."

The lawsuits are similar to the action brought by Democrat lawyer, Philip Berg, reported by the Orange Party in August, which has failed to force Obama to produce official documentary evidence in court. 

Now lawyers and Berg on his website argue because Obama has not responded to the lawsuit with evidence to the contrary, that legally means the allegations are true.

Obama's claim to US citizenship may have been blown out of the water with a radio revelation that his own grandmother said she was there at his birth in Kenya, not Hawaii. 

That revelation came in an interview with Berg by controversial Republican talk-radio host,  Michael Savage, on his The Savage Nation radio show last week.

Obama has always maintained he was born in Hawaii to support his claim for US citizenship. 

Berg first filed the lawsuit in the Federal Court in Philadelphia ahead of the Democratic convention in August, in an effort to force the evidence. But the judge held off until after the official nomination of the Democrat candidate. 

The lawsuit came to a head last week, when, it seems, the judge threw out the Berg case and Obama and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) "failed to respond to the court."  

Obama and the DNC continually delayed providing certifying documentation of Obama’s birth and blocked the move, trying to prevent any further disclosure of evidence, as court records, outlined here disclose. 

The Berg lawsuit threw up some interesting assertions, noted on court documents. These include:

• Obama was born in Mombassa, Kenya in 1961 while his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was married to Barack Obama Sr., a Kenyan. 
• When his mother, divorced from Obama Sr, moved to Indonesia and married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian, Obama was adopted by Soetoro and became an Indonesian citizen. 
  
• While in Indonesia, Obama had his name changed to Barry Soetoro. 
• Obama travelled to Pakistan in 1981 under an Indonesian passport when Pakistan was a no travel zone for Americans. 
  
• Obama had “admitted” to receiving illegal contributions in his campaign for president. 
  
• There is also the allegation that Obama’s Kenyan grandmother claims that Obama was born in Kenya. 
  
• Libya leader, Muammar Gadhafi, has publicly claimed that Obama was born in Kenya and studied in Muslim schools in Indonesia. 
• Obama has also “admitted” to hold citizenship in another country while the US Constitution forbids dual citizenship.
  

The issue of Obama's citizenship was highlighted by the Orange Party, when US bloggers revealed an alleged copy of Obama's birth certificate, posted by his campaign team on the internet showing his birth place as Hawaii, was a fake. 

Later revelations centred on Obama's Indonesian school record which, as Barack Soetoro, showed Indonesian citizenship and a muslim religion.

The current spate of lawsuits, with details of the plaintiffs, is being reported by a number of US websites and bloggers, including African Press International (API) and most notably Yid with lid, Radar and Atlas Shrugs.

The US Constitution (Article II, Section 1) requires presidents to be "natural born citizens" of the US. 

Much of the US Main stream media has refused to investigate the Obama citizenship claims, with only passing references to his 'exotic' background. 

Now Andy McCarthy, of the influential National Review Online (NRO), has raised the whole issue and  concludes: 

"Instead of simply clearing up any questions — which you would think would take about five minutes — Obama's lawyers moved to dismiss the suit and failed to file a timely answer, meaning that, under the applicable rules (according to Berg), Obama is legally deemed to have admitted Berg's allegations that he is constitutionally ineligible to be president. Is it a serious issue, and why does Obama seem to be so squirmy about it?"

The Orange Party has long held the view, now supported by an increasing number of commentators, that doubts over Obama's eligibility should centre on legal and constitutional issues. 

These lawsuits and claims would be dropped and the matter cleared up once and for all, if Obama would simply provide the requested official, original, paper documents, supporting his claim of being born in Hawaii.

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