Barack Obama: Pay no attention to the man behind the Speeches

Saying one thing to voters but intending to do another. Embellishing about one's past, in an attempt to ingratiate one's self to an audience. Employing lofty, uplifting speeches in order to unite us, but stauchly defending a personal advisor whose words betray an angry divisiveness.

Based on his rhetoric, Barack Obama would seem immune to the practices listed above, but recent revelations would argue otherwise. Untruth and the parsing of words is considered Clintionian by some, but Obama is apparently taking pages from the successful duo's playbook. I was quite surprised about how casually Obama, (H.Clinton included), spoke about unilaterally tearing up NAFTA. I thought strong unilateral action was a Republican trait, and an undesirable one at that. Yet there was both Democratic contenders attacking what was considered a signal North American trade accomplishment. Publicly alienating Canada, ( a stauch ally in Afghanistan and No.1 importer of U.S. goods), may be one thing, but secretly assuring the Canadians that this NAFTA tough talk is all just campaign jibberish to appease American primary voters is quite another. In a speech in Alabama, Obama shared with the audience that during the Selma civil rights marches in 1965, his parents were inspired to have a child (him). Except Obama was born in 1961. In Hawaii. PreacherGate is the latest (and perhaps greatest?) of the inconvenient truths about Barack Obama's life/campaign to come out. The vicous vitriol that Obama's spiritual advisor employed is, describing it mildly, upsetting. Whatever Rev. Wright's qualms with America and her social ills, demonizing others is no way to start a dialogue. By Obama's own admission, Wright has had a tremendous amount of influence over him, which begs the question: just how much?

A potential Obama Administration was supposed to provide a "new" brand politics, a politics of the future. Being a newcomer on the national stage, we as voters have little to gauge Senator Obama by, except his rousing speeches. In the end, though, what are speeches? Just talk.