by J.R. Anthony

Created on: May 17, 2007   Last Updated: March 19, 2008

Barack Obama can defend the country - with his bare hands.

He can bring forth unity and bipartisanship simply by flashing his smile.

He can heal thousands of years of racial biases, by doing nothing more than being himself.

And he can make life better for every American, and make every American proud to be a citizen of these great United States.

This is about the depth of any rhetoric you're getting from the Obama campaign at the moment. Tremendous claims. Nothing to back them up.

You see, the fact is Barack Obama IS magnetic and charismatic. He IS a pretty darn good speaker. He CAN gather a crowd.

But so can Britney Spears. And she's not qualified to be president, either.

The great hope that surrounds Barack Obama is indeed a phenomenon in the Democratic Party. "What's this?" Democrats say, "We've got someone who sounds optimistic! We've got someone who will call this country great! We've got someone who says there's reason for hope!"

Yeah. Hope is an appealing idea. And Obama is peddling it with all his might.

But stack up the message in one hand and the messenger in the other. You've got a mighty big difference there.

Obama has skyrocketed to the top tier of Democratic presidential hopefuls... but for what?

Talk.

Yes, talk.

Please, point out to me his landmark accomplishment. He's been a senator for just a few years. Has he sponsored any landmark, country-changing legislation?

The fact is, he hasn't even TOUCHED controversial subjects. He's voted "present" when anything divisive has come up on the floor of the Senate. He once withheld a vote on a partial birth abortion ban. Now, think - fellow lawmakers were talking about whether a mother has a right to partially deliver her child before killing it. What kind of man doesn't even have an opinion on something like that?

If you don't do anything, your opponents will have nothing to criticize, right?

That appears to be his approach.

So, he takes it.

He can cook minute rice in half a minute.

He can leap buildings in a single bound.

He can find Waldo in a split second with one eye shut.

And when anybody says, "that's bull!"

"Well," he can respond, "tell me when I've ever tried that and failed."

The only thing is, he's never tried.

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