Pin On, Pin Off, Pin On...

It reminds me of the scene from the movie The Karate Kid--'wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off.' Barack Obama can't seem to make up his mind about whether or not he wants to wear a pin of the American Flag on his lapel.

The last time I saw him he was commenting on the death of NBC newsman Tim Russert. Obama was wearing the flag pin on his lapel that day, after having made such a big deal a few months back about taking if off.

One remembers Obama 'waxing' eloquent (no pun intended) as he defended his decision to remove the pin because 'wearing a lapel pin of the flag doesn't make one patriotic.'

But now, apparently, the decision has been made, for one reason or another, to put the pin back on.

If the candidate is attempting to squelch the perception that he is unpatriotic by putting the flag pin back on, it is too late. The damage has already been done.

Hillary Wins, But The REAL News Is...

As expected, Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic primary in West Virginia by an overwhelming margin of landslide proportions. But the REAL news is what the exit polling shows concerning Barack Obama.

According to West Virginia Democrats who voted today, Obama is not trustworthy. 51% stated that the candidate has a problem with credibility and honesty.

In addition, one-third of Hillary's supporters said that if Obama is the nominee they will jump ship and vote for John McCain. Another 24% said they would stay home.

And the most damning fact of all in the exit polling is that upwards of 55% of Democrats in West Virginia stated that they would NOT vote for Barack Obama if he is their Party's nominee. This means that in a head-to-head matchup with John McCain, Obama would lose by double-digits, similar to his loss to Hillary tonight.

Apparently the 'Reverend Wright' factor has hurt Obama much worse than anyone had anticipated.

And that's not all. Obama faces Kentucky Democrats next, who are similar demographically to West Virginia Democrats. We can safely bet he will lose big time there as well.

John McCain, thus, has a golden opportunity at this moment in time to make significant inroads into 'Reagan Democrats' in the rust belt--Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, etc. Hillary has appealed to these mostly blue-collar white workers, but with her campaign faltering and over 20 million dollars in debt, McCain has an open window.

Obama will not get the Reagan Democrat vote. He is perceived as elitist and untrustworthy. He has made fun of their guns, religion, and lifestyle. For Obama, the chance to get these votes is over.

This is why McCain MUST stop talking about 'global warming' and come to Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and Illinois to talk about the nation's defense and 'values,' i.e., the sanctity of human life, the importance of family and worship, the commonly-held view in the heartland that a human being's most basic right is to self-defense and self-protection, i.e., gun rights.

McCain must also discuss with these voters economic issues, such as jobs, gas prices, healthcare. But he must do so in such a way that he doesn't scare these voters with any notion of a tax hike. In hard times, much to the chagrin of money-grubbing Democrats, voters do NOT want the government taking more money out of their paychecks at a time when they are having trouble making ends meet.

Thus, the West Virginia Democratic primary has shown us the stark reality of Obama's glaring weakness and vulnerability. McCain should move quickly to capitalize on that vulnerability.

Too Much, Too Late

Like a man who suddenly realizes that he has stepped into quicksand, Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama was doing the fancy dance on Friday and Saturday, repeatedly denouncing and repudiating the man whom he has consistently described as his close friend, spiritual advisor and mentor, and Pastor.

But clearly this is a case of too much too late.

As indicated by the Shakespearean phrase, 'Methinks thou doest protest too much,' Obama's repeated attempts over the past 2 days to distance himself from his Pastor and spiritual guide of 20 years appears highly disingenuous and indicative of a man who has been caught in his own web of deceit.

If the Senator thought that the statements of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright were 'repugnant,' 'inflammatory,' and 'appalling,' then why did he not say so when the statements were first spoken?

The Reverend Wright has a long history of making anti-American and inflammatory statements. For Obama to suddenly claim, only now, that Wright's statements are to be repudiated and condemned smacks of political opportunism at its worst.

Obama has been caught with his pants down, and now he hopes no one noticed anything underneath as he quickly, with a magician's touch, claims nothing happened.

The fact is, however, that millions of Americans have seen the goods, and they ain't pretty.

For Obama to denounce and repudiate the views, beliefs, and statements of his spiritual advisor and Pastor after 20 years of attending his church and sitting under his tutelage is one of the most ridiculous displays of deception that we have ever witnessed in politics.

During the 20 years that Obama sat under the almighty wisdom of the Reverend Wright, he has been treated to a regular diet of anti-Americanism (Wright once stated from the pulpit 'God damn America'), fixing blame for AIDS and the 9/11 attack on the U.S. Government, anti-Semitism (he claims the U.S. is evil for supporting Israel over the Palestinians), and perhaps the most damning statement of all, insisting that those who attacked us on 9/11 acted appropriately and justifiably in retaliation against American foreign policy.

Never once did Barack Obama repudiate any of these statements...until the mess hit the fan last week with widespread news reports concerning Wright's 'controversial' views.

It was then and only then that the candidate decided it would be best to publicly denounce the man he has always described in glowing terms.

To put it in the modern vernacular, 'This AIN'T gonna cut it.' And Americans are already seeing right through it.

In one single 24-hour period, according to the Rasmussen poll which monitors these things on a daily basis, Barack Obama's support has fallen 5 percentage points. Hillary Clinton's support has risen by 4 percentage points. And John McCain has now surpassed both Obama and Hillary in head-to-head matchups, beating Obama by 5 points and Hillary by 4 points.

Although it is still way too early to tell, perhaps voters are seeing that the halo they have placed around Obama is crooked and has holes. The one thing the candidate had going for him was his supposed lack of any semblance of disingenuousness, dishonesty, or 'dirty politics.'

One thing is for sure whether the voters get it or not, Obama can no longer claim clean hands.