Obama is vulnerable

Obama—who is portrayed as this pseudo-messianic, unstoppable juggernaut—is more vulnerable in November than is generally held. Many of you know several of the reasons.

Here are three more (actually, make it four):

The black thing.

NO, not the fact that he is black. There are very few people who will vote against him solely for genetic reasons involving skin color. But if this starts to become a thing where Obama's candidacy becomes a vessel for racial animus, black resentment, and a feeling of separatism, that will be a serious problem for Obama.

The vast majority of white Americans are not racist. Republicans, white Republicans, would turn out in droves to vote for Michael Steele or Ken Blackwell, for example. White Democrats are going to turn out for Obama.

But Americans, in spite of the left's efforts to balkanize us, still intuitively understand the American ideal: That America is a land of many peoples, but we are one America. We are a collection of individuals, not a collection of groups.

Americans rightly feel bad for our racist past (though it's Democrats who really should, since they're the ones who kept it alive for so long). However, Americans in 2008 are not going to be impressed if Obama's candidacy starts creating a climate of hostility and resentment. This is not 1960. Problems remain, and people know that, but they're not going to be impressed if some giant, angry, separatist thing develops in 2008.

Enter the National Anthem controversy in Denver.

Singer Opts for 'Black National Anthem' Over 'Star-Spangled Banner'

A jazz singer shocked some Denver residents after replacing the words to the national anthem with those of the "Black National Anthem" during the annual State of the City address this week.

Rene Marie was asked to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper delivered the annual address on Tuesday. Instead, she sang the lyrics of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" — a hymn commonly referred to as the "Black National Anthem" — to the tune of the national anthem, MyFOXColorado.com reported.

People feel bad, but they WANT to move past it, to make one America. Don't believe me, believe the comment thread on an ABC blog. Not exactly a haven for open racists, ABC's blog is going to have average, probably mostly slightly left-of-center Americans. Look what they have to say:

This is not artistic but rather an outrageous behavior and extremely insulting to the average American. The National Anthem is not a song that should be re-written nor the music be re-arranged. It is the National Anthem of the United States of America and ALL Americans, as such it is sacred and not to be trifled with for activist ethnic reasons nor political protest. It is to be respected and recited as written.

I am outraged beyond belief! Ms. Marie needs to understand that the National Anthem is not for her to alter. For that matter, it is not up for any US citizen to remake for their own public display or benefit. I'm a Democrat and really taking offense at how some folks are trying to heighten the race tactic by their selfish and self-centered motives since Obama is now on the ticket. If this is a taste of what our nation will turn in to should Obama be elected, I for one, will be thinking long and hard about what is best for our country at large!

It was a huge outrage! I cannot believe anyone would want to alter the words to our national anthem and sing it publicly, full well knowing she was doing something she wasn't asked to do. She was asked to sing the national anthem, not her personal version of it and she took it upon herself sing her own personal version of it publicly.

This woman overstepped her boundaries. She was hired or selected to sing the National Anthem of the United States of America at a public event....not to render her artistic interpretation of something to the anthem's tune. She was trying to make a "black" statement and the fact that she told NO ONE what she planned to do is just proof that she knows she was wrong to do it....and would probably have been asked not to or not permitted to sing at all if she had. It was disrespectful, misrepresentative and very unprofessional....but hey...if you watch the news, you now know her otherwise unrecognizable name, now don't you??...uh huh...that's what I thought.....

The National Anthem is for the Nation and not an ethnic choice. Is this type of change we are to expect if Obama is elected. What's next the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance and what else does the change candidate have in mind.

Granted, this was her and not Obama himself, but if stuff like this keeps happening, the lines are going to get blurry. White guilt will quickly turn to white resentment.

The money thing.

Obama's got more of it, but not as much more as is being portrayed. And the RNC is far outraising the DNC. Yes, Obama will raise more, and he'll get a big boost from billionaire megalomaniac George Soros and the unscrupulous hordes of ACORN, MoveOn.org, and the like.

But will it be enough? Karl Rove wonders...

Can Barack Buy the Presidency?

On the money front, how do Sens. Obama and McCain stack up? No contest, it seems. Since the campaign began, Mr. Obama has raised a staggering $295-plus million, versus Mr. McCain's almost $122 million. But that's misleading.

Mr. Obama spent a lot to win the nomination. So how much cash did he and his rival have when the general election effectively began in June? As of May 31, Mr. Obama had $43.1 million on hand while Mr. McCain had $31.6 million – a significant but not overwhelming advantage.

There is also the cash raised by the Republican and Democratic National Committees. Each candidate depends on the party committees for certain expenditures – registration, voter identification and get-out-the-vote drives, materials distributed by volunteers, even some advertising. Here, the Republicans had $53.5 million in hand on May 31, versus the Democrats' paltry $4 million. Thus Mr. McCain and the RNC have $38 million more than Mr. Obama and the DNC.

Keep reading. Rove's points: his money advantage will be there, but money is not enough.

Obama is getting drunk with powerlust and spending money in states like Alaska and Montana. Let's hope he continues to get more overconfident.

And finally,

The flip-flop thing.

The flip-flops keep coming. Thee smart game for the left would be top try to find some McCain flips, but it's going to be hard for them to keep up, since Barack has many more in a short career and McCain, who may arguably have some, has far fewer in a far longer career. Someone's going to make a list of them soon, and it's not going to help Obama.

Here's the latest from Redstate:

New game: Try to figure out what the Obama campaign thinks about Iraq

Over the last 48 hours, senior advisers in Barack Obama's campaign have articulated (at least) 3 separate positions on Iraq. Chief campaign strategist David Axelrod, campaign co-chair Senator McCaskill, and foreign policy advisor Susan Rice all expressed different positions. Watch them...

Lack of experience and campaign advisers who are all over the map---it's just going to get worse.

Oh, okay, one more:

The "I'm really just another corrupt Chicago Democrat" thing.

Rezko, strong-arm politics, and possibly preferential treatment on a loan...

Enjoying the good life in a mean country

Obama's loan came from Northern Trust, whose employees have also donated $71,000 to Obama's campaign. This is, of course, the same home purchase in which Obama was assisted by his fundraiser, convicted felon Tony Rezko, who bought the adjacent lot for the seller's full asking price, while Obama paid $300,000 less than the asking price to the same seller for the house.

It has come to light that several Democratic Senators availed themselves of sub-market mortgages under circumstances that are more or less suspicious. Obama is in that rather tawdry category.

What is most striking to me, though, is not that Obama shaved a fraction of a point off his mortgage by being a politically powerful customer. It is, rather, the rapidity with which Obama was able to turn his ascension to the Senate into material wealth. The Post describes the Obamas' mansion, purchased just a few months after Obama became a Senator

Don't despair. Fight!