This letter is in response to last week’s Alexandria Times endorsement of Barak Obama for president.

The candidate pool in the 2008 presidential election leaves much to be desired, from both parties. However, I am puzzled over the paper’s endorsement of Barack Obama. I have three questions to ask:

1. What’s he actually done as a Senator other than stand up and say “I voted against the Iraq war”?

2. In his “Plan for America” he lists 4 bullets: Federal Ethics Reform, Google for Government, Illinois Reform, and a High Standard. Two of these bullets have some substance, Federal Ethics Reform (teamed with
Feingold), and Illinois Reform (joined forces with former Ill Senator Paul Simon). The others have cutesy rhetorical statements.

3. What are his policies, what are his plans? He speaks of “Politics of Hope” but doesn’t really discuss how he will accomplish whatever it is he wants to accomplish. His website, like the candidate, is long on
rhetoric and short on substance.

The media has also focused on “endorsements” he’s received from Oprah Winfrey, Robert De Niro, and more recently, the Camelot Clan of the Kennedys who tend to live in their own fantasy world of alcohol abuse,
sex addiction, and drunk driving. Who cares what these people think? They live in a world that has different rules and doesn’t have the everyday problems that most of us experience of living from paycheck to
paycheck.

The man is long on charisma, much more than Bill Clinton, but he’s short on the real experience required. The Presidency of the United States has demands that go beyond looking good in a suit, talking about Hope, and trying to brush scandals like Tony Rezko under the rug. In short, Barack Obama is an empty suit, looks good on the outside but when you look for substance, there’s nothing there. Barack Obama is not the person for the job and this country would be much worse off if he became president.

TJ Parmele
Alexandria