We are fond of saying, “Twenty-four hours is an eternity in politics.” Once again, this worn, old saying is proving itself true. So much can change so quickly in the political world, as we have seen this week.
Gov. Sarah Palin delivered the most memorable speech by a vice-presidential candidate in recent history. On top of all that, she delivered memorable lines with perfect timing while making it look easy. She did it while using a TelePrompTer that was not properly working.
Everyone in the room sensed she was having the time of her life. She loved the stage and the camera loved her.
America has a new darling, and Barack Obama is reeling.
Why do we know he is off his game? He is beginning to make mistakes. Thursday night on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” is only the latest misstep.
He flip-flopped on Iraq and the surge. Barrack Obama has until now doggedly opposed the surge and mocked its success. Now he is in reverse gear, telling O’Reilly, “I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated.”
Meanwhile, he is still refusing to retract his initial opposition to the surge. “I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.” His ego won’t allow him to admit mistakes.
Within minutes of his change of positions, the leftwing blogs lit up. Code Pink, Moveon.org and the other far-left supporters that helped nominate him are unhappy.
But his backtracking didn’t stop with the surge. Obama went on to say this about the War on Terror, and I quote for accuracy:
Bill O'Reilly: "Do you believe we are in the middle of a War on Terror."
Barack Obama: "Absolutely."
Bill O’Reilly: "Who's the enemy?"
Barack Obama: "Al Qaeda, the Taliban, a whole host of networks that are bent on attacking America, who have a distorted ideology, who have perverted the faith of Islam and so we have to go after them."
Then he changed his stance on Iran:
Bill O’Reilly: "The next President of the United States is going to have to make a decision about Iran whether to stop them militarily, because I don't believe, if diplomacy works - fine, but you've gotta have a plan B and a lot of people are saying look Barack Obama's not going to attack Iran...
Barack Obama (interrupts): "Look, look here's where you and I agree. It's unacceptable for Iran to possess a nuclear weapon. It would be a game changer and I've said that repeatedly. I've also said I would never take a military option off the table."
So there you have it. President George Bush, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain now all have the same position on Iran. Seems like just last week Obama was giving us a lecture from Denver on how America needed more talks with these proud members of the axis of evil.
This complete reversal on foreign policy could undermine the anti-war base vote he needs to win. His coalition needs the anti-war message to hold together.
But this is his reaction to the attacks of a Hockey Mom from Alaska who took him to the woodshed on foreign policy while 37 million Americans watched. Gov. Palin called Obama’s strength and resolve on security issues into question, and America is listening. Barrack Obama’s immediate reaction is to change positions.
We wonder how he will do with Vladimir Putin.
We are believers: “The only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member