Taking Obama On His Own Terms

So Barack Obama intends to try, once more, to paint John McCain as that feared and dreaded beast: The second coming of George W. Bush.

Let's take Barack on his own terms. By his own (or his running mate's) admission, his administration will be entirely different from President Bush's -- or President McCain's. Let us count three of the biggest ways:

1. He will raise taxes -- even though a recession looms -- because he believes that the government knows better how to spend your money than you do.

John McCain says he will not raise taxes on anyone, especially during tough economic times; President Bush's tax cuts helped America recover from the tech bust and 9/11. And any member of the "middle class" waiting for the promised tax cut from the Obama Administration had better have infinite patience. He pleged to work for a "middle class tax cut" during his run for the US Senate four years ago. The result? Nothing.

2. His youth and inexperience will invite foreign crises, as Joe Biden pointed out last week, and his response to them will be unpopular. Let us hope that the attacks Biden references are not on American soil; if they are, don't count on a President Obama holding the perpetrators to account. When asked about the possibility of a terrorist attack, his focus was exclusively on emergency response, and a lot of "talk." No doubt Europe will applaud.

America's enemies are afraid of John McCain, and there have been no successful terrorist attacks on American soil since 9/11.

3. He will sign the Freedom of Choice Act, effectively striking down any and all legislative restrictions on abortion in this country.

Barack Obama is the most radical abortion rights candidate in American history. He opposed any restrictions on partial birth abortion, and was willing to leave living babies -- delivered as the result of a botched abortion -- to die.

So when Barack Obama tries to encourage voters to chant "change! change!" -- it might be worth taking a minute to consider whether his brand of "change" is something the country really wants.