A Weak Resume: Five Reasons Not To Vote for Barack Obama

Now I know that headline is going to bother a lot of people, and I expect that I'll be flamed endlessly, or at least from now until Election Day. But as someone who cares deeply about this country, I hope to reach just a few people who have not yet made a decision about who to vote for, or those of you who are leaning toward Obama but still have an open mind. While speeches and campaign promises are the common focus in a presidential campaign, our decision should also take into consideration the person beyond the rhetoric. We need to know who the candidate is, what he thinks, and how he got to where he is. What we're doing in this election, as in all other presidential elections, is hiring someone to act as chief executive of these United States, as well as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. As such, we should closely examine the resume of the applicants. So, if you'll bear with me, we'll take a look at Barack Obama's resume.

1. Experience. Most employers ask for a certain amount of experience when hiring senior management. It's only common sense: after all, if you're filling an important position, shouldn't you look at the experience of the applicant? So I have to ask, does it make any sense to hire someone who has about three years of experience at the federal government level, and only a few more at state level? And in jobs that are not similar to the one he's applying for?

Look at it this way. You've moved into a new neighborhood, and you're shopping for a doctor. Given two candidates, one just out of medical school, and another with decades of experience, who would you trust your life to?

2. Accomplishments. As we continue to look at resumes, we'll want to know what kind of experience our job applicants bring with them. Here Obama is noticeably deficient. I don't see a single piece of major legislation, at either the federal or state level, with his name on it. Nor have I heard his campaign touting any accomplishments in his tenure as a community organizer - a hospital refurbished, a housing development built, anything to point out with his name on it. I also don't see any articles he's written as editor of the Harvard Law Review. Aside from the two books he's written (besides, he's not applying for the job of editor in chief, but Commander-in-Chief), what has he done? And let's face it; the majority of books written by politicians are ghostwritten. His likely was; I find it hard to believe that as editor of the Harvard Law Review he left no written record.

3. References. You can usually learn a great deal about someone by looking at his or her friends and associates. While none of us are necessarily responsible for every action of those friends and associates, who we choose paints a fairly accurate picture of who we are. So then, who is on Obama's resume?

• William Ayers, the man who hosted Barack's coming-out campaign party when he ran for the Illinois state senate, is a founder of the Weather underground, who placed a bomb in the Pentagon.
• Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who for twenty years preached (if his rhetoric can be called preaching) hatred of white people and America as pastor of the church Obama belonged to. This is the man that Obama chose to baptize his children.
• Franklin Raines, an early and prominent financial adviser to the Obama campaign (although not listed on the website as an official adviser), walked off with almost one hundred million dollars as head of Fannie Mae. Obama is the second largest Senate recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae, a noticeable achievement given that he's only been in the Senate less than four years. Fannie Mae's collapse - along with Freddie Mac's - kicked off the current financial crisis on Wall Street.

While Wright, Ayers, and Raines should raise questions about Obama's character, or at least his judgment, just as important is the noticeable lack of support from other major public figures. In a sense, it's like the dog that doesn't bark. Where are the people rushing forward to say they've known him for twenty years, and trust his judgment and character? Surely someone should know him well enough to vouch for him.

4. Background. We know the general outline of Obama's life. Raised in Hawaii and the Midwest, went to Columbia as an undergraduate, Harvard Law School, moved to Chicago, lawyered and lectured there, became a community organizer, state senator, then U.S. Senator. Now let's fill in the details, if we can. How did he get into Columbia (what were his grades)? What did he study at Columbia (what were his grades)? Who did he associate and study with? The same questions hold true for his time at Harvard. To date, the Obama campaign has been reticent - hell, let me say it - has refused to divulge his school transcripts or any information about his years in school. During the last two presidential campaigns, much was made of Bush and Kerry's grades. What about Obama - or is he to be held to a different standard?

5. Medical. Nearly any job applicant has to pass a medical test. Here again, the Obama campaign has refused to release his medical records. We know he's admitted to past use of cocaine, and that he sneaks a cigarette every once in a while. Is there any thing else he's hiding?

In summary then, if we examine Senator Obama as we would anyone who wanted to work for us, we'd have to take a pass on him and move on to the next applicant. He fails the test in every area that we should use to judge his qualifications.