The swiftboating of Obama will soon be in full gear

One of the interesting aspects of the Republican party these days is to say things - I was being nice, I meant to say they LIE - about their opponents and then sit back and watch as the lie spreads. They obviously are well aware of the famous Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens quote, "a lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." They will also use innuendo - in this case, Right Wingers have taken to use Obama's middle name "Hussein" when they talk about him in the hopes that people will associate Obama with Saddam.

Here in Fort Wayne, Republican Cogressman Mark Souder said during a radio interview that hisDemocratic opponent, Dr. Tom Hayhurst, was in favor of amnesty for illegal aliens. Not only had Dr. Hayhurst never said that, Souder had, himself, actually voted for amnesty FIVE times. These guys will stop at nothing. We must remain vigil.

One example of the lie spreading took place yesterday on FOX news when Fox political analyst Dick Morris said, "Because anybody who thinks about Obama for five minutes knows the guy's never introduced a bill. He's never been important. He's spent 100 weeks in the Senate. He's basically a - no foreign policy experience. And she'll (Hillary Clinton) knock him apart."

Actually, there were two lies contained in that statement. To begin with, since Obama became a US Senator only two years ago, he has been the primary sponsor of one-hundred-fifty-two bills and resolutions that were introduced in Congress. Media Matters points out that Obama has:

• Introduced a bill (S.1194) directing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to establish guidelines for tracking spent fuel rods.
• Introduced a bill (S.1426) extending provisions in the Safe Drinking Water Act that relate to preventing and detecting contamination.
• Introduced a bill (S.1920) amending the Clean Air Act to establish a renewable diesel standard.
• Introduced a bill (S.3988) improving benefits and services for members of the armed forces and veterans.

The other part of Morris' statement that needs to be clarified is his assertion that Obama has no foreign policy experience - completely ignoring the fact that not only has he served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the past two years, he also majored in political science with a specialization in international relations at Columbia University.

We should be ready to dispel any and all of these swiftboating attempts to derail Obama as his star continues to rise. If these attacks on him and his character are beginning this early, they - the Republicans - must be pretty scared!

This article is cross-posted with my other blog, Left of Centrist.