Platform Follies

            Former President Bill Clinton gave a masterful speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on September 5th. Once again he showed that he has no equal in political oratory, although I couldn't help recalling that the finger he wagged at us throughout the speech was the same finger he wagged when he denied having sex with Monica Lewinsky. Be that as it may, his persuasive arguments in favor of President Obama's reelection made us believe that the President's multiple failures were actually successes. There was no fault to be found in a dismal economic record, intractable unemployment, and a $16 trillion debt.

            Clinton needed to revive the fractious atmosphere on the convention floor after the embarrassing vote on the Democratic platform. First, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa failed after three tries to secure a two-thirds voice vote to approve the platform. Then he brazenly lied and declared the vote passed, producing a chorus of boos from the delegates. That's when President Obama stepped in.
            The issues in contention were dual exclusions from the platform. The first was the absence of any mention of God, which was an affront to people of faith, especially black Baptist ministers. The second was failing to affirm Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which angered Jewish voters and other firm supporters of Israel.
            So what did Obama do? He forced the platform committee to put God and Jerusalem back into the party platform. His aides scurried to explain that Obama had been unaware of the original platform omissions, that they did not reflect Obama's real positions, and that they were the result of some kind of technical glitch. All lies.
            We know that Obama is not a religious person in the traditional sense. Oh, he has strong beliefs. He believes that government is the only god, the source of all goodness, and he is its anointed Messiah. People no longer need the God of religion... except maybe Allah, of course..
            On that score, we know that Obama is a Muslim. In spite of all his efforts to prevent the TV replay of speeches in which he professes his Muslim faith, he cannot prevent the Internet from doing so. We know of his support for a Palestinian state, for his coziness with the Muslim Brotherhood, and his weakness in support of Israel. I could go on.
            The point here is that President Obama's positions do not mirror those of the American people. He has taken minority positions on abortion, on same sex marriage, on religious freedom, on energy, on health care, on small businesses, on taxes, on job-destroying regulations, on government spending, on the Middle East, and on and on.
            When the platform committee came back with a revised proposal to include God and Jerusalem, it was greeted with boos from the anti-Semites and the secular wing of the party, thus showing that the President's policy of divisiveness is dividing his own party. 
            What does all this prove? Obama cannot pander to all minorities and win.