Andy Martin takes a sledgehammer to Senator John McCain’s debate performance

Media expert Andy Martin’s afterthoughts on the first presidential debate. With forty years of experience in television, Andy says “John McCain must change for TV; TV will not and cannot change for him.”

Martin says Senator John McCain needs new “debate coaches,” now

On reflection, says Martin, McCain’s debate performance was abysmal
ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN NEEDS NEW DEBATE COACHES

MCCAIN’S FIRST TV DEBATE WAS A DISASTER, EVEN THOUGH INITIALLY IT LOOKED LIKE A “DRAW”

WITH FORTY YEARS OF TV EXPERIENCE, ANDY MARTIN SAYS “MCCAIN MUST CHANGE FOR TV; TV WILL NOT AND CANNOT CHANGE FOR HIM”

(CHICAGO)(September 30, 2008) I flew home to Chicago on Sunday night and the woman sitting next to me called Senator John McCain a “grumpy grandpa” in Friday’s national debate. Sad to say, she was not far off the mark. McCain did win on Friday, barely, but only because Barack Obama is an equally incompetent debater.

Let me begin with the obvious:

Senator John McCain is an outstanding public official. Senator McCain has an illustrious career of public service. He is a good and decent man. David Brooks of the New York Times summarized McCain’s positive attributes in a recent column:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/opinion/26brooks.html?_r=1&scp=8&sq=september%2026%202008&st=nyt&oref=slogin

McCain is also the only qualified candidate for president. And I will vote for McCain. But that does not mean I can remain silent in the face of McCain’s abysmal TV “face.” Unless McCain changes, he will lose. If he changes, he may win.

The senator is one of the worst TV performers, and one of the worst TV debaters, in recent national experience. McCain has to realize and accept reality: he has to change for TV; TV won’t and can’t change for him.

McCain’s “debate coaches” are now said to be helping Governor Sarah Palin prepare for her debate later this week. God help her. Palin’s “coaches” took someone who has been on TV for decades, Palin, and have made her look goofy in interviews. Some coaching. They coached Palin backwards, not forwards. Now they claim to be giving her more of the same medicine. Scary.

In this column I will analyze why, on reflection, McCain’s debate performance was so poor and why, unless he changes course and gets new debate advisers, he is doomed to failure, and we are doomed to four years of disaster under Barack Obama.

I speak from experience. People in Illinois have seen me debate on Channel 7 (WLS-TV). I can handle myself under the lights. I have been working in TV for forty years.

McCain operates under a number of fallacies.

First, McCain’s “experience” fallacy. McCain is an experienced candidate and public official. No doubt. He has a generally outstanding record. But most people are not going to make a decision based on McCain’s legislative record, could care less, and will judge him on how he appears on TV. That’s reality. McCain has to present his experience in a friendly way, without “You don’t understands” and the like. McCain has to learn to proffer his accomplishments in a less didactic manner. McCain made his experience a negative on TV last Friday. Hello, Senator Bob Dole.

McCain, moreover, sounded too much like a legislative technician. People are not voting for a legislative mechanic. They are voting for a “big picture” leader. McCain’s constant babbling about legislation is a downer for most voters and especially TV viewers. He needs to provide a vision. He completely failed to do on Friday. What the hell kind of preparation did he do? Was the debate a surprise, or what? Who takes the blame? McCain totally failed to present a vision of where he wants to lead us.

Second, McCain’s “no attacks” fallacy. If McCain were leading, he might be able to avoid attacking his opponent. But when he is behind, he has to give viewers a reason to reject Obama. The trend is Obama’s, not McCain’s. If McCain is going to win, he has to reverse the flow, not sit by and expect to prevail on his own merits. McCain has to invest his own prestige in taking down Obama. McCain may think he should win simply because he is the better candidate. Sorry, that’s not enough of a strategy when you fall behind.

Third, the “missing issues” fallacy. Sean Hannity of Fox News did an outstanding piece linking Obama to the mortgage loan scandal. McCain made no effort to present any evidence against Obama. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbyVvcDmLhQ

If Sean Hannity could get it right, why can’t McCain’s advisers do the same?

McCain made no effort to link Obama to ACORN. Yet ACORN handouts in the bailout bill were one factor that triggered massive public opposition to congressional offices. Does McCain even understand the ACORN connection? Does he care? Can he be trained to present it? One hopes.

Bad loans flowed from the 1999 law signed by Bill Clinton and endorsed by Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin (Goldman Sachs). Democrats pushed for bad loans. McCain was the proverbial deer-in-the-headlights with the financial crisis issue. Instead of counterattacking Obama and showing how Democrats created the crisis, McCain was supine and allowed Obama to relentlessly attack him as a Bush clone.

Fourth, the “small bore” fallacy. McCain was on a national stage. He had a platform to attack Obama and finish him off. Instead, McCain empowered and enhanced Obama’s credibility by sitting by and allowing Obama to present himself as a real candidate. If Obama wins, he will have McCain’s abysmal TV performance to thank.

McCain cheapened himself by bringing up the “bear DNA” issue again. The bear DNA earmark is a delightful morsel for a partisan audience. No problem there. But it was out of place on the national stage. If all McCain can talk about on a national platform is bear DNA he demeans himself and leaves the impression that he has no larger disagreements with Obama. A national audience is there to hear a debate on major issues. McCain diminished himself and 55 million viewers by raising a small bore issue. Next time, senator, use a magnum, not a peashooter. Don’t waste my time with stale jokes about bear DNA.

Fifth, McCain’s “Phil Gramm” fallacy. McCain should not be using Phil Gramm’s stale analogies. The “Ireland tax” issue McCain used is straight out of an interview with Gramm last June in the Wall Street Journal. Didn’t they have anything newer? Something original with McCain and not secondhand from Gramm? I wish.

Sixth, McCain’s Iraq fallacy. His comments on Iraq were pathetic and inadequate. All he had to say was, “Barack, your running mate Joe Biden voted for the invasion; Senator Clinton voted for the invasion. Senator such-and-such (Democrat) voted for the invasion. What did they know that you don’t know? Isn’t Biden your foreign policy expert? When you opposed the war, you were not a U. S. Senator, you were a state senator in Springfield. As Senator Clinton pointed out, when you got to Washington you started voting to support the mission. Stop trying to confuse the American people by suggesting you actually cast a vote against our Iraq policy when that is a complete lie.” (Because McCain’s overall response was pathetic, his correct point that we need to look forward, not backward, was lost in Obama’s sniper attacks.) McCain could have made a perfect volley and wiped out Obama. McCain was not properly prepared for what would be an obvious issue. He could have thrown the grenade right back at the Democrats. He missed the chance. Fat chance he’ll get another opening.

Over the past week McCain has done everything he can to enhance Barack Obama’s stature, and to diminish his own. Who is advising McCain? The results of McCain’s disastrous strategies are obvious in new polls. McCain has fumbled his lead to Obama.

McCain’s seventh fallacy is his stance on the bank bailout. McCain says he is voting “for” the bailout, but he also opposes it. (Note to Johnny Mac: the “improvements” you claim in the latest draft of the law are all illusory.) McCain is using John Kerryesque sophistry. Your contrapuntal position is much too convoluted for the average citizen to grasp. Are you for me or against me, they ask? McCain’s legislative subtleties are wasted on a TV set. There he is being the legislative technician again. A losing strategy.

Eighth, the “congeniality” fallacy. McCain keeps reminding people he is not “Miss Congeniality” in the senate. Who cares? He has to come across as Mr. Congeniality on the tube. McCain is supposedly coached by Brett O’Donnell. O’Donnell should be replaced today. O’Donnell completely failed to prepare McCain for TV. What did O’Donnell prepare McCain for? He was sure not prepared for a TV audience of 55 million viewers. Nosiree.

McCain might be stubborn, but if he refuses to accept TV advice he will lose, and the loss will be entirely his own fault. Congenial people on TV win audiences and win elections. McCain seems to think he can convince the American people to vote for him because Obama does “not understand” the world. That’s a massive misunderstanding of the camera. The camera does not like people who hector and lecture (luckily for me I am not speaking this column on TV; if I were, I would be smiling and using a rose petal, not a sledge hammer).

O’Donnell hasn’t even taught McCain how to smile. If McCain won’t listen to advice, maybe McCain should go back and watch The Gipper’s TV performances.

I would have prepped McCain entirely differently. Loosen him up. I understand he is a jocular person in person (or private). Why not let the real McCain shine through? He is not going to win by appearing as the grumpy grandpa.

Bottom line: McCain is his own worst enemy on TV. He fumbled a great opportunity to finish off Obama in the first debate, when McCain still had the lead. Now he has to come from behind, again.

If McCain was badly coached, get rid of his closest advisers. McCain is not going to change TV to fit him or to conform to his personality. McCain will either obey the “laws of TV,” or he will go down in flames. That should concentrate the attention of a fighter pilot.

P. S. I have received some criticism from readers who do not like me calling McCain “grandpa.” First, the “grandpa” analogy is not my original thought. Second, the fact that McCain is perceived that way by many others should concern him. Finally, McCain can take it. This column should be a wake-up call; it is not meant to be sweet and snuggly. See, hammer, sledge, above.
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Readers of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, say the book is still the only gold standard and practical handbook on Barack Obama's unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Book orders: http://OrangeStatePress.com. Immediate shipment from Amazon.com or the publisher now available.
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FULL DISCLOSURE: I recently decided to oppose Barack Obama's election and became Executive Director of The Stop Obama Coalition, http://StopObamaCoalition.com. By default, I became the national leader of the anti-Obama movement. I am not acting as either a Democrat or Republican. I have had no contact whatsoever with the McCain Campaign. I am not a member of any political organization. The views express are entirely independent. I am acting as an American citizen who sincerely believes Obama is not the man we need in the Oval Office. We are going to run a very dynamic and aggressive campaign against Obama. I will continue to write my news and opinion columns for ContrarianCommentary.com. /s/ Andy Martin
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Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He is currently based in New York selling his new book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Andy began forty years of broadcasting experience by becoming the owner of a TV station in 1968.

His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or cell (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]

“America’s Internet Warrior” leads battle to block Wall Street bailout

Andy Martin “ramps up” to make Congress keep voting down bank bailouts. Andy Martin says Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will go down in history as one of America’s most corrupt public officials. “Goldman Sachs owns both political parties,” says Martin. “This has to stop.” Martin says an Obama administration would also characterized by “kleptomania.”

Leading the battle to block the Wall Street bailout:

America’s Internet warrior Andy Martin

ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

ANDY MARTIN LEADS BATTLE TO BLOCK WALL STREET BAILOUT AND FIRES INTERNET MISSILES AT CONGRESS AND A WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE

“AMERICA’S INTERNET WARRIOR” WARNS OF “PAULSON’S PREDATORS”

MARTIN SAYS SEPTEMBER 29TH WILL BE REMMEBERED AS A HISTORIC DAY, WHEN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE STARTED FIGHTING BACK AGAINST WALL STREET GREED

(CHICAGO)(September 29, 2008) From his nondescript worldwide headquarters near downtown Chicago, American Internet warrior Andy Martin is leading the battle to block the Wall Street bailout. Andy Martin has been fighting for the People of Illinois and the United States for over four decades. He is the most notable acolyte of the late U. S. Senate reformer Paul H. Douglas.

“We have had to add computing power,” says Martin. “We are ramping up to keep the pressure on Congress to block the bailout. This is a war we can’t afford to lose. The American people are being robbed blind by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and his wolf pack of ‘Paulson’s Predators.’ They tried to intimidate the House of Representatives into voting for a massive giveaway, and failed. We need to ensure Paulson and his cronies keep losing.

“September 29, 2008 will be remembered as a historic day, when the American people said ‘enough,’ and began a battle to block the Wall Street bailout.

“Henry Paulson is also going down in history. He will be remembered as one of the greediest and most corrupt people to ever serve in the cabinet of the United States.

“We have seen how the evil Mr. Paulson claims he is trying to help Main Street, while he steals tens of billions of dollars in small shareholders’ equity and transfers this hard-earned and hard-saved wealth to the vipers of Wall Street. Paulson is wiping out retirements across the United States. Last week Paulson robbed the shareholders of Washington Mutual and gave it to a New York bank. This week he stole the shareholders’ equity of Wachovia Bank and handed it over to Citibank, another New York bank. Before that it was Bear Stearns. Who will be burglarized tomorrow to feed the insatiable appetite of Paulsen’s cronies?

“How can any Representative or Senator running in November vote for a bailout knowing that their own local or regional banks may be burglarized next by Paulson & Co? ‘Paulson’s Predators’ are out looking for more banks to seize and deliver as tribute to his Wall Street masters at Goldman Sachs.

“Paulson has spent a lifetime serving New York’s banks. Why would we expect him to suddenly put the people ahead of his own personal profits? When has Goldman Sachs ever put the people ahead of its profits?

“Paulson’s corrupt cronies, the ‘Friends of Paulson,’ are out to steal everything they can before the Democrats move in and start a new round of their own kleptomania. Goldman Sachs also owns a controlling interest in the Democratic Party.

“Barack Obama’s coterie of cronies is not any better. He had a former Fannie Mae boss, Jim Johnson, leading his vice presidential search team. Frank Raines, who looted tens of millions of dollars from Fannie Mae and used crooked bookkeeping to enrich himself, also claims to be an Obama adviser. An Obama administration would offer more of the same cronyism and corruption. Obama has received more campaign cash from Wall Street than John McCain. Greed is a bipartisan affliction in Washington. That is why today’s defeat of the bank bailout is so satisfying,” Martin says.

Martin is an unusual combination of financial expert and consumer protector. He began studying Wall Street as a young man, went to work for the bane of Wall Street, U. S. Senator Paul Douglas, and became an expert on bank holding companies. Andy conducted the first administrative trial at the Federal Reserve Board. He battled Citibank’s efforts to increase interest rates on consumer loans by expanding in South Dakota.

Martin is best known worldwide for his crusading radio talk show host, which originated in Palm Beach, Florida and was carried worldwide over the Internet (not currently on the air).

Since graduating from the University of Illinois College of Law Andy has been a relentless opponent of judicial and legal corruption across America. In the 1970’s he helped send crooked Cook County (Chicago) judges to prison.

Martin is also a seasoned veteran of broadcasting, having first assumed ownership of a TV station forty years ago in 1968.

After strenuously opposing the invasion of Iraq, Martin was based in Baghdad in 2003, investigating and exposing the arrogance and incompetence of Paul Bremer and his right-wing toadies.

In 2004, Martin began writing columns exposing Barack Obama’s secret life, his Muslim family history, his dual Kenyan-Ameircan citizenship and his constant attempts to conceal his past associations with violent radicals such as William Ayers.

In the past few days, Martin has been hectoring Republican presidential candidate John McCain to come out forcefully and unequivocally against the proposed Wall Street bailout. McCain has sent confusing signals of both support and opposition.

With forty years of broadcasting and communications experience, and with a law degree in his background, Andy Martin has truly become America’s Internet Warrior in the battle to block the Wall Street bailout.

“We shall not tire, we shall not falter, we shall not fail, in fighting to take back America for the American people. A pox on both parties,” says Martin. “Block the bailout.” (Now where have we heard some of those words before?)
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Andy Martin is the legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He is currently based in New York selling his new book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or cell (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]
---------------------------------------------------
Readers of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, say the book is still the only gold standard and practical handbook on Barack Obama's unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Book orders: http://OrangeStatePress.com. Immediate shipment from Amazon.com or the publisher is now available.

Andy Martin on the burglary of Wachovia Bank by Washington and New York power brokers

Wall Street is robbing Main Street, says Andy Martin, as New York banks seek revenge for the success of their competitors on Main Street. Andy says Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has pulled the biggest bank burglary in history. The theft of Wachovia from its shareholders, done with a former Paulson associate on the other side of the deal, is a sign that something is very, very sick in Washington. The consumer gets screwed, as Paulson rewards banks with the highest fees and eliminates their competitors with lower fees.

New York Banks strangle America
Wall Street steals billions from Main Street
Who profits from the emerging monopoly in consumer banking?
ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

ANDY MARTIN CONDEMNS “GIVEAWAYS” OF BANKING ASSETS TO INCOMPETENT NEW YORK GIANTS

MARTIN SAYS TREASURY SECRETARY HENRY PAULSON IS STEALING BILLIONS FROM MAIN STREET TO ENRICH WALL STREET, ALL WHILE CLAIMING TO BE DOING THE OPPOSITE

“TOO BIG TO FAIL?” OR “TOO BIG TO SUCCEED,” ASKS ANDY

THE “GREATEST BANK BURGLARY, EVER?” ASKS MARTIN

(CHICAGO)(September 29, 2008) Ho hum. Another day. Another theft of shareholder’s capital. Another giveaway, all in the name of “crisis,” of valuable assets to New York City’s banking giants. Who profits from this emerging consumer banking monopoly? Not consumers, that’s for sure.

Where’s Grandpa McCain on this one? I have no idea. Where is Barack Obama? With his big smile in front, and his open palm in back. That’s my Barry O.

I have been involved with the banking industry, and banking regulation, for over forty years. I worked for a U. S. Senator who wrote most of our original banking and consumer protection legislation, Senator Paul H. Douglas of Illinois. I tried the first bank holding company case at the Federal Reserve Board in 1973. I have watched great bankers such as Walter Wriston, and their bumbling successors such as Sanford Weil.

And I do not like what I see in Washington. The companies that built national baking franchises, such as Wachovia and Washington Mutual, are being highway robbed to reward firms that were unable and unwilling to expand nationally, such as Citibank and Chase. New York Goldman Sachs power broker (“power broken?”) and temporary Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is using the cover of a so-called “financial crisis” to take revenge over America’s consumer banking industry and to steal tens of billions of dollars from Main Street for the benefit of Wall Street. All while flowing with crocodile tears that he is trying to help Main Street. Nice work if you can get it. Save me.

Wall Street and New York never got over the fact that New York banks failed to expand nationally, while Charlotte became a banking capital and Seattle also hosted a successful nationwide bank. They wanted revenge. In the past few weeks, they got blood. Or maybe green. Tens of billions of dollars of green.

Paulson claims he is bailing out Wall Street to save Main Street. But he is stealing banks that were built on Main Street and handing them over to enrich Wall Street. In the process, he has unnecessarily destroyed tens of billions of dollars of shareholder equity all across the United States. On Main Street.

After having pioneered consumer banking in the New York region, Citibank has a failed national consumer franchise. “Bank of America" is nominally still headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Have you seen the bank’s new “headquarters” on Sixth Avenue and Forty-Second Street in Manhattan? Take a look, and then tell me where the power will reside, and where the decisions will be made. Chase Bank? They got Paulson to wipe out Bear Stearns’ shareholders to reward Chase with an investment banking base.

Chase, Citi and BkAm are three peas in a pod: they charge consumers the highest fees and have the poorest customer service. Far from being "too big to fail," they are "too big to succeed." Main Street banking is on the verge of being strangled, and no one in Washington is standing up to fight back.

What penalty do the three giants pay for their failed or imperfect strategies? None whatsoever. Paulson is stealing tens of billions of dollars from the shareholders of other banks (Washington Mutual, Wachovia) to enrich the New York behemoths.

What a steal. Such a deal?

Who do you vote against? Wall Street has given more money to Obama than McCain. Vote against Obama? There is no reason to doubt the kleptocracy will continue under Obama. Obama buys peace with Wall Street so he can do his thing on the “street” in the Middle East and South Asia.

Grandpa McCain? Well, he’s just worried about the DNA of all those fornicating bears in Montana. I think McCain is personally scrupulously honest. Maybe he might do something. But then, maybe not. Sleaze is a bipartisan affliction in Washington; both McCain and Obama are overloaded with sleazy camp followers. I will have more to say about McCain later today.

Who do you vote against? We have two sets of thieves vying to take control of the federal government, each group composed of greedy hucksters who will stop at nothing to enrich themselves and screw the public. Stealing from Main Street (Washington Mutual, Wachovia) to enrich Wall Street (Citibank, Chase, BkAm)? Great work if you can get it. It’s becoming an addiction for Washington power brokers.

Communism, capitalism, totalitarianism, whatever. The people in power are always trying to steal from the ordinary citizen. Once you start stealing from the people, and get away with it, it’s hard to stop.

If you don’t believe me, just ask the shareholders of Bear Stearns, Wachovia Bank and Washington Mutual how they feel. See what they say.
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Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He is currently based in New York selling his new book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or cell (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]
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Readers of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, say the book is still the only gold standard and practical handbook on Barack Obama's unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Book orders: http://OrangeStatePress.com. Immediate shipment from the publisher now available.

Andy Martin on London's Sky News this evening

Andy Martin on the U.S. financial "crisis"

Just say "no" to a Wall Street bailout: Part Three

Did President Bush blunder and elect Barack Obama?

ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

AMERICA’S #1 POLITICAL
BLOG ON THE 2008 CAMPAIGN
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We’re not always first because we’re #1;
We’re #1 because we are always first.
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ANDY MARTIN WILL BE A GUEST ON LONDON'S SKY NEWS THIS EVENING (THURSDAY) COMMENTING (SKEPTICALLY) ON THE WORLD FINANCIAL "CRISIS" [CHECK SKY NEWS FOR DETAILS—SKYNEWS.COM]

ANDY MARTIN: I HAVE A QUEASY FEELING GEORGE BUSH HAS MADE A MAJOR BLUNDER, AND ELECTED BARACK OBAMA

DID SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN ACQUIESCE IN HIS OWN DEFEAT?

(NEW YORK)(September 25, 2008) There he was on the front page of every newspaper today: Senator Barack Obama, invited by President George Bush to help solve the "financial crisis" that is supposedly threatening America. I have a queasy feeling Bush and Senator John McCain may have made the biggest blunder in presidential politics since President Jerry Ford in 1976 said Poland was not in the Soviet sphere of influence.

I know, I know, "County First," not politics. But are they really putting their country first if they elect Barack Obama and inflict Obama on the world for the next four years?

McCain's biggest calling card has been Obama's "stature gap." Barry O could stage a rock festival in a Berlin park, but no one in Washington gave him any credibility. Obama has no experience, no record and no particular level of support among Washington Democrats except profuse "lip service." Who the hell is Barack Obama?

He may have become the next president courtesy of George Bush, and a massive blunder by John McCain.

Wednesday night Obama was already claiming that the Bush White House had accepted "his policies" to solve the financial "crisis." As this is being written there are reports a "deal" has been reached. Obama will have attained the last stop on his self-referential crusade by being accepted at the White House as a statesman and dealmaker. Good grief.

Ooops.

Bush and McCain have erased Obama's stature gap. How is McCain going to say Obama lacks experience if Obama is being called to the White House to solve a (in my opinion nonexistent) "crisis?"

Bush and McCain just handled Obama a loaded gun. Watch Obama shoot Republicans with it, and claim that his "strong leadership" led to a "successful negotiation" which culminated in "rescuing America." Who gave Obama this weapon? Why George Bush and John McCain, of course. When the president calls you in a "crisis," Obama has a legitimate claim to stature.

I have to give a speech to a Republican dinner this evening. I am not a happy camper. On the other hand, the people who gave us the mess in Washington are also influential in the 2008 campaign, so what can we expect? Chopped liver?

Fasten your seat belts. It's a mess.

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Readers of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask confirm this book is the intelligent bestseller about Barack Obama, and the only practical handbook on his unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Buy now: Immediate shipment available from Amazon.com. Signed copies of the book from: www.OrangeStatePress.com. Also available from www.BarnesandNoble.com
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URGENT APPEAL: The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama is raising money to fight Barack Obama. http://CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. Please give generously up to the maximum of $100. Our ability to fight and defeat Barack Obama is directly dependent on the generosity of every American."
The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama limits itself to $100 maximum contributions; there are no bundlers, fat cats or illegal contributions. Obama is opposed to everything America stands for," says Executive Director Andy Martin. "But while Obama has raised more than a third of a BILLION dollars, his opponents have raised virtually nothing. We can't just sit back and expect John McCain to do the job all alone. Americans can either contribute now, or pay later. If we do not succeed, Obama will."
E-mail: contact@CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com
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FULL DISCLOSURE: I have decided to oppose Barack Obama's election and have become Executive Director of The Stop Obama Coalition, http://StopObamaCoalition.com and CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. By default, I have become the national leader of the anti-Obama movement. I am not acting as either a Democrat or Republican. I have had no contact whatsoever with the McCain Campaign. The views expressed are entirely independent of McCain. I am not a member of any political organization. I am acting as an American citizen who sincerely believes Obama is not the man we need in the Oval Office. We are running a very dynamic and aggressive campaign against Obama. We know how. We are the recognized experts in the field. I will, however, continue to write my columns for ContrarianCommentary.com. /s/ Andy Martin
E-mail: contact@StopObamaCoalition.com
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Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He is currently based in New York selling his new book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com.
MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329 (not always turned on) E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]

Andy Martin takes a negative view of President Bush's speech

"Just say 'No' to President Bush's Bailout," says Andy. He remains unconvinced by Bush's Wednesday speech and says Senator John McCain is headed in the wrong direction. Andy says he would be terrified to vote for the Bush Bailout. Martin says the financial "crisis" is a self-inflicted wound of government incompetence and mismanagement. Let the markets do their job.

Andy Martin on the U.S. financial "crisis"
Just say "no" to a Wall Street bailout: Part Two
President Bush did not convince Andy Martin to support the bailout
ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

AMERICA’S #1 POLITICAL
BLOG ON THE 2008 CAMPAIGN
----------------------------------------------
We’re not always first because we’re #1;
We’re #1 because we are always first.
----------------------------------------------

ANDY MARTIN: I LISTENED TO PRESIDENT BUSH AND HE DID NOT PERSUADE ME

IS SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN HEADING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION?

(NEW YORK)(September 25, 2008) I have been involved in politics and business for over forty years. It's long enough to have seen lots of ups and downs. I remember the 1966 recession; that slump removed the Democrats' "Thousand Year Congress," after two years, and helped put Republicans on the road to victory. The wage and price controls of the early 1970's? They were an accident waiting to happen; and it happened.
The stratospheric interest rates of the late 1970's? They broke me financially; imagine what it's like to be getting a letter from your bank almost every day, saying your "floating" interest rate went up again. The interest rate was floating and soon enough I was too. The recession of the early 1980's? One to die for.

But I also remember opening our first office in the World Trade Center on January 1, 1974. Soon thereafter New York City went bust. Things did not look very bright. Three years later New York was in a real estate boom. Prices skyrocketed. There was a real estate slump in the early 90's, followed by another boom.

When I graduated from college in 1966 I went to an experienced real estate investor for advice. He told me he was not buying property until interest rates fell below 6%. That took a third of a century. He had along wait. In the meantime, I made money.

And so, yes, I have seen a lot of ups and downs in the economy.

I have a friend who is a stock market investor. She went to cash over a year ago. "Better too soon than too late," she said. Smart girl. She also lost a pile in the "dot.com" disaster. Not so smart.

Which leads me to Wednesday night.

First, President Bush's face had a curiously flat appearance. He didn’t look the same as he usually does. Was he afraid? Dieting? Tired? Trying to be super-serious? I have no idea. Anyone have a lead on why Bush looked the way he did?

Bottom line: President Bush did not convince me we need a bailout. And he did not convince me his proposed bailout or a reasonable facsimile thereof is the right approach.

If we are going to be asked to invest $700 billion, where is the upside? The president offered none.

He proposes to buy about 5% of the bad debt being held by some institutions. What about the other 95%? That appears to be good debt. Ninety-five percent good isn't bad. In any economy.

What about the big guys? Warren Buffet has already locked in almost a half billion-dollar profit on his latest Wall Street investment. He gets a 10% interest rate and equity kickers. What do we get for providing what Buffet calls the foundation capital? Nothing.

Excessive executive salaries? I guess Bush caved on this one. I hope. Let me see the fine print. So far there is none.

Supervision of any government fund? No one has produced any draft of a proposed law that imposes stringent review both on "The Begging Bankers" and the government bureaucrats who are going to manage the public's $700 billion "asset."

What makes me really suspicious is that the same people who broke the United States are now bidding to manage the $700 billion pool of assets. I believe any law should mandate that no firm that was responsible in any way for the losses, or has received any assistance, can bid for any role in the management or supervision of the $700 billion bailout fund. Why should the people who got a "cut" when they were cutting our throats, now get a "cut" for supposedly sewing us up again? That's not right.

Treasury Secretary Paulsen has suggested the bailout is not fair, but that we still need to proceed. Respectfully, I dissent. If it isn't fair, we should not be taking on the burdens of the bailout.

Once again in his presidency, President Bush may have been misinformed. He painted a bleak picture Wednesday night of factories closing, Main Street disasters, a dark and dreary economy if we don't bailout Wall Street. Supposedly no one can borrow to buy a car, buy a house, blah, blah, blah. That's just not true. It is true that borrowing standards have been raised; that's all to the good. People have learned to be impatient about demanding possessions. Now they can afford to wait. Just ask Fox News' Bill O'Reilly.

Lehman Brothers went bust just over a week ago. Thousands of jobs have been saved already. New buyers have come in and salvaged the value that was left by the former owners. The entire process has been orderly. And fair. The old management is largely gone. And all of this was accomplished without a penny of bailout assistance. Personally, I would have rescued Lehman in an ad hoc package, but I am not complaining about the way the federal government sat on its hands and allowed the market to act.

They say the market isn't working. Just tell that to the people who bought Lehman's assets. They're not complaining about the market not working.

All of us owe money to banks or financial institutions. October 1st? We have to make mortgage payments, car loan payments, credit card payments. Bush would have us believe that banks are taking in money, and not lending it out. Not true. But suppose he is right; suppose banks are sitting on all the cash that flows in every day from interest and principal payments. Aren’t those funds an immediate cash infusion? If the cash is not going out again, it is sitting in the vault. Nothing wrong with that. Stockholders will create pressure to lend soon enough. The market does work.

There is a complete inconsistency in what Bush and the hysteria merchants are saying about imminent chaos. If banks are getting money in every day, and not lending it, they are creating their own bailout fund. If they are lending out the money they receive in every day, they are earning new returns at higher market rates, and replenishing their capital. Remember, even the Cassandras say 95% of the loans are still solid. Again without any bailout.

When the history of this era is written, America will be seen to have been brought low by self-inflicted wounds and government-induced hysteria and incompetence. In early 2007, when I saw government officials attacking the sub-prime lending industry and destroying active companies, I asked myself "Why?" If even 10% of the loans were delinquent, 90% of the loans were not. Why topple an entire industry, throw tens of thousands of people out of work and panic the entire economy because loan losses were right where they should be on the sum-primes? But that is what Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke did.

By all means prosecute the crooks, but don't punish the innocent borrowers. After all, subprime borrowers would normally be expected to generate higher losses. You don't need an econometric model to understand that basic fact. But 90% of the borrowers were living in their homes. And paying their mortgages. Government attacked. Federal regulators created panic where there was no basis to do so. And so we are living through a self-inflicted financial crisis of government incompetence and mismanagement. Now the people that created the unnecessary disaster have given us 96 hours to accept their latest solution.

Since early 2007 the hysteria has been fed by government bureaucrats seeking to pull the financial reins too tight and all at once. People are no different than horses. They say Ben Bernanke is a financial genius. I wish he had 1/10th of my real world financial experience. I tried a lawsuit at the Federal Reserve Board 35 years ago, so I know a little about the place. If you ask me, Bernanke is an idiot. If you pull too tight, too soon, without any warning, you get a reaction. And we are. But it is all unnecessary.

I worked in a bank while I was a law student. I was a part-time assistant in the installment loan department, when such departments existed. I started as bill collector. I was taught how to collect, and later how to lend. We went out repossessing cars, property, etc. I learned when to yank a borrower's assets, and when to work with them to salvage a credit. My immediate supervisor was a crook, which helped. You can get a lot of real world experience from underhanded people. I learned what to do as well as what not to do.

I also worked in bank acquisitions. I can tell you, banks that take in money and don’t lend money will go out of business. So Bush's threat that bankers will not lend without a bailout is sheer nonsense.

I also have a lot of practical experience in the financial world, not to mention having bought my first shares of stock over 50 years ago (even though I'm only 39).

And I am totally unconvinced by President Bush's Bailout.

No wonder the politicians in Washington are scared to vote for Bush's proposal. I would be terrified. The Bush Bailout could turn into a Republican Candidates' Self-Destruction Program.

But, hey, that's why we call this Internet newspaper "Contrarian" Commentary. Lawyer, economist and law school bill collector. I have done most all of it, and I speak from Main Street experience, not the lofty heights of Washington tax-exempt think tanks or a lifetime working on Capitol Hill.

As for Senator John McCain's latest approach, it goes against my advice. Other than that, I can't say. I said yesterday that McCain should use convert his latest "liability" into his greatest opportunity and separate himself from the Bush administration. McCain should simply say "no" to the bailout. McCain has chosen to go in the opposite direction. With twenty-four hours of hindsight, and after listening to Bush's speech, I think my advice to McCain makes a lot more sense than the approach he is pursuing. We'll just have to wait and see who is right.

------------------------------------------

Readers of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask confirm this book is the intelligent bestseller about Barack Obama, and the only practical handbook on his unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Buy now: Immediate shipment available from Amazon.com. Signed copies of the book from: www.OrangeStatePress.com. Also available from www.BarnesandNoble.com
------------------------------------------
URGENT APPEAL: The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama is raising money to fight Barack Obama. http://CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. Please give generously up to the maximum of $100. Our ability to fight and defeat Barack Obama is directly dependent on the generosity of every American."
The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama limits itself to $100 maximum contributions; there are no bundlers, fat cats or illegal contributions. Obama is opposed to everything America stands for," says Executive Director Andy Martin. "But while Obama has raised more than a third of a BILLION dollars, his opponents have raised virtually nothing. We can't just sit back and expect John McCain to do the job all alone. Americans can either contribute now, or pay later. If we do not succeed, Obama will."
E-mail: contact@CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com
---------------------------------------
FULL DISCLOSURE: I have decided to oppose Barack Obama's election and have become Executive Director of The Stop Obama Coalition, http://StopObamaCoalition.com and CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. By default, I have become the national leader of the anti-Obama movement. I am not acting as either a Democrat or Republican. I have had no contact whatsoever with the McCain Campaign. The views expressed are entirely independent of McCain. I am not a member of any political organization. I am acting as an American citizen who sincerely believes Obama is not the man we need in the Oval Office. We are running a very dynamic and aggressive campaign against Obama. We know how. We are the recognized experts in the field. I will, however, continue to write my columns for ContrarianCommentary.com. /s/ Andy Martin
E-mail: contact@StopObamaCoalition.com
--------------------------------------
Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He is currently based in New York selling his new book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or cell (917) 664-9329 E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]

McCain to Wall Street: Drop Dead

Economic and political analyst Andy Martin maps out John McCain's only road to the White House: cut loose from the Bush Administration and make Wall Streeters the issue, not Main Streeters. Make Sallie Krawcheck the rallying cry. Remember Sallie and "Just say no to the old boys' bailout." Martin says McCain can turn adversity into opportunity and score a knockout blow on Barack Obama.

McCain to Wall Street: Drop Dead

Senator McCain: Just say "no" to the Wall Street bailout

Your biggest liability can become your greatest opportunity

"Krawcheck front and center!"

ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

AMERICA’S #1 POLITICAL
BLOG ON THE 2008 CAMPAIGN
----------------------------------------------
We’re not always first because we’re #1;
We’re #1 because we are always first.
----------------------------------------------

OBAMA AUTHOR ANDY MARTIN SAYS SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN MUST SAY "NO" TO THE WALL STREET BAILOUT

MARTIN SAYS MCCAIN SHOULD BREAK WITH THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND ANNOUNCE "HE WORKS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, NOT THE BANKERS, NOT THE BROKERS AND NOT THE FALLEN, FAILED CONFIDENCE MEN ON WALL STREET"

THE WOMAN'S ANGLE TO SAVING MCCAIN AND COUNTERATTACKING WALL STREET: ANDY MARTIN SAYS "KRAWCHECK FRONT AND CENTER!"

ANDY TAKES COMMAND AND LAYS OUT MCCAIN'S ROAD TO VICTORY

(NEW YORK)(September 24, 2008) During the summer I told a number of groups that the only way Senator John McCain could win was to pick a woman for vice president. McCain was listening to me. He chose Sister Sarah and, until last week, he was on track to win. Until the phony Wall Street crisis erupted, that is.

A new Washington Post poll now shows Barack Obama opening up a decisive lead based on the amazing belief that Obama is more competent to manage the economy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/23/AR2008092303667.html?hpid=topnews

Obama, who has never managed anything without "mad bomber" William Ayers at his side, is not even competent to impose his own socialist worldview on the American economy. If the economy is bad now, it will be much worse under an Obama maladministration.

But how does McCain counteract the pro-Obama media hysteria over the economy?

He must speak clearly and simply and directly: he must announce in no uncertain terms his total opposition to the Wall Street bailout.

First, over the past year I have repeatedly pointed out that the current financial crisis is a "manufactured" crisis. The urgency was created by maladroit steps to rein in sub-prime mortgages when they posed no threat to the overall economy. One bad step led to another. We have rather clumsily managed to topple our own financial dominoes. The mess is Wall Street's fault, not George Bush's responsibility.

Second, a "crisis" of "faith" or "confidence" is by definition a false crisis. Faith and confidence are tropes for escapism and exaggeration or even manipulation. Omaha investor Warren Buffet, who is a legendary bottom fisher on Wall Street, is investing $5 billion in Goldman Sachs. Is he investing to receive the sub-par return that many have predicted Goldman will earn now that the firm has become a federally regulated bank holding company? Doubtful. Buffet knows that panics by definition lead to excesses, and excesses lead to opportunities.

The liquidation of Lehman Brothers is being handled on an orderly basis. Buyers are there to invest in the firm.

Third, McCain and his staff have to realize and admit that Obama has made some cautious but sensible statements. Obama opposes golden parachutes, supports financial incentives to small taxpayers as part of any bailout, and supports extensive bipartisan oversight instead of the blank check requested by the treasury secretary. Obama is playing classic ball control now that our national misfortune has rebounded to his political advantage.

Fourth, although McCain has made one TV commercial linking Obama to Frank Raines, the former Fannie Mae head, this is not a time for token spots to be used as talking points by the cable TV bobbleheads. McCain has to relentlessly hammer the fact that Obama has been in bed with the very people that orchestrated the financial collapse and who were the captains of greed on Wall Street. Ad after ad after ad. McCain has to base his entire campaign on exposing the perfidiousness and conflicts between Obama's professed economic policies and the political realities of his fund-raising operation.

The timing of this "crisis" of "faith" and "confidence" is almost enough to make you wonder if Obama's supporters on Wall Street manufactured the meltdown on the eve of the election to help elect their man. Why a crisis now?

McCain needs to attack Obama on the cash Obama received from Wall Streeters and Fannie Mae. McCain has made thrusts in this direction, but from now on he has to focus his entire campaign on exposing Obama as the man who was Wall Street's favorite before the "collapse," and is still the man Wall Street wants to win. Why has Wall Street been so consistently behind Obama? Why indeed?

Next, McCain must play the female card. And play it to win. Sallie Krawcheck was just pushed out at Citigroup ("The Citi never sleeps") because she favored more protection for customers and less protection for bankers and brokers. Make her a heroine. Make her a parable for the greed and irredentist arrogance on Wall Street. "They still haven't learned their lesson," McCain should bellow at Wall Street and Broadway. "They dumped Krawcheck because she wanted to protect the public. And they want us to bail them out? No way!"

Tell people that "one courageous woman is worth a Wall Street of Gordon Gekkos." Play the sex card. Play it hard. The women will love it. Krawchek was the most prominent woman left on Wall Street, and she was unceremoniously dumped because she favored protecting investors. These banker bastards still want to screw the public. They screwed Krawcheck. And we want the American people to bail them out? Remember Krawchek and Just Say No.

If you think the Palin card worked, the Krawcheck card will dynamite Obama the same way. Maybe more so. The last thing Obama & Company are expecting from you—given your unsteady responses over the past week--is a bold counterattack with a woman at the fore. Krawchek front and center. Attack. The brave woman against the greedy men. I love it.

Just listen to Andy, and we'll win this one for the Gipper. We military guys have to stick together. No one ever won a battle with half measures; no one ever won an election on defense. Krawchek front and center. Attack.

Finally, McCain has to reduce the "crisis" issue to a sound bite: "Just say no to the Wall Street bailout." This is not a time for subtlety or ambiguity or professorial rumination. This is a time for clarity.

I was trained as an economist at the University of Illinois. One thing economists do when faced with unattractive options is to balance which choice will impose the least burden on the economy (or taxpayers, or whomever is the focus of concern). You look at the risks on each side, and try to see which way the scale tips. In my opinion, taking more risks with Wall Street is less risky than giving Wall Street a blank check to subsidize past excesses. The fact that Buffet is buying $5 billion of Goldman stock and there were plenty of buyers for Lehman's assets shows there is money on Wall Street to bail out Wall Street. Taxpayers not needed.

Clearly, the federal government faces unattractive options. But the current bailout proposal favors the rich and disadvantages working families. Bankers and brokers would be rewarded, without significant punishment for their atrocious greed; working people who are struggling would get virtually nothing. Obama sees this opening, which is why he is asking that relief for families in distress be part of any package. But, as usual, Obama is afraid to be bold. Basketball player that he is, Obama feels he is in the lead and he should go into a "stall" and protect that lead.

The only way to beat the stall in basketball is to steal the ball. It is not enough for McCain to match Obama with incremental improvements in the proposed bailout bill (more oversight, no golden parachutes, more this, more that, more technicalities and legislative minutiae).

McCain needs to be bold and decisive and break with the Bush administration. McCain must turn his biggest liability into his greatest opportunity.

McCain needs to say that we must not tax ordinary Americans to preserve extreme wealth and privilege for a handful of top executives and financial operators. "Wall Street should suffer so that Main Street can survive," McCain can state. "Main Street should not suffer so Wall Street can survive."

Next, it is essential to realize that the protective steps that were taken in the past, starting with last year's overreaction to the sub-prime situation, and culminating in this year's Bear Stearns takeover, failed. Why should we believe Treasury Secretary Paulsen now, when he has been consistently wrong in the past? Merely throwing bailout billions at Goldman Sachs' favored clients (Treasury Secretary Paulsen is a former Goldman chief) will not end the crisis or restore confidence. Pain will be suffered.

The question is whether we inflict pain on the privileged or on the powerless. McCain must say that if someone has to endure pain, it should be the privileged, not the powerless. Warren Buffet has billions more to invest where his opening $5 billion came from. Let him take the risk, not the little people.

"I speak for the American people," McCain should say, "Not Wall Street, not brokers, not bankers, and certainly not the malefactors of great wealth who have been exposed as confidence men without confidence in their own machinations."

Only if McCain takes command can he win. If he goes half way and meets Obama half way, McCain cannot overcome the natural advantage that flows not from Obama's assets but rather from McCain' s liabilities as the representative of a party that is unfairly blamed for the mess on Wall Street. McCain has to make clear that the Wall Street scandals were a bipartisan whorehouse, and that Obama was in skivvies when the roof collapsed. Obama and Fannie Mae and Frank Raines were in bed together when no one was watching. Now the whole world is watching.

McCain must expose the truth and not be intimidated by the media spin machine that is anti-American and anti-Republican.

Senator McCain, take command. Just say no to the Wall Street bailout: "Main Street should not suffer to bail out Wall Street. The powerless should not have to pay higher taxes to subsidize the excesses and failures of the privileged class. I work for the American family, not billionaires and brokers. If Wall Street is good enough and safe enough for Warren Buffet, Wall Street does not need the nickels and dimes of working Americans. We should ban executive dining rooms and limousines for any bailout firm and watch how fast they find their own cash. Let the people who made this mess pay to clean up their failures. And remember what they did to Sallie Krawcheck."

This is the only way you can win. Do it. The American people will stand with you. They won’t desert you if you don’t desert them. Just tell Wall Street: Drop Dead.

------------------------------------------

Readers of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask confirm this book is the intelligent bestseller about Barack Obama, and the only practical handbook on his unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Buy now: Immediate shipment available from Amazon.com. Signed copies of the book from: www.OrangeStatePress.com. Also available from www.BarnesandNoble.com
------------------------------------------
URGENT APPEAL: The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama is raising money to fight Barack Obama. http://CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. Please give generously up to the maximum of $100. Our ability to fight and defeat Barack Obama is directly dependent on the generosity of every American."
The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama limits itself to $100 maximum contributions; there are no bundlers, fat cats or illegal contributions. Obama is opposed to everything America stands for," says Executive Director Andy Martin. "But while Obama has raised more than a third of a BILLION dollars, his opponents have raised virtually nothing. We can't just sit back and expect John McCain to do the job all alone. Americans can either contribute now, or pay later. If we do not succeed, Obama will."
E-mail: contact@CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com
---------------------------------------
FULL DISCLOSURE: I have decided to oppose Barack Obama's election and have become Executive Director of The Stop Obama Coalition, http://StopObamaCoalition.com and CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. By default, I have become the national leader of the anti-Obama movement. I am not acting as either a Democrat or Republican. I have had no contact whatsoever with the McCain Campaign. The views expressed are entirely independent of McCain. I am not a member of any political organization. I am acting as an American citizen who sincerely believes Obama is not the man we need in the Oval Office. We are running a very dynamic and aggressive campaign against Obama. We know how. We are the recognized experts in the field. I will, however, continue to write my columns for ContrarianCommentary.com. /s/ Andy Martin
E-mail: contact@StopObamaCoalition.com
--------------------------------------
Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He is currently based in New York selling his new book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or cell (917) 664-9329 E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]

McCain to Wall Street: Drop Dead

Economic and political analyst Andy Martin maps out John McCain's only road to the White House: cut loose from the Bush Administration and make Wall Streeters the issue, not Main Streeters. Make Sallie Krawcheck the rallying cry. Remember Sallie and "Just say no to the old boys' bailout." Martin says McCain can turn adversity into opportunity and score a knockout blow on Barack Obama.

Senator McCain: Just say "no" to the Wall Street bailout

Your biggest liability can become your greatest opportunity

"Krawcheck front and center!"

ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

AMERICA’S #1 POLITICAL
BLOG ON THE 2008 CAMPAIGN
----------------------------------------------
We’re not always first because we’re #1;
We’re #1 because we are always first.
----------------------------------------------

OBAMA AUTHOR ANDY MARTIN SAYS SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN MUST SAY "NO" TO THE WALL STREET BAILOUT

MARTIN SAYS MCCAIN SHOULD BREAK WITH THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND ANNOUNCE "HE WORKS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, NOT THE BANKERS, NOT THE BROKERS AND NOT THE FALLEN, FAILED CONFIDENCE MEN ON WALL STREET"

THE WOMAN'S ANGLE TO SAVING MCCAIN AND COUNTERATTACKING WALL STREET: ANDY MARTIN SAYS "KRAWCHECK FRONT AND CENTER!"

ANDY TAKES COMMAND AND LAYS OUT MCCAIN'S ROAD TO VICTORY

(NEW YORK)(September 24, 2008) During the summer I told a number of groups that the only way Senator John McCain could win was to pick a woman for vice president. McCain was listening to me. He chose Sister Sarah and, until last week, he was on track to win. Until the phony Wall Street crisis erupted, that is.

A new Washington Post poll now shows Barack Obama opening up a decisive lead based on the amazing belief that Obama is more competent to manage the economy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/23/AR2008092303667.html?hpid=topnews

Obama, who has never managed anything without "mad bomber" William Ayers at his side, is not even competent to impose his own socialist worldview on the American economy. If the economy is bad now, it will be much worse under an Obama maladministration.

But how does McCain counteract the pro-Obama media hysteria over the economy?

He must speak clearly and simply and directly: he must announce in no uncertain terms his total opposition to the Wall Street bailout.

First, over the past year I have repeatedly pointed out that the current financial crisis is a "manufactured" crisis. The urgency was created by maladroit steps to rein in sub-prime mortgages when they posed no threat to the overall economy. One bad step led to another. We have rather clumsily managed to topple our own financial dominoes. The mess is Wall Street's fault, not George Bush's responsibility.

Second, a "crisis" of "faith" or "confidence" is by definition a false crisis. Faith and confidence are tropes for escapism and exaggeration or even manipulation. Omaha investor Warren Buffet, who is a legendary bottom fisher on Wall Street, is investing $5 billion in Goldman Sachs. Is he investing to receive the sub-par return that many have predicted Goldman will earn now that the firm has become a federally regulated bank holding company? Doubtful. Buffet knows that panics by definition lead to excesses, and excesses lead to opportunities.

The liquidation of Lehman Brothers is being handled on an orderly basis. Buyers are there to invest in the firm.

Third, McCain and his staff have to realize and admit that Obama has made some cautious but sensible statements. Obama opposes golden parachutes, supports financial incentives to small taxpayers as part of any bailout, and supports extensive bipartisan oversight instead of the blank check requested by the treasury secretary. Obama is playing classic ball control now that our national misfortune has rebounded to his political advantage.

Fourth, although McCain has made one TV commercial linking Obama to Frank Raines, the former Fannie Mae head, this is not a time for token spots to be used as talking points by the cable TV bobbleheads. McCain has to relentlessly hammer the fact that Obama has been in bed with the very people that orchestrated the financial collapse and who were the captains of greed on Wall Street. Ad after ad after ad. McCain has to base his entire campaign on exposing the perfidiousness and conflicts between Obama's professed economic policies and the political realities of his fund-raising operation.

The timing of this "crisis" of "faith" and "confidence" is almost enough to make you wonder if Obama's supporters on Wall Street manufactured the meltdown on the eve of the election to help elect their man. Why a crisis now?

McCain needs to attack Obama on the cash Obama received from Wall Streeters and Fannie Mae. McCain has made thrusts in this direction, but from now on he has to focus his entire campaign on exposing Obama as the man who was Wall Street's favorite before the "collapse," and is still the man Wall Street wants to win. Why has Wall Street been so consistently behind Obama? Why indeed?

Next, McCain must play the female card. And play it to win. Sallie Krawcheck was just pushed out at Citigroup ("The Citi never sleeps") because she favored more protection for customers and less protection for bankers and brokers. Make her a heroine. Make her a parable for the greed and irredentist arrogance on Wall Street. "They still haven't learned their lesson," McCain should bellow at Wall Street and Broadway. "They dumped Krawcheck because she wanted to protect the public. And they want us to bail them out? No way!"

Tell people that "one courageous woman is worth a Wall Street of Gordon Gekkos." Play the sex card. Play it hard. The women will love it. Krawchek was the most prominent woman left on Wall Street, and she was unceremoniously dumped because she favored protecting investors. These banker bastards still want to screw the public. They screwed Krawcheck. And we want the American people to bail them out? Remember Krawchek and Just Say No.

If you think the Palin card worked, the Krawcheck card will dynamite Obama the same way. Maybe more so. The last thing Obama & Company are expecting from you—given your unsteady responses over the past week--is a bold counterattack with a woman at the fore. Krawchek front and center. Attack. The brave woman against the greedy men. I love it.

Just listen to Andy, and we'll win this one for the Gipper. We military guys have to stick together. No one ever won a battle with half measures; no one ever won an election on defense. Krawchek front and center. Attack.

Finally, McCain has to reduce the "crisis" issue to a sound bite: "Just say no to the Wall Street bailout." This is not a time for subtlety or ambiguity or professorial rumination. This is a time for clarity.

I was trained as an economist at the University of Illinois. One thing economists do when faced with unattractive options is to balance which choice will impose the least burden on the economy (or taxpayers, or whomever is the focus of concern). You look at the risks on each side, and try to see which way the scale tips. In my opinion, taking more risks with Wall Street is less risky than giving Wall Street a blank check to subsidize past excesses. The fact that Buffet is buying $5 billion of Goldman stock and there were plenty of buyers for Lehman's assets shows there is money on Wall Street to bail out Wall Street. Taxpayers not needed.

Clearly, the federal government faces unattractive options. But the current bailout proposal favors the rich and disadvantages working families. Bankers and brokers would be rewarded, without significant punishment for their atrocious greed; working people who are struggling would get virtually nothing. Obama sees this opening, which is why he is asking that relief for families in distress be part of any package. But, as usual, Obama is afraid to be bold. Basketball player that he is, Obama feels he is in the lead and he should go into a "stall" and protect that lead.

The only way to beat the stall in basketball is to steal the ball. It is not enough for McCain to match Obama with incremental improvements in the proposed bailout bill (more oversight, no golden parachutes, more this, more that, more technicalities and legislative minutiae).

McCain needs to be bold and decisive and break with the Bush administration. McCain must turn his biggest liability into his greatest opportunity.

McCain needs to say that we must not tax ordinary Americans to preserve extreme wealth and privilege for a handful of top executives and financial operators. "Wall Street should suffer so that Main Street can survive," McCain can state. "Main Street should not suffer so Wall Street can survive."

Next, it is essential to realize that the protective steps that were taken in the past, starting with last year's overreaction to the sub-prime situation, and culminating in this year's Bear Stearns takeover, failed. Why should we believe Treasury Secretary Paulsen now, when he has been consistently wrong in the past? Merely throwing bailout billions at Goldman Sachs' favored clients (Treasury Secretary Paulsen is a former Goldman chief) will not end the crisis or restore confidence. Pain will be suffered.

The question is whether we inflict pain on the privileged or on the powerless. McCain must say that if someone has to endure pain, it should be the privileged, not the powerless. Warren Buffet has billions more to invest where his opening $5 billion came from. Let him take the risk, not the little people.

"I speak for the American people," McCain should say, "Not Wall Street, not brokers, not bankers, and certainly not the malefactors of great wealth who have been exposed as confidence men without confidence in their own machinations."

Only if McCain takes command can he win. If he goes half way and meets Obama half way, McCain cannot overcome the natural advantage that flows not from Obama's assets but rather from McCain' s liabilities as the representative of a party that is unfairly blamed for the mess on Wall Street. McCain has to make clear that the Wall Street scandals were a bipartisan whorehouse, and that Obama was in skivvies when the roof collapsed. Obama and Fannie Mae and Frank Raines were in bed together when no one was watching. Now the whole world is watching.

McCain must expose the truth and not be intimidated by the media spin machine that is anti-American and anti-Republican.

Senator McCain, take command. Just say no to the Wall Street bailout: "Main Street should not suffer to bail out Wall Street. The powerless should not have to pay higher taxes to subsidize the excesses and failures of the privileged class. I work for the American family, not billionaires and brokers. If Wall Street is good enough and safe enough for Warren Buffet, Wall Street does not need the nickels and dimes of working Americans. We should ban executive dining rooms and limousines for any bailout firm and watch how fast they find their own cash. Let the people who made this mess pay to clean up their failures. And remember what they did to Sallie Krawcheck."

This is the only way you can win. Do it. The American people will stand with you. They won’t desert you if you don’t desert them. Just tell Wall Street: Drop Dead.

------------------------------------------

Readers of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask confirm this book is the intelligent bestseller about Barack Obama, and the only practical handbook on his unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Buy now: Immediate shipment available from Amazon.com. Signed copies of the book from: www.OrangeStatePress.com. Also available from www.BarnesandNoble.com
------------------------------------------
URGENT APPEAL: The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama is raising money to fight Barack Obama. http://CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. Please give generously up to the maximum of $100. Our ability to fight and defeat Barack Obama is directly dependent on the generosity of every American."
The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama limits itself to $100 maximum contributions; there are no bundlers, fat cats or illegal contributions. Obama is opposed to everything America stands for," says Executive Director Andy Martin. "But while Obama has raised more than a third of a BILLION dollars, his opponents have raised virtually nothing. We can't just sit back and expect John McCain to do the job all alone. Americans can either contribute now, or pay later. If we do not succeed, Obama will."
E-mail: contact@CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com
---------------------------------------
FULL DISCLOSURE: I have decided to oppose Barack Obama's election and have become Executive Director of The Stop Obama Coalition, http://StopObamaCoalition.com and CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. By default, I have become the national leader of the anti-Obama movement. I am not acting as either a Democrat or Republican. I have had no contact whatsoever with the McCain Campaign. The views expressed are entirely independent of McCain. I am not a member of any political organization. I am acting as an American citizen who sincerely believes Obama is not the man we need in the Oval Office. We are running a very dynamic and aggressive campaign against Obama. We know how. We are the recognized experts in the field. I will, however, continue to write my columns for ContrarianCommentary.com. /s/ Andy Martin
E-mail: contact@StopObamaCoalition.com
--------------------------------------
Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He is currently based in New York selling his new book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or cell (917) 664-9329 E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]

Hawaii research team will investigate the "Lost Obama"

Andy Martin will launch massive investigative project on Barack Obama. ContrarianCommentary.com invites volunteers to join "Lost Obama" research effort in Hawaii. Andy says a critical phase of Obama's life has been ignored by the mainstream media.

Andy Martin leads Hawaii research team investigating the "Lost Obama"

Andy invites "shoe leather" researchers to Hawaii

ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

AMERICA’S #1 POLITICAL
BLOG ON THE 2008 CAMPAIGN
----------------------------------------------
We’re not always first because we’re #1;
We’re #1 because we are always first.
----------------------------------------------

OBAMA AUTHOR ANDY MARTIN INVITES INTERESTED "SHOE LEATHER" RESEARCHERS TO JOIN HIM IN HAWAII

MARTIN WILL LEAD A RESEARCH TEAM THAT WILL INVESTIGATE "THE LOST OBAMA" IN HAWAII

"WE ARE DOING THE JOB THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA REFUSE TO DO," SAYS MARTIN

(NEW YORK)(September 23, 2008) Andy Martin has an invitation for those who want to join in the effort to research and investigate the "Lost Obama." "Join me in Hawaii." Martin will lead a research team in Hawaii October 15-22.

"We have a plethora of leads for Obama in Hawaii, and we have numerous stories with a Hawaii angle," says Martin. "We have been forced to do the job the mainstream media refuse to do. The Internet rules!

"ContrarianCommentary.com is making available free participation in this research expedition. We are not collecting a penny from anyone. People who want to join us and share the research effort can make their own travel arrangements and hotel accommodations in Hawaii.

"We will link up on October 15th, and break up on the 22nd. We will have a full week to do in-depth investigation and reporting.

"It is strange that the media have ignored Obama's Hawaii years. How many stories have you seen on his formative period? Virtually none. Obama was not shaped by Chicago; he pitched up there as an adult. 'Barry O' was shaped by his unconventional family in Hawaii. As a general election approaches, media usually write profusely on a candidate's teenage years. There has been an iron curtain of silence imposed on Obama adolescence. All of us were teens once; we know how critical that development period is to our adult character. Truly, this is a period in Obama's life that the media have tried to forget; they have created the 'Lost Obama.'

"We will lead team volunteers as they help assemble a true picture of Obama in Hawaii. It is a unique opportunity to see news and analysis in the making. All people have to do is provide us with a paid reservation and we will allow them to join the team. We will assemble in Honolulu at our hotel. And from then on, the sky's the limit as we conduct our field research on Barack Obama. We will assemble each morning and each evening to share ideas, results, suggestions, conclusions and the like," says Martin.

Persons who are interested in joining ContrarianCommentary.com's research team in Hawaii October 15-22 may contact Andy Martin.

P.S. We often call ourselves #1 in campaign commentary, analysis and investigation. Our cutting edge analysis of William Ayers and Barack Obama has received notice as the first attempt to create a systematic timeline of the relationship between the two men.

http://swordattheready.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/puzzle-pieces-obamas-political-career-launched-by-terrorist-william-ayers/#comments

http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/obamas-ties-to-ayers-back-to-high-school/#comment-11673

We are continuing our investigation.
------------------------------------------

Readers of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask confirm this book is the intelligent bestseller about Barack Obama, and the only practical handbook on his unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Buy now: Immediate shipment available from Amazon.com. Signed copies of the book from: www.OrangeStatePress.com. Also available from www.BarnesandNoble.com
------------------------------------------
URGENT APPEAL: The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama is raising money to fight Barack Obama. http://CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. Please give generously up to the maximum of $100. Our ability to fight and defeat Barack Obama is directly dependent on the generosity of every American."
The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama limits itself to $100 maximum contributions; there are no bundlers, fat cats or illegal contributions. Obama is opposed to everything America stands for," says Executive Director Andy Martin. "But while Obama has raised more than a third of a BILLION dollars, his opponents have raised virtually nothing. We can't just sit back and expect John McCain to do the job all alone. Americans can either contribute now, or pay later. If we do not succeed, Obama will."
E-mail: contact@CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com
---------------------------------------
FULL DISCLOSURE: I have decided to oppose Barack Obama's election and have become Executive Director of The Stop Obama Coalition, http://StopObamaCoalition.com and CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. By default, I have become the national leader of the anti-Obama movement. I am not acting as either a Democrat or Republican. I have had no contact whatsoever with the McCain Campaign. The views expressed are entirely independent of McCain. I am not a member of any political organization. I am acting as an American citizen who sincerely believes Obama is not the man we need in the Oval Office. We are running a very dynamic and aggressive campaign against Obama. We know how. We are the recognized experts in the field. I will, however, continue to write my columns for ContrarianCommentary.com. /s/ Andy Martin
E-mail: contact@StopObamaCoalition.com
--------------------------------------
Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He is currently based in New York selling his new book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or cell (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]

Andy Martin calls Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times a bigot for using bigotry to support Barack Obama

Martin says that under widely accepted tenets of Islam, Obama was born into the Muslim faith. When Obama formally became a Christian through Holy Baptism, as Obama claims, is not clear.

Barack Obama and Nicholas Kristof on Islam

Rewriting Obama's religious history by attacking the truth

ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

AMERICA’S #1 POLITICAL
BLOG ON THE 2008 CAMPAIGN
----------------------------------------------
We’re not always first because we’re #1;
We’re #1 because we are always first.
----------------------------------------------

OBAMA AUTHOR ANDY MARTIN ATTACKED FOR PUBLISHING THE TRUTH ABOUT BARACK OBAMA

NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST NICHOLAS KRISTOF TRIES TO REWRITE BARACK OBAMA'S RELIGIOUS HISTORY

KRISTOF'S AGITPROP SEEKS TO ATTACK AMERICANS FOR ASKING LEGITIMATE QUESTIONS ABOUT OBAMA'S RELIGION THAT THE CANDIDATE HAS DESPERATELY TRIED TO CONCEAL

(NEW YORK)(September 22, 2008) Four years ago I wrote the first worldwide column exposing Barack Obama as a liar and exposing his family's Muslim heritage. My initial column is still one of the most Googled references on the Internet. My columns eventually culminated in a bestselling book: Obama: the Man Behind the Mask (http://OrangeStatePress.com). Although I was the first to use the "mask" analogy in my original Psychological Profile of Barack Obama, that trope has been widely adopted. Competing authors have also copied the "mask" phraseology.

Yesterday, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof called me "sleazy" and "disgusting." I have news for Mr. Kristof: it is his writing that his sleazy and disgusting. His agitprop on behalf of Obama is a disgrace to journalism. At the risk of popularizing someone with whom I have had my differences, Sean Hannity of Fox News has said 2008 is the year when "journalism died in America." Here's another example, Sean.

Truth, facts and integrity have certainly died at the New York Times.

Mr. Kristof also accused me of being a closet racist who is using Obama's religion as a "proxy for racial prejudice." On the contrary, all I have ever done is, to use Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro's classic put down, hold Barack Obama to the same standard as a white man. To accuse me of being "profoundly un-American" because I have consistently published the truth about Obama is disgraceful behavior and an example of how far the extreme left will go to demonize my research. My original columns, of course, were the basis for other bestselling books as well as my own.

First, a comment about Mr. Obama's Christianity. Here I may owe my readers a small apology. I was prepared to give Barack Obama the benefit of the doubt that he was a "Christian" based on his attendance at Trinity United Church of Christ ("UCC"); that may have been a mistake on my part. I gave Obama the benefit of the doubt before the disks in the Trinity UCC gift shop became a worldwide scandal and we heard the racist ranting of Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Frankly, I was shocked that at a church where a large portion of Chicago's African-American aristocracy worshiped, such vicious anti-white and anti-American propaganda would masquerade as "Christianity." Of course, today Trinity takes a "Who me?" attitude to this egregious history of racism and subversion. Apparently no one who is anyone in Chicago ever heard Reverend Wright preach except Oprah Winfrey, and she left.

Although Barack Obama calls himself a Christian, we do not know when he officially became one, and when he ended his flirtation with the Nation of Islam (another scoop which I released earlier this year). In my own Episcopal Church where I worship today, we keep detailed baptismal records.

Some years ago I lost my wallet and I had to reestablish my identity. I went back to the church where I was baptized, St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in New Britain, Connecticut. St George's still had my baptismal file in the church records. They gave me a copy. (I later joined my father's church, the Anglican [Episcopal] denomination).

I have no idea what the UCC maintains in the way of baptismal records, if any, but this I do know. We have never seen a baptismal certificate for Barack Obama and we do not have an actual date when he was baptized. Maybe Mr. Kristof can provide one. We have not seen a valid Obama birth certificate either. Maybe Kristof can provide that as well. Obama asks us to take his Christianity "on faith." I have no faith in Obama's integrity or truthfulness.

Barack Obama has the same rights as I do in this country. He is free to believe what he wants, and to worship where he wants, and no one can tell him otherwise. But the history of where he was baptized, and when, and what his parents and grandparents' religion was, are objective facts. (If you read my book you will find that Obama lies repeatedly and relentlessly about his family history, so the obfuscation over his Islamic heritage is part and parcel of his confused character and relentless concealment.)

The American people often trace family lineage back hundreds of years, which is why we have been told that Obama and Vice President Cheney are "cousins." Can we at least trace back Obama's religious traditions only two generations without being accused of bigotry? Don’t we have a right to do so without being demonized by the New York Times?

Now to the Muslim issue.

Obama's family history in the Muslim faith may be a large issue, as some believe, or it may be a very small issue, as others believe, or it may be a non-issue as liberals believe. But it is a legitimate topic of discussion and a bona fide area of scholarly research. The fact is, Obama has brutally attacked anyone who told the truth about his Muslim heritage, and relentlessly lied about his Islamic family.

I believe Obama has yet to face his own confused state of mind about his religious origins. Moreover, I believe that Americans are entitled to the truth, the full truth and nothing but the truth from Senator Obama; to date they have not received those disclosures. Issue? Non-issue? Each of us can draw our own conclusions once we have the undisputed facts. That is the way our society usually functions. Or as Dragnet's Sergeant Joe Friday would say, "Just the facts, ma'am."

Obama's mother married two, not one, Muslim men.

There does not appear to have been a mosque in Hawaii at the time when Obama's father lived there, so we do not know what he would have done had there been a Muslim facility.

We do know that Obama's stepfather occasionally took Obama and his sister to a mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia. We also know that Obama was registered as a Muslim at one of the schools he attended in Jakarta. There is no evidence—nor has Obama ever cited any-that his "atheistic" mother objected to his being classified as a Muslim while Barry (Barack) was living in Indonesia.

As I have stated before, there is nothing suspicious or unusual about parents choosing a religion for their children. Almost all parents choose the initial religion of their children, or no religion. My parents initially chose to have me baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church, which I attended and where I was a very devoted altar boy. Later as an adult I transferred my membership to the Episcopal Church of my father and grandfather. There is nothing secret about any of this, and I have nothing to hide. (One of my grandmothers was Roman Catholic.)

Some religions transfer their heritage through the mother. In Judaism, for example, the Jewish religious tradition is handed down through the mother. In the Muslim religion, however, which often tracks Judaism and Christianity, but not in this case, the father hands down the family's religion.

Thus, at birth, by virtue of Obama's Muslim father, Barack Obama, Junior received the same Islamic faith as his Kenyan father. The Kenyan wing of Obama's family is almost all Muslim. Even the woman Obama falsely calls his "granny" was quoted as stating she is a devoted Muslim. If everyone in your family is a Muslim, it is a fair conclusion that you began life as a Muslim. What is Mr. Kristof's problem with the foregoing facts?

Is there widespread confusion about Obama's religion? Indeed there is. Why is that? First, the fact Obama's father was a Muslim raises the obvious point that as a result of the tenets of some Muslims his son also began life as a Muslim.

Some months ago there was a dispute in the New York Times when another writer made my points, and the Times promptly produced Muslim scholars to oppose the patrilineal passage of Islam from a father to his children. There was also a dispute about whether the Islamic faith has a "Once a Muslim, always Muslim" doctrine. Indeed, Islam is no more monolithic a religion than Christianity. Sects, denominations and even nations disagree about the "true" nature of Islam. But the fact that Christians disagree does not convert their disagreements into a negation of Christianity. Likewise, the fact that some Muslims disagree with the "Once a Muslim, Always a Muslim" doctrine does not mean that hundreds of millions of Muslims do not follow that belief. They do. It's a fact. People have recently been threatened with death for announcing a desire to leave the Muslim religion.

The first time Obama left home, when he attended college at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he gravitated to a circle of Muslim friends. While this Muslim circle is nothing sinister, it is another small piece of circumstantial evidence concerning Obama's religious state of mind. Boy leaves home and heads straight for the Muslim community on campus. Well.

And how about this? I take a contrarian point of view on the Middle East where my columns have defended Islam and challenged American policy. As a result, I have many readers throughout the Islamic world. When I began to criticize Obama, some of my followers wrote me and said "Shhh. He's one of us." Thus, many Muslims believe Obama is a Muslim. That' a fact.

Obama could have avoided all of this confusion if he had simply told the truth years ago. For some reason Barack fears the truth. No one had had to "Otherize" him as Kristof suggests. Obama "Otherizes" himself. For the reasons stated in my Psychological Profile, Obama does not like to tell the truth. He has lived the better part of his life in a fantasy world, and it is into that fantasyland that he retreats when he must deal with confusion and confrontation. In "Obamaland," "Barry Obama" was never a Muslim.

Kristof says that people are interested in Obama's religious history because we are using religion as a "proxy" for racism. That is a despicable suggestion. I don't know about Kristof but I have a publicly documented lifetime of work on behalf of civil rights, and a worldwide reputation for standing by Islam and condemning religious demonization. The only bigot in the room is Kristof, because he seeks to use bigotry and a subterfuge for Obama's psychological confusion and evasion.

Kristof's final slander is to claim some false sense of honor because he contributed to the confusion over Obama's religious history. Kristof previously wrote about Obama's singing the Islamic call to prayer in Arabic. On Sunday, September 21st, Kristof tried to impeach himself. He claimed that Obama could remember this prayer because "the call to prayer blasts from mosque loudspeakers five times a day." I have lived in Muslim lands, and I would hasten to say that very little that originates with the muezzin can be heard at a distance. Obama must have lived very close to a mosque if he was able to decipher the call to prayer so clearly and after the passage of forty (40) years as Kristof now suggests.

Kristof closes his smears by accusing scholars/writers such as myself of "calculating to undermine the political process" and "magnifying the ugliest prejudices." On the contrary, it is Obama, who has repeatedly and relentlessly lied about his religious history, and fellow travelers such as Kristof, who are doing so much to undermine our democratic institutions by seeking to substitute a big lie for the truth in this election campaign.

I stand by my facts. And I stand by the truth. It would be nice if Kristof and Obama would do likewise.
------------------------------------------

Readers of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask confirm this book is the intelligent bestseller about Barack Obama, and the only practical handbook on his unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Buy now: Immediate shipment available from Amazon.com. Signed copies of the book from: www.OrangeStatePress.com. Also available from www.BarnesandNoble.com
------------------------------------------
URGENT APPEAL: The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama is raising money to fight Barack Obama. http://CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. Please give generously up to the maximum of $100. Our ability to fight and defeat Barack Obama is directly dependent on the generosity of every American."
The Committee of One Million to Defeat Barack Obama limits itself to $100 maximum contributions; there are no bundlers, fat cats or illegal contributions. Obama is opposed to everything America stands for," says Executive Director Andy Martin. "But while Obama has raised more than a third of a BILLION dollars, his opponents have raised virtually nothing. We can't just sit back and expect John McCain to do the job all alone. Americans can either contribute now, or pay later. If we do not succeed, Obama will."
E-mail: contact@CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com
---------------------------------------
FULL DISCLOSURE: I have decided to oppose Barack Obama's election and have become Executive Director of The Stop Obama Coalition, http://StopObamaCoalition.com and CommitteeofOneMilliontoDefeatBarackObama.com. By default, I have become the national leader of the anti-Obama movement. I am not acting as either a Democrat or Republican. I have had no contact whatsoever with the McCain Campaign. The views expressed are entirely independent of McCain. I am not a member of any political organization. I am acting as an American citizen who sincerely believes Obama is not the man we need in the Oval Office. We are running a very dynamic and aggressive campaign against Obama. We know how. We are the recognized experts in the field. I will, however, continue to write my columns for ContrarianCommentary.com. /s/ Andy Martin
E-mail: contact@StopObamaCoalition.com
--------------------------------------
Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He is currently based in New York selling his new book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or cell (917) 664-9329 E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.