No, He Can’t Because Yes, They Will

No, He Can’t Because Yes, They Will
Expert guest post by Larry
C. Johnson
cross-posted at No Quarter

Obama’s mantra, “Yes, We Can” is inspiring and heartwarming,
but in the end is an empty phrase that will founder once the Republican political
attack machine spins up. I realize that most Obamatons are so wedded to his
vision of hope that any effort to point out the cracks in the foundation of
the new Democratic Savior are met with fury and disdain.

If you think for a minute that the Republican party–who used Willie
Horton on Michael Dukakis to devastating effect, who portrayed triple amputee
and veteran Max Cleland
as a bosom buddy of Osama Bin Laden, and convinced many voters that decorated
combat veteran John Kerry was a fraud–will give Obama a pass come
the fall then you are in serious denial.

But, unlike the attacks on Dukakis, Cleland, and Kerry, the ammunition that
Obama has provided to his political foes is significant and deadly. But try
telling that to Obama disciples. You get name calling and character assassination
(just read the reaction to this piece). At the same time, Obama is treated with
a reverence and fawning that I have never seen in my life for a political figure.
What in the world was Chris Matthew’s talking about with his tingling
leg adulation
heaped on Obama:

During MSNBC’s live coverage of Tuesday’s primary elections, after the speech of Barack Obama aired, Chris Matthews breathlessly expressed his admiration…and extreme excitement for Barack Obama by saying “I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don’t have that too often.”

So, while Democrats engage in self-censorship and promote the worst kind of
affirmative action pandering in promoting the myth of Obama, the Republicans
are keeping mum and, like Brer Rabbit, begging not to be tossed into the briar
patch and face the fearsome Obama. (Want to bet how many accusations of racism
I will get for referring to Brer Rabbit?)

Obama’s untested achilles heel is his relationship with three men–Tony
Rezko, William Ayers, and Rashid Khalidi. These names will become shorthand
for Corruption, Terrorism, and the Destruction of Israel. Oh yes, I know. I
am going to extremes. Well, let me lay out the facts and explain how the Republicans
will likely use these relationships to bludgeon Obama’s Presidential aspirations
into dust. My challenge to you Obama supporters is to explain to me and other
readers of this blog how Obama will defuse these issues.

The Tony Rezko Problem:

There is a growing body of material in the blogosphere on this issue (looseheadprop
has an excellent overview), but the mainstream media has paid little attention
and most Americans know nothing of Rezko’s bribery and corruption trial.
Not yet. But that will change starting 25 February, when Rezko goes on trial
in Chicago. The best Obama can hope for is an acquittal or mistrial. He cannot
deny his longstanding friendship with Rezko. A man who has played a significant
role in raising funds for his political campaigns and a man who helped Obama
and his wife get the home of their dreams.

But it is highly unlikely that Rezko gets off. He just got nailed for lying
to the Judge about his alleged poverty and was promptly arrested for hiding
millions of dollars overseas. And he is up against Patrick Fitzgerald. Pat Fitzgerald
does not go to court unprepared and does not have a record of losing, particularly
in Illinois. Remember, this is the guy who nailed Scooter Libby and the former
Governor of Illinois. The boy plays to win.

When Rezko is convicted and, the details of the corruption and bribery charges
are fleshed out and the public learns that Senator Obama got some of that dirty
cash, do you really believe the public won’t care that the Democratic
nominee for President is involved with a convicted felon? Hell, this is a political
attack ad that writes itself.

The William Ayers Problem:

William Ayers is an unrepentant terrorist, though he is normally described
as a distinguished education professor. One does not necessarily rule out the
other, but he himself acknowledges planting bombs in U.S. Federal buildings.
There is now undeniable proof of a longstanding relationship between Barack
Obama and William Ayers. We are not talking about two guys who just happened
to bump into one another on the street. We are not talking about a secret admirer
(Ayers) who quietly sent $200 to an aspiring politician.

No, we are talking about William Ayers hosting a fundraiser for Barack Obama
and actively working with him to secure Barack’s first electoral victory
in Illinois. But wait, there is more. Barack and Ayers also served on the board
of the Woods Fund. And
they worked together to give money to some other folks, including a group with
ties to the PLO.

What makes Ayers so toxic is his own written record equating U.S. Marines with
terrorists. Look at the beating that John Kerry took for tossing his medals
over the White House fence. Ayers did not toss medals, he threw bombs. Real
ones. Bombs that exploded.

Do you think that Republicans will ignore Obama’s ties to Ayers? The
two were serving on the same board in 2002. We are talking less than six years
ago and the record will come out showing some questionable grants by these two
characters. William Ayers, in the age of terrorism, will be Barack Obama’s
Willie Horton.

The Problem of Rashid Khalidi:

So far, the press has paid little attention to Obama’s ties to Rashid
Khalidi, Middle East Professor at Columbia University and PLO activist. An article
in The Jewish Week
from last year offers up this tantalizing tidbit:

Khalidi, now the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, and head of that school’s Middle East Institute, declined to comment on Abunimah’s recollections. But in an interview in Tuesday’s Daily News, he said he hosted the fundraiser because he and Obama were friends while the two lived in Chicago. “He never came to us and said he would do anything in terms of Palestinians,” Khalidi told the paper. Nevertheless, one Hyde Park source close to Obama, speaking only on condition of anonymity, recalled, “He often expressed general sympathy for the Palestinians — though I don’t recall him ever saying anything publicly.”

Obama has made his pilgrimage to AIPAC (funny, but in his campaign against
special interests and their grip on Washington he gives AIPAC a pass) and worked
to position himself as a friend of Israel. But the relationship with Khalidi
has not yet received the white hot media attention that tends to occur during
the dog days of July and August, when the press needs a story. And guess who
helped broker the appearance of Iran’s Ahmadinejad last summer at Columbia
University? Professor Khalidi. New York Times had his reaction to the event:

Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Arab studies and director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia, said, “The tone from the host of an event was uncivil and uncalled for. “The president of the university had every right to state his differences,” he said. “That was more than acceptable. But I believe it was embarrassing to the university, frankly, that they should decide to invite him and then treat him in this manner.”

Now, which Presidential candidate is calling for talks with Iran? You do not
have to be Karl Rove or Lee Atwater to figure out how to tie Obama with Ahmadinejad
using Obama’s friendship with Khalidi.

I don’t know what else is out there on Obama. Unfortunately, the worshipful,
servile attitude of many Democrats and media personalities so far has hindered
a tough look at Obama’s friends and associates and his judgment. But that
will come. What should concern Democrats keen on taking back the White House
is whether or not these issues will be fully vetted before Obama is installed
as the candidate. My guess is no.

And what do Republicans think? I only have anecdotal evidence. I asked an old
friend, who served in law enforcement (I’ll leave the particular agency
out of it) for more than thirty years, about the William Ayers era. There are
a lot of Federal agents who believe that Ayers is a terrorist who got away with
his crimes and still owes a debt to society. My friend wrote the following to
me today:

I think many of my friends believe Obama is beatable; however they concede that Clinton can win. Therefore, the thinking goes, WE hope Obama gets the Democratic nod and THEN flood the gates with information later.

Feelings of hope and inspiration about Obama will evaporate when the commercials
tying him to a convicted felon slumlord, an unrepentant terrorist who hates
the troops, and a Professor of Middle Eastern Studies who has been a PLO official
spouting anti-Israel rhetoric. Oh, YES THEY WILL! YES, THEY WILL.

About Larry Johnson:
Larry C. Johnson is CEO and co-founder
of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm with
expertise combating terrorism and investigating money laundering. Mr. Johnson
works with US military commands in scripting terrorism exercises, briefs on
terrorist trends, and conducts undercover investigations on counterfeiting,
smuggling and money laundering. Mr. Johnson, who worked previously with the
Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter
Terrorism, is a recognized expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security,
crisis and risk management.