Claremont McKenna's Andrew E. Busch on Barack Obama

I generally don't weigh in on national issues. It's not that it's not my thing. It's just that you will probably get better analysis elsewhere, but Professor Busch has opened the door and against my better judgment I'm walking right in.

Andrew E. Busch, Associate Dean and Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College,
has an piece critiquing Obama's race speech over at National Review Online.

These two lines struck my attention that pretty much sum up my frustration with the speech.

A certain disingenuousness hung over it. Although Obama rejected Wright’s statements, he spent an enormous amount of time explaining them.

I watch the speech and have several observations.

• In light of Obama's wife's statement about how it's the first time in her adult life she's ever felt proud about America, does Wright's statements establish a pattern of behavior among Obama's friends that cuts against his image as a "uniter"?
  

• How does Obama think it's appropriate to compare the alleged private racism of his grandmother with the public and sold statements of his pastor? Is he really putting down his dead grandma to try and score political points? His grandmother spoke in his confidence, while his pastor spoke in front of large audiences. To compare the two statements is to compare pocket theft with grand larceny.
  

• Why did Obama compare Wright's statements with those of Ferraro? Does he think her statement is any way comparable?
  

• If Wright is such an "uncle" to him, why did Obama disinvite him from his presidential announcement?
  

ABC News has done the legwork on this one -- shocking, I know -- and discovered that the speech he gave last night contradicts a year of his previous statements.

I'd love for anyone from the Claremont Colleges for Barack Obama to come in and explain this for me.

Petropoulous Scandal on National Review's Phi Beta Cons

The post is short, so I'll just repost it here.

A Professor, Stolen Art, and Nazis [Allison Kasic]

What more could you want in a controversy? Elise Viebeck has the details over at the Claremont Independent.

03/19 10:19 AM

Ms. Kasic is the director of the campus programs at the Independent Women's Forum. Ms. Viebeck worked there last summer and wrote this report. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, there is a vast right-wing conspiracy.

For what it's worth, that's the second mention on Phi Beta Cons of The Claremont Independent this week and the second mention for Ms. Viebeck in a three week period. Not bad, not bad at all.