Senator Barack Obama - Please don't get 'Kerry"d away!

* Update*

Obama Courting Evangelicals Once Loyal to Bush

Obama Backs Expanded Government-Funded Faith Organizations


Sen. Obama practices one of the basic principles of marketing- spread uncertainty...He is trying to thread the needle on the 'abortion issue.' At this rate, he will keep losing his core supporters, because it is better to have a Bush third term with the Republicans than with the Democrats. At least the 'Right' party gets the credit. Obama's abortion answer spurs questions.

* Updated*
Article from the Financial Times, Obama seeks to tackle doubters, describes the Senator's changing positions.

WSJ has a brutal Op-Ed on Obama- Bush's Third Term

Two headlines from the past couple of days involving Sen. Barack Obama:

1. Obama backs faith in public life and Obama Seeks Bigger Role for Religious Groups
2. Obama courts conservatives with new faith program
3. Obama Voters Protest His Switch on Telecom Immunity

Mr. Obama and his staff are doing their calculations and making their bets on how many independent/evangelical votes they stand to gain and how many liberal votes they might lose by these positions. Mr. Obama has been actively cozying up to the religious right/evangelicals by promising government money for "faith-based" activities and supporting the right wing element of the Supreme Court in its recent rulings on guns and capital punishment.

While many people blame the "Swift Boating" by President Bush's cronies for Sen. Kerry's loss in 2004, perhaps an equally important reason was that Mr. Kerry did not offer a clear, conscientious, liberal alternative to the Republicans. In nearly every issue, he came across as Republican-lite, and the public preferred the 'real' deal rather than the 'lite' version.

At a fundamental level, one's principles should guide one's thoughts and then the resulting actions. There is no reason why the telecommunications companies should be granted immunity, and there is absolutely no reason why government should get involved in religion.

While compromise is part of any political process, it should be on specific policies and procedures and not on principles. Mr. Obama risks losing part of his "core" supporters, and as any successful leader knows, one has to build on the Core and attack from strength- not weaken the Core.