Running For President? Anyone Can Play!

Jennifer Rubin quotes Jack Kelly

Less is known about Barack Obama than about any major party candidate for president in modern history. His public resume is thin — eight years in the Illinois Senate, four in the U.S. Senate, with two of them spent running for president.

And no candidate for president has had more problematic associations. Barack Obama’s first major financial backer was Antoin “Tony” Rezko, currently awaiting sentencing on corruption charges. For nearly 20 years Mr. Obama attended services where the Rev. Jeremiah Wright preached hatred of the United States, and of white people. The radical group ACORN has been committing voter registration fraud on a massive scale. Mr. Obama taught classes for ACORN organizers, and represented the group in a lawsuit against the state of Illinois. The most significant managerial responsibility Barack Obama has ever had was as chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a project conceived of by unrepentant domestic terrorist William Ayers.

These associations have been less explored by the mainstream news media than has Joe the Plumber’s divorce and a tax lien against him.

On Kelly's point on the media's refusal to investigate Obama, Rubin notes:

But whatever the reason, one wonders if we have set a new low bar for qualifications and disclosure for presidential candidates. In the future, when the candidate is less “transformative,” will we get more data? Will voters expect more evidence that he possesses the skill, ability, and knowledge to do the job?

Will Obama's first legacy be dumbing down the electoral process?

Technorati Tag: Obama.