Barack the Unready

Back when I worked on our high school newspaper, it seemed that taking a typing course would facilitate my ability to communicate in print. That course proved to be one of the most valuable courses I undertook. What I remember most clearly from learning to develop speed and dexterity on those primitive typewriters was practicing the sentence: Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Apparently the phrase was selected to facilitate the development of reach and movement along the qwerty keyboard. Those words came to mind again this morning as I pondered how to best address the impossibly easy choice Americans face today in the Presidential election. Do we choose an admittedly imperfect and sometimes cantankerous battler with an almost genteel sense of honor; a man who has proven under the most challenging and intimidating conditions imaginable that he will do the right thing for his country? Or do we opt for the smooth talking, stylish newcomer, still untested in his career, in politics, or even in the examination of his background by a fawning, complicit media? For me and many like me, the choice to show up and vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin is an easy and urgent one. Ten centuries ago in 991, a leader ascended to the throne of Anglo-Saxon England. Ethelred (or Aethelred) was the son of Edgar the Peaceful, great grandson of Alfred the Great. Under Edgar, all of the various kingdoms of England were finally united under one ruler. But Edgar died young, leaving two pre-adolescent sons from different mothers, with both enlisting agents to engage in the subterfuge necessary to gain the throne. Although the forces behind Edward the Martyr were able to gain power for a brief period, the counselors for Ethelred were able to murder Edward and place Ethelred on the throne. At the time he was merely 10 years old, and thus, the title “The Unready” was advanced. The very late 10th century and early 11th century were a treacherous time for England, with the Vikings resuming their plundering raids on the northeast coastal villages of England, often advancing far into the interior. Foremost among these raiders or Jomvikings were Sweyn Forkbeard and Thorkell the Tall. Forkbeard won a decisive battle at Molden and the young Ethelred’s advisors convinced him to pay a ransom to the Danes of 10,000 pounds in order that they might leave England in peace. Of course, this proved to be unwise counsel, as the Danes began to make a habit of returning annually to pillage and leaving with a ransom, generally in the area of 10-25,000 pounds. It is important to remember that the alternative definition of Ethelred’s Old English nickname is folly or bad counsel. Eventually the Danes took the throne from Ethelred and a see-saw battle ensued between the nations until William the Conqueror roared across the channel and settled all of England’s hash for both the Danes and the Saxons. Our current world order is not dissimilar to that of millennial England. Our great nation has been a stalwart, standing alone against the onslaught of Islamic Terrorism and the resurgent creep of belligerent Communism. Most of the tribute we pay goes to the nations who would rather raid and pillage in America in petro-dollars. Fortunately there has been a steady hand at the head of our military, preventing the more rapacious intentions of our enemies from causing us more than financial harm. And now we have a candidate, much like Ethelred, who has the potential to gain power through various subterfuge and artifice. Certainly the efforts of Acorn and the Daley machine politics of disinformation, destruction of one’s enemy via the press, and the collaboration of a complicit media ready to go to any lengths to gain power for their chosen one amount to subterfuge, if not treason. While Obama is not a 10 year-old, his level of experience is nearly non-existent and what evidence we have of his capacity to undertake the protection and preservation of our great nation is woefully slim. Yes, he is truly Barack the Unready. And not in just the fact of his limited experience. For Barack may have been capable of overcoming his lack of experience. But like young Ethelred, Obama combines his youth and inexperience with both folly and bad counsel. What other words describe the positions and world-views of Jeremiah Wright, William Ayres, Rashid Khalidi, Tony Rezco, James Johnson and Father Pfleger? And these are just a few of the woeful counsel Obama has enlisted through-out his meteoric rise to the top of the Democrat party. It is frightening to consider that among all of those Barack Obama has enlisted or sought teaching from, there is not a single man or woman among them who could be considered a positive force for the benefit of America as we know it. From Saul Alinsky to Frank Johnson to the recent bandwagon jumper’s-on like Grace Jones and Erica Jong, Obama’s counsel is as un-American as his resume is empty. Surprisingly, the words of another Democrat, John F. Kennedy are most appropriate today. Do we vote for Obama and ask what our country will do for us? Or can we behave like grown-ups and ask what we can do for our great country? The greatest thing anyone proud to be an American can do at this perilous time, is to go out today and cast your vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin. They are ready, willing and able to continue pursuing the righteous path of American glory.