Matthew, put down the Kool-aid.

“Obama was / is a fairly straightforward candidate.”

Well, I’ve got to give you that one. He started out saying he wouldn’t run for President right away, ’cause the people if Illinois had sent him to the Senate to do something or other, etc. He was, of course, just kidding.

Then he said he was going to accept public financing, and – whoop! Just kidding again! At which point he began to raise funds fraudulently by disabling the verification on his site’s credit-card processing system.

His entire campaign progressed in this manner – so yes, he’s been pretty straightforward – as long as perpetual dishonesty is considered straightforward.

“He knew some people with objectionable histories..” M, that describes most of those who raised him, and most if not all of those who associate with him now. There is only one reasonable inference to glean from this. An analogy: if someone has one friend who’s racist, it’s unfair to assume anything because of it. If 90% that person’s friends are racist, would you still grant the benefit of the doubt?

“No, Bush bailed out the banks. Obama signed a stimulus package. They’re two different things.” Child, what was Obama’s vote on TARP again? And that stimulus money has accomplished…what, exactly? I haven’t seen any of it, but then my congressional district actually exists.