The foreign money canard

The latest issue that the Democrats are promoting is the purported use of foreign money by the US Chamber of Commerce to campaign against Democrats. This issue has been raised by the President, the vice president, David Axelrod, and a host of other prominent Democrats connected to the White House. The charge is denied by the Chamber of commerce which says that it fully complies with all election laws. More to the point, all of the liberal media confirm that there is not any evidence of any wrongdoing by the Chamber of commerce; there is not even any reason for further investigation.

When this charge first came out, I thought that Obama was just trying to change the subject away from the economy. After all, Obama and his party have had full control over the economy for two years and nothing has gone right. Unemployment continues at high levels with no sign of abating. The so called "Recovery Summer" turned out to be a joke; nothing recovered and the economy wilted. Spending has soared. Taxes are set to jump in the single biggest tax increase in US history. It is no wonder that Obama would want to change the subject.

Tonight, however, I heard Brit Hume on FNC's Special Report express a different view. He believes that throwing these bogus charges of evil foreign money out into the campaign is a sign that the Democrats are now resigned to losing and are simply trying to keep the loss as small as possible. Hume opines that this type of negative attack is not one that will motivate independents; it is designed to energize the left wing base of the Democrats. He thinks that the Democrats have given up trying to attract the majority of independents and just want to get as much of their base out as possible to keep a rout from becoming an extinction event.

While this sounds correct at first, I am not so sure it holds water. I truly believe that obama still thinks he can sway the outcome of the election. That is why he is out at these massive rallies. he is putting his prestige on the line in a state like Pennsylvania where the polls show that the Republicans will win the governorship, the senate race, five or more additional House seats, and both houses of the State legislature. Indeed, Pennsylvania will probably be the worst loss that the Democrats suffer (although Ohio will be a close second). If Obama does not think he will have any effect on the outcome, it would be crazy to put his prestige on the line in a clearly losing effort.

Hopefully, Obama will learn what ABC Sports used to call the agony of defeat. The country needs for him to learn that just because he gives a speech, nothing actually changes. We need a president who understands reality. since we are stuck with Obama for another two years, it would be nice if he were somehow to get the message.