Headaches for Obama this week

It is only Wednesday, and Obama is already facing a bunch of issues that question his pledges and associations. While each of these items might deserve their own post, I’ve decided to consolidate them in a single post just so you can get a feel for what Obama is dealing with at the moment.

The FISA bill: Early on in the campaign, Barack Obama came out strongly against providing immunity to the telecom companies that provided information to the intelligence communities shortly after 9/11 to follow-up on leads of terrorist communications coming into our country from overseas. Just 5 months ago in February, Obama voted against the Senate bill providing retroactive immunity for these companies. But today, Obama voted yes on the new FISA bill that provides the retroactive immunity that he was so vocal against just a few months back. Why? After a slew of angry posts on his campaign website, Obama posted a statement regarding his vote:

This was not an easy call for me. I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn’t have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush’s abuse of executive power. It grants retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have violated the law by cooperating with the Bush Administration’s program of warrantless wiretapping. This potentially weakens the deterrent effect of the law and removes an important tool for the American people to demand accountability for past abuses. That’s why I support striking Title II from the bill, and will work with Chris Dodd, Jeff Bingaman and others in an effort to remove this provision in the Senate.

If he felt so strongly against this, I can’t see how he would have given in with the other 68 Senators that voted in favor of it (Hillary Clinton voted against it), since it will be more difficult to strip Title II from the bill after it has been passed than before hand.

Obama’s children: After a much-hyped televised event introducing Obama’s two daughters to the nation in a televised interview, the Senator came out today saying he regretted the exposure. He stated:

We had a unique situation in Montana where it was Malia’s birthday, and all of us, I think, got caught up in the festivities. And so they had a chance to be their adorable selves on TV, but generally we’ve been very protective of them. And, you know, in retrospect, I think if you’d asked me, we probably wouldn’t have done it then, and we wouldn’t do it again.

He also stated in a different interview that “suddenly this thing cropped up [and] I didn’t catch it quickly enough.” As one who constantly campaigns on the premise that he has the foresight to make the right decisions, something as simple as getting “caught up” in the moment and exposing his daughters on TV makes you wonder what else he might regret doing in the future. (Note: There is nothing wrong with him being proud of his two precious and sweet daughters.)

Jesse Jackson: “Jesse, Jesse, Jesse… Why do you do this to me?” That must have been the first thing that flashed through Obama’s mind after he learned about a comment Jesse Jackson made in front of an open mic before an interview today. Whispering to another black guest sitting next to him in front of the mic, Jackson stated:

Barack’s been talking down to black people … I want to cut his nuts off.

Ouch (in more ways that one)! What provoked Jackson to say such a thing to another guest? I have no answer for you. But this isn’t the first time Jackson has created a headache for Obama. If you remember last year, Jackson accused Obama of “acting like he’s white.” I understand that Jackson makes his living by keeping the racial divide in our country alive and strong, but if you have thrown your support behind a candidate, you would think that you would try not to embarrass him, especially as he is already trying to shake off his associations with Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Tony Rezko, and others.

Websites of interest:
A Disgruntled Republican – “Barack Obama: Jesse Jackson apologises for comments”
Polisicks – “Jackson Wishes to ‘Cut Obama’s Nuts Off’ … I think.”
Republican Ranting – “Jesse Jackson Apologises for Wanting to Cut Obama’s Nuts Off”
The ramblings of an inquisitive idiot – “Congress Caves In On New FISA Bill”
The BoBo Files – “He wants to cut his ‘what’ off?”
First Door on the Left – “Meet the Obamas”
Google News – “Jesse Jackson says sorry to Obama for ‘crude’ remark”
Reuters – “Jesse Jackson says Obama ‘taling down’ to blacks”
Midwest Voices - “Jesse Jackson flames out”
New York Post – “Jesse Jackson says he wants to cut Obama’s ‘nuts out’”