Obama on the Stump

How did I miss this? Newsweek:

On a sunlit Friday afternoon in July, Barack Obama stopped by Beverly Van Fossen's farm in Adel, Iowa, to speak about "rural issues." It was standard Hawkeye State stumping—until the senator took a stab at sympathizing with farmers whose crop prices have stagnated. "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?" he asked.

This wouldn't even play in a lot of Chicagoland. But yes, it plays well among the Lakeshore and Northshore liberals. Tough for him to reel in those downscale Democrats.

Obama, though, has no trouble trolling for contributions from lobbyist bottom feeders, who thrive in the political murk. Dennis Byrne:

At last, the national media are catching on, noting that Obama talks a good game about bringing a new day to Washington, but what he's really bringing are old ways from one of the nation's most corrupt political states. The Boston Globe noted that two-thirds of the money Obama raised for his state Senate campaign came from political-action committees, corporate contributions or unions -- all special interests. The Los Angeles Times reported that Obama has raised $1.4 million from members of law firms and consultants led by partners who are lobbyists. The Washington newspaper, The Hill, reported how he used lobbyists to help build his fundraising base.

Obama's an outsider to most Americans, out of touch with how most Americans live, but he fast became an insider in Springfield and in Washington. And nothing underscores this more than his hoary old liberalism. Kimberley Strassel, WSJ, RCP:

Barack Obama produced a little shiver among his party's fiscal disciplinarians when he recently blurted out (at the Kos event, in case you were wondering), that he'd be happy to run up deficits in the name of greater domestic spending.

Most Americans don't like deficits, and they like the associated Democrat tax increases even less.

Previous posts: AP Gets Snotty with Obama, Deny it all you like, Rezko's Public Pies