A Soldier's Take on the 2008 Presidential Election

A woman I do computer work for sent me this email from her son currently serving in Iraq. He is protecting our freedom and way of life and out of respect please take the time to learn the truth about this year's election. It is so sad that many americans rely on the liberal and conservative media for their information on presidential candidates. It seems nobody does any real research anymore. If they had, things might have been different. The contents of his email are below.

(His email address has been removed from this blog to protect his privacy)

To all of my friends and family back in the States,
In the aftermath of Barrack Obama's historic victory, I feel compelled to share with you my feelings at this time. And I think that many of you will be surprised by my reaction. First off, let me complain about the fact that I was unable to vote in this election. Like many service members currently deployed, our absentee ballots did not arrive in time to be sent back and received by the Registrar's office by the required deadline. And many states do not have online or fax-in voting. This is the second election in which military members have not have not had a 100% say. That itself, is a great injustice as we are the ones who PROTECT our right to vote. OK, enough of that, back to the election result and what it means to me and what my areas of concern are.
As a Republican, I am proud to see an African American be elected President.
*After all, it was a Republican President, Abraham Lincoln (who Obama cites as one his political heroes and often quotes, even in his victory speech), who signed the Emancipation Proclamation and freed the slaves.
*It was a Republican, Teddy Roosevelt (one of my personal heroes) who invited Booker T. Washington (the first black Civil Rights leader, and former slave) to the the White House and became the first President to open the discussion on civil rights a race relations.
*It was the Republicans who overturned the segregationist laws of the Democratic led "Jim Crow" south in the 60's, and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King.
*It was a Republican, George H. Bush, who nominated the first black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Colin Powell).
*It was his son and current President, George W. Bush, who was the first President to fill his Cabinet with minorities; Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice - Secs. of State, Gonzalez- Attorney General, Carlos Gutierrez -Sec. of Commerce, Elaine Chao -Sec. of Labor, etc.
Republicans have historically made way for the Civil Rights of all people because we believe in the merits of the individual, not the race, religion or ethnicity to which they belong. Again, because of this tradition of equal rights and equal opportunity for all people, that I am particularly proud of the results of this election.
Now, as a fiscal conservative, I am concerned for the economic future of our country. President-Elect Obama and I have fundamental differences on how we perceive our Free-Market economy which historically, is the STRONGEST ECONOMY IN THE HISTORY OF WORLD! Economic Socialism, which the President-Elect is a proponent of, has failed every time it ever been attempted in history and has always led to collapse. The most notable example of this is the Soviet Union. Income redistribution is unjust and has always led to a national depression, corruption and rebellion. I fear that some of Obama's plans for government interference in the FREE market will not keep it free and will halt American productivity. Capitalism has been nurturing and protecting ingenuity, initiative and progress for centuries and if we over regulate, we will destroy that. Again, history has proven that the free market will always out-produce any government program and it is the free market that fosters the great American industrious spirit. President-Elect Obama, in his victory speech, talked about everyone rolling up their sleeves and working hard. I hope he really means that. I do not want to see government hand outs. I am all in favor of the government giving a hand-up, but not in giving a hand out. I will choose who I hand something out to because that is the spirit of being charitable and I am FREE to do so. For those of us that pay taxes (and there are some of you reading this that really do not pay taxes) this is an especially important topic.
As a Marine, I am concerned for the security of this nation that I have sworn to defend. I do not believe that President-Elect Obama has anything but the best of intentions for this country. I do realize, however, that he has been in league with people who do not share those intentions. Two of the most notable characters are William Ayers and Rashid Khalidi. Ayers was the co-founder of the Weather Underground, a domestic terrorist organization in the 60's that bombed many municipal buildings including the NYPD Headquarters and the Pentagon. Ayers is quoted as saying that his "biggest regret is that he failed to kill anyone when he bombed the Pentagon". Why Barrack Obama considers this man his friend is beyond me. Here is a man who actually wished he killed people. People just like me. He wanted to take American military lives and lives of New York Policeman and make their children fatherless. The fact that this man was pardoned and he is now a college professor is a criminal act itself. And why it is considered a Rite of Passage for Chicago Democrats to have an "introductory luncheon" with Ayers baffles me.
Rashid Khalidi, who held fundraisers for Obama, is co-founder of the Arab American Action Network, or AAAN. AAAN is opposed to the existence of Israel and supports anti-semitism worldwide. Khalidi has made statements supportive of Palestinian terror and reportedly has worked on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization while it was involved in anti-Western terrorism and was labeled by the State Department as a terror group. Again, why Obama would accept a fundraiser from this guy and why he would associate himself with someone who feels that Hitler didn't do enough in the attempted extermination of the Jews is beyond me. Again, I DO NOT think that President-Elect Obama supports the hate filled agendas of these individuals, but I have to question his judgment in choosing to spend his time with these people. And if he just didn't know about these people when he accepted their friendship and support, than he may be too ignorant to effectively deal with our increasingly hostile world.
Obama's willingness to sit down and negotiate with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (the President of Iran) is my last great concern. Ahmadinejad does not recognize Israel and has beliefs such as all homosexuals should be executed! (Nice guy.) Why meet with the man and legitimize his power? Again, history has shown us that negotiating with madmen is a doomed policy. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler and upon returning to England stated that he has achieved "Peace in our time", he was confident that Hitler's aggressiveness had been subsided. Shortly after that, Germany marched into Poland and would eventually kill tens of thousands of Jews and bomb the Hell out of London. Chamberlain is recognized as one of history's greatest jack-asses.
It is my sincerest and most optimistic hope that Barrack Obama is successful as President. I will be keeping a close eye on his policies as they relate to the issues I have discussed, and I hope that all of you who are reading this do the same. I hope that this election ushers in a new era of positive race relations domestically and stronger international relations. I hope that he stays true to his word and that his presidency is not defined by his race but by his actions while in office.
Semper Fi and God Bless.

Michael