Does anyone know who the real Barack Obama is?

For some time now, Barack Obama has been able to convince many Americans that he is a different kind of politician. He has run as a change candidate who will change the old ways of Washington and has run as a candidate who will end the racial and political divide in America once and for all.

Until recently, this campaign has worked brilliantly. He’s beating Hillary Clinton, who many thought was the inevitable nominee, he captivated audiences wherever he spoke, he was perceived as the most likeable candidate in the race. Political pundits everywhere were beginning to suggest that he was a near lock to win the White House in November. Then the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy came along. Since this controversy came to a head, more and more Americans have begun to realize that there is a major difference between the public version of Barack Obama and the real Barack Obama.

The Barack Obama Americans see at campaign rallies constantly says that he is a man of the people, and that he will be a president who will stand up for middle-class Americans, who are struggling in this economy. However, at a private fundraiser with a group of millionaire, left-wing, elitists in San Francisco, Obama described middle-class Americans as bitter, gun-toting, Bible-thumping racists.

Another slogan of his campaign is that he has the best judgment out of all the other candidates to be president because he opposed the Iraq war from the start. That judgment can be called into question when taking a look at who Obama associates himself with. Obama has yet to fully explain his association and close friendship with a known terrorist named William Ayers. Ayers used to be part of the radical Weather Underground group that bombed the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol building. This friend of Sen. Obama’s said on 9/11, that he didn’t regret what he and his fellow terrorists had done and that he wished they had planted more bombs and caused more damage.

During the course of this campaign, Sen. Obama has touted his ability to reach across the aisle in order to get important legislation passed for the good of the country. Yet, since becoming senator in January 2005, Obama has amassed the most left-wing voting record in the Senate and hasn’t been part of any significant bipartisan effort in the Senate (i.e. The Gang of 14 to end judicial filibusters, immigration reform or the FISA compromise).

Perhaps the biggest asset Sen. Obama had during this campaign was that he was perceived as an honest politician who did not pander to different groups at different times, and he was seen as an African-American candidate who transcended race. He was seen as the anti-Jesse Jackson and the anti-Al Sharpton. However, the Wright controversy has blown up that entire premise. He has yet to answer the question as to why he sat in Wright’s church, called Wright his friend and his spiritual mentor for 20 years, if he found his racist, anti-American statements so offensive. Just six weeks ago during a speech in Philadelphia, Obama refused to disown Wright. In fact, Obama spent much of the time making excuses for why Wright had made these comments. He said, “I can no more disown him that I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him that I can disown my white grandmother.”

Given that Wright did nothing more than reiterate to the NAACP and the National Press Club what he had said before, why did Sen. Obama all of a sudden decide to disown Rev. Wright? The answer is simple. He finally disowned him because it was the most politically expedient thing to do. Wright had said that Obama was simply just being a politician when he said that he had disagreed with Wright’s previous statements, insinuating that Obama actually agreed with what he had said previously and that he was distancing himself from the comments only for political gain. The issue exploded and became too much of a liability and Obama threw Wright under the bus.

Well, so much for being a different kind of politician. Obama’s campaign has turned out to be an outright fraud. He doesn’t stand for change or for unity, he stands for more of the same old political and racial divisions. Americans are becoming more and more familiar with the real Barack Obama and they are beginning to have a bit of buyer’s remorse. The more that is being known about him, the scarier it becomes that he is for all intents and purposes, one day (Nov. 4) away from being the next president of the United States.

I guess the old saying is correct — if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

David Asche

Clifton Park

Ellis Hospital and Sunnyview credited with excellent care

I recently returned from Ellis Hospital and Sunnyview Rehabilitation after open heart surgery.

The professionalism of all concerned was outstanding. The surgeons, nurses, technicians and aides were something to praise to the skies.

I was especially impressed with the young people who worked there in may capacities. They should be proud of themselves. They are associated with a very caring and honorable profession.

Paul Winkerl

Burnt Hills

The writer is a retired U.S. Airforce Lt. Colonel.