Obama and ex-Nation of Islamer Keith Ellison

Keith Ellison, a guy with pretty solid record of affiliation with anti-Semitic organizations, is featured on Obama's campaign web site, on a page titled "Arab Americans for Obama." Ellison is the lead character in two videos on that page.

PowerLine's Scott Johnson wrote in June that "Despite the natural alliance that should exist between them, Obama has scrupulously avoided Ellison." Apparently that avoidance does not carry over to elements of the campaign targeting at Arab Americans.

In Obama's defense, Ellison is a duly (if unwisely) elected member of Congress; but I seem to recall Obama taking a wee bit of heat for failing to repudiate some unfortunate affiliations earlier in the campaign.

That man sure can talk

Barak Obama is, to my mind, the most powerful orator of any major American politician today.

His speech yesterday was masterful. The topic--race relations in America--was controversial enough. Add to that the catalyst for the speech--the revelations of some fairly horrific sermons from the preacher Obama has chosen for most of his adult life--and you've got a tough basis for a campaign topic.

And yet by the end of the speech I was thinking, Yeah, I like what this guy could do for race relations in this country. He's good. An effective talk: putting black anger in the context of our nation's history; looking at prejudice, black and white; and framing all of this in the continuation of the Founding Fathers' efforts to form a more perfect union. He was on the defensive and turned it around.

But now for the quibbles.

First, Obama's repeated invocation of Geraldine Ferraro reeked of the same politics he claims to be avoiding.

Second, and more important, the asides were problematic. When straying from the issues of race, Obama managed to remind me that his policy instincts are by and large antithetical to mine. What purpose did those asides (condemning war; assailing the greed of corporate culture; sneering at profits; or implying that it is up to the government to invest more in healthcare, education and the like) play other than to reinforce that--inspirational rhetoric aside--his politics are no different from a long line of left liberal political candidates? Ah, well.

Update: Virginia Postrel's take on the Obama speech reflects my views. (And as of this week, Postrel is a TV star for her donation of a kidney to an acquaintance.)

Charles Murray, too, liked the speech. As did Peggy Noonan, who writes in "A Thinking Man's Speech,"

I thought Barack Obama's speech was strong, thoughtful and important. Rather beautifully, it was a speech to think to, not clap to. It was clear that's what he wanted, and this is rare.

More from Murray here. Like me, he cannot vote for Obama; like me, he was impressed by this speech.

Obama pork tit for tat?

This does seem a bit cozy.

Within months of Obama's swearing in, his wife got a huge raise in the department of her hospital that presumably lobbies for government grants. The next year, Obama apparently requested $9 million in pork for the hospital. Hmmm.

Here's the timeline:

2004: Michelle Obama's pay at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she was executive director for community affairs, was reportedly $121,910.

2005: [January] Michelle Obama's husband Barack becomes a United States Senator.

2005: [May] Mrs. Obama is promoted to vice president for community and external affairs at the hospital, and her pay reportedly jumps to $316,962 (260% of her 2004 salary).

2006: Senator Obama requests $9 million in earmarks for the institution, according to a list of earmark requests released by the Obama campaign:

• "In 2006, Obama requested $8 million for Human Genome Expression at the University of Chicago."
• "In 2006, Obama requested that the University of Chicago receive $1 million to support its Construction of New Hospital Pavilion."

Looks like the hospital got its money back--and then some--from Mrs. Obama's raise.

Obama's family has other connections to the institution as well:

• "Top campaign adviser and friend Valerie Jarrett is the Chair of the University of Chicago Medical Center Board and also Chair of the Executive Committee of that board. She has also been named Vice-Chair of the University's Board of Trustees. "
• "Obama taught at the U. of Chicago law school and the Obama's two daughters attend school there."