Hitchens Slams Obama

There is criticism and then there is absolute slamming; to see the latter, read Christopher Hitchens' skewering in Slate of Obama's "speech on race" delivered last week in an attempt to defend his association with the infamous (and racist) Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Here are some highlights:

You often hear it said, of some political or other opportunist, that he would sell his own grandmother if it would suit his interests. But you seldom, if ever, see this notorious transaction actually being performed, which is why I am slightly surprised that Obama got away with it so easily. (Yet why do I say I am surprised? He still gets away with absolutely everything.)

And the grand finale:

To have accepted Obama's smooth apologetics is to have lowered one's own pre-existing standards for what might constitute a post-racial or a post-racist future. It is to have put that quite sober and realistic hope, meanwhile, into untrustworthy and unscrupulous hands. And it is to have done this, furthermore, in the service of blind faith. Mark my words: This disappointment is only the first of many that are still to come.

I don't understand Hitchens' hate for religion, but the most of that article was pure joy to read. Unlike the crooning empty-heads such as Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews who fail to act like journalists and instead revert to pre-teen school-girls watching N'Sync when they see Obama, Hitchens delivers a powerful critique on the substance and message of Obama's speech rather than just the delivery itself.

Being an orator is one thing, being a leader and visionary is another. Obama is all sizzle and no steak.