Obama Watch by Lisa De Pasquale

Source: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28829

10/02/2008

Obama Shortchanges His Female Staffers

A few weeks ago the Obama campaign debuted a new ad attacking McCain on the so-called “wage gap.”  In the first ad, the claim is made that women on average receive 77 cents for every dollar men make doing the same job.  As many have pointed out, this statistic doesn’t take experience, years in the workforce and hours worked into consideration.  When those factors are included, the “wage gap” virtually disappears.  In the campaign’s second ad, an older woman claims that John McCain needs an education on women’s issues.  She said:

“I worked at this plant for 20 years before I learned the truth.  I'd been paid 40% less than men doing the same work.  John McCain opposed a law to give women equal pay for equal work. And he dismissed the wage gap, saying women just need education and training. I had the same skills as the men at my plant.  My family needed that money. On the economy, it's John McCain who needs an education.”

Perhaps Obama’s female supporters need an education on his own actions.  If Obama wants to use the feminist formula, it should also be applied to his campaign staffers. 

Syndicated columnist Deroy Murdock used Legistorm.com, the online database of congressional employees’ salaries, to compare the candidates.  Murdock wrote:

“Obama’s 28 male staffers divided among themselves total payroll expenditures of $1,523,120. Thus, Obama’s average male employee earned $54,397.

Obama’s 30 female employees split $1,354,580 among themselves, or $45,152, on average.

Why this disparity? One reason may be the underrepresentation of women among Obama’s highest-compensated employees. Of Obama’s five best-paid advisors, only one was a woman. Among his top 20, seven were women.

On average, Obama’s female staffers earn just 83 cents for every dollar his male staffers make.”

By comparison, McCain’s female staffers fair a lot better.  Murdock wrote:

“McCain’s 17 male staffers split $916,914, thus averaging $53,936. His 25 female employees divided $1,396,958 and averaged $55,878.

On average, according to these data, women in John McCain’s office make $1.04 for every dollar a man makes. In fact, ceteris paribus, a typical female staffer could earn 21 cents more per dollar paid to her male counterpart -- while adding $10,726 to her annual income -- by leaving Barack Obama’s office and going to work for John McCain.”

The liberal National Organization for Women, which has endorsed the Obama-Biden ticket, tells its members that they should “engage in a dialogue about wages, pay equity, and women-friendly workplaces.” 

But, don’t worry, Obama.  You won’t hear a peep out of them.

Obama Channels Reverend Wright

During Obama and McCain’s first debate, there was one moment that struck Rush Limbaugh as an “Aha! Moment” (as Oprah likes to say) for the average American.  Obama said:

“My father came from Kenya.  That's where I get my name.  And in the sixties, uh, he wrote letter after letter to come to college here in the United States because the notion was that there was no other country on earth where you could make it if you tried.  The ideals and the values of the United States inspired the entire world.  I don't think any of us can say that our standing in the world now, the -- the way children around the world look at the United States, is the same.”

The Obamas have criss-crossed the country in order to diss it.  During his radio show, Limbaugh broadcast a montage of a few of those moments:

OBAMA:  “I know my country has not perfected itself.”

MICHELLE OBAMA:  “It's easier to hold onto your own stereotypes and misconceptions.  It makes you feel justified in your ignorance.  That's America.”

OBAMA:  “We're confronting the history and stain of slavery in this country.  We're confronting those scars.” 

MICHELLE OBAMA:  “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country.”

OBAMA:  “America is no longer what it could be, what it once was.”

Whether Americans are “right track” or “wrong track” voters, they don’t like to hear their leaders talk negatively about their country.  To Obama’s assertion that America has lost standing in the world, Limbaugh replied:

“I'll say it, Senator, I'll say our standing in the US is even better.  I'll say our borders are flooded with people, Senator, who want to get into this country and live the American dream… I am offended by this ongoing notion of Senator Barack Obama's, this country is not what it once was.  You tell me, Senator man-child, when was it better?  When was it more attractive to people?  When was it easier to achieve the American dream?  When was it easier to achieve prosperity?  When was it easier to enhance one's standard of living?  You tell me, sir.”

The Left’s Heroes: Marx, Lenin, Castro, Obama

Several months ago pictures of the Houston volunteer office for Obama precinct captain Maria Isabel caught the attention of conservative blogs.  Displayed in the precinct captain’s office was a Cuban flag featuring the now iconic drawing of Che Guevera.   The Babalu Blog decided to identify other heroes to Obama supporters.  Blogger Henry Louis Gomez wrote of the precinct captain and other Obama supporters:

“As offensive as I found it, I couldn't draw a conclusion from one misguided and perhaps crazy lady.  But as I investigated the Maria Isabel story I found out that on Barack Obama's official web site there is a place for supporters to post their personal thoughts.  In this "user-generated" section of Obama's web site people are encouraged to explain which issues are important to them, why they support Barack Obama and to post an inspirational quote or two from historic figures.  Many of these people actually quoted Che Guevara, the Butcher of La Cabaña himself.”

Among those quoted by Obama supporters are Karl Marx (obviously), Ho Chi Minh, Mao Tse-Tung, Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Fidel Castro, Joseph Stalin, Abbie Hoffman, Salvador Allende and Noam Chomsky.  Gomez concludes, “Although this is just a handful of people, I believe it’s symptomatic of a greater trend.  There’s probably many more believers in Marxism among Obama's supporters, these are only the ones who were too stupid to disguise their beliefs.”

Celebrity Quote of the Week

Since the Left is so enamored with their celebrity supporters, Obama Watch highlights one each week.  This week it’s words of wisdom from singer-songwriter Bob Dylan:

“Well, you know right now America is in a state of upheaval.  Poverty is demoralizing.  You can't expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor.  But we've got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up... Barack Obama.  He's redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out.  Am I hopeful?  Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to.”

If that sounds familiar it’s because Dylan’s political musings are basically a convoluted mish-mash of lyrics he wrote in the 1960s.

Miss De Pasquale is CPAC director at the American Conservative Union. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is the nation’s largest annual gathering of conservatives.