In the more doolally fringes of the American commentariat it’s suggested that Barack Obama may be a child killer and / or a Satanist / the Antichrist. A poll on the latter site has 68% of respondents answering “yes” or “maybe” to a question on the matter. (If you are connected with one of these links “doolally” is a colloquial expression meaning “respected for one’s insight and willingness to challenge conventional wisdom” used on this side of the Atlantic.) Now they may well be onto something that is hidden from the rest of us and long may they plough their furrow. It’s some of Obama’s friends one feels should know better. Some mid ranking unions bureaucrats connected with the Communist Party of Ireland are going over to help in his campaign. When queried about his recent robust support for the Israeli State and the IDF’s right to randomly murder Palestinians their slightly paraphrased response was “he has to say that sort of thing to get elected but sure isn’t he a grand fella altogether now, to be sure”. Overwhelming evidence of the provincial backward nature of Irish socialism was my first thought.
That was until the headline in yesterday’s Morning Star caught my eye “Obama tells 84,000 ‘enough is enough”. The article that follows could well have written by Obama’s campaign team and puffs his promises to pull out of Iraq and reduce taxes. The enthusiasm for Obama is bursting through in every paragraph and no mention is not even made of the fact that Obama has voted repeatedly to continue funding the occupation of Iraq or the million dollar boxes that the big companies bought at the Democrats’ convention.
To be fair to the British and Irish their American comrades are as well disposed to Obama as the liberal European press arguing “We think this election is a great opportunity to bring an early withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. It can mean job creation and relief for those who are losing their homes or unable to pay their bills.” That is pretty much what Obama says about himself.
Let’s give the last word on the subject to Malik Miah of the US socialist group:Solidarity
I cannot vote for a Democrat or Republican candidate, as each party represents the policies of the ruling class. As a socialist, it is not possible to vote for an African American or woman as the head of either party that is responsible for wars of aggression and occupation in Afghanistan or Iraq and threatens Iran and Palestine. I firmly believe we need to build a mass labor party and political party of the left that can defend the true interest of working people.
Liam redux 
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