Call me negative, but...

I'm hearing a lot of people (even from my side) who say "give Barack Obama a chance..."

Sorry, I can't. There's just too much non-negotiable stuff he campaigned on. I decided to look back all the way to the summer of 2007 and refresh my memory on what Barack Obama promised to do.

He wanted the troops in Iraq out before the surge was a success.

He voted for the McCain illegal immigrant amnesty bill. I will admit he wasn't completely bad on border security, though:

The only things I like about Barack Obama’s approach is the part about legal immigrants who fight for our country getting expedited citizenship and the emphasis on employers not hiring illegals. But then again, if the bill he supported was passed we wouldn’t have any illegals. He joins the chorus in supporting more border infrastructure as well.

But I wasn't thrilled with his stand on health care:

In deciding to drive profitability out of both business (employers that do not offer or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan) and health insurance (Obama will prevent companies from abusing their monopoly power through unjustified price increases and force insurers to spend more funds on patient care instead of keeping exorbitant amounts for profits and administration), Barack Obama is laying the groundwork for socialized medicine like Great Britain has - quite inefficient.

But wait, there's more:

Barack Obama also has a laundry list of items increasing the size and regulation of the federal government. The sad part is that he’s talked a few Republicans into helping him support these measures. He also wants to make a Faustian bargain with auto companies where the government helps pay for retiree health benefits in exchange for investment in technology to make more fuel-efficient vehicles. Not only does that interfere with the auto market, he gets the daily double of placing the government even further into the realm of nationalized health care.

I'm a little more kind on trade and job creation, though:

There’s a couple ideas that Barack Obama has that might not be bad on a state level, and he at least pays lip service to the private sector in his spiel. One area he speaks about is helping out low-skilled workers through a partnership with unions. Where I don’t care for Big Labor in a political sense, they do tend (particularly in the construction industry) to train workers who exhibit craftsmanship that’s usually worth the premium paid. But his program would overstep the boundary between government and the market.

Of course I wrote this way before he wanted to create 600,000 more government jobs. That's the way one would interpret the 3 million new jobs he wanted to create or save, 80 percent in the private sector.

And there's something else which has been forgotten in this rush to praise Barack Obama - how many judgeships did the Democrats succeed in leaving empty as they ran out the clock on the Bush Administration? They even had moments-long sessions just to keep President Bush from making recess appointments.

It seems that the majority of court rulings which make Americans' jaws drop at their audacity and lack of common sense exhibited come from appointees of Presidents Carter and Clinton. Now Barack Obama will have four years with a friendly Congress who will confirm practically whoever he wants, regardless of qualification.

Wait, I take that back. They have to have a few qualifications - rule in favor of environmentalist groups, against any abortion restrictions, and to maintain any race-based preferences that come up. If they feel the Constitution is to be a "living" one, then they'll be okay in Barack Obama's book.

But, fair readers, don't worry. I won't maintain this negative attitude for four years. Some conservative gains in Congress and here in Maryland in 2010 would put me in a little better mood.

So I'll continue on my merry path once again, patiently explaining the benefits of limited government and maximized freedom to whoever will listen. You know you will before all is said and done.

By the way, I may be negative but I have nothing on this guy. He has a point - and a long memory.