During the Republican primaries some liberals had nice things to say about John McCain; enough evidence alone to demonstrate that he is not fit for the job. From his voting record, one would think conservatives already understood this fact. But in a spectacular failure of good judgment they nominated McCain anyway. Praise from those who stand against everything conservatives believe in somehow failed to set off a 10.0 on the Richter Scale of political mistakes.

Bad as he may be, though, McCain pales in comparison to Barack Obama. So let us hope Americans in general do not make the same error this coming November. Let us hope they recognize the alarm bells sounding off against Obama.

Granted, he is intelligent, handsome, and articulate - characteristics his current supporters obviously haven’t bothered to look beyond. But I do not refer to his obvious lack of experience, his “yes, we can” mentality (stark naivety or calculated manipulation of the masses; take your pick), his willingness to essentially grovel before enemy leaders, or even his extreme left-wing, socialist beliefs. I’m referring instead to the people who like him, who want him to be president, and who say so.

Such testimonials for Obama include:

Ahmed Yousef, the Hamas advisor who earlier this year, as reported by WorldNetDaily, said “We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections.” He even went on to liken Obama to John Kennedy, claiming he is “a great man with a great principle.” So Obama has the Hamas vote - Hamas, the terrorist organization that can claim, among its many distinctions, anti-Semitism, hate-mongering, and human rights abuses such as blowing up children.

Yousef realizes he has nothing to fear from Obama.

Fidel Castro recently praised Obama for his “great intelligence,” “debating skills” and “work ethic” and wrote that Obama is “the most progressive candidate to the U.S. presidency.” So Obama is the favorite choice of Castro, a Communist dictator that has been responsible for thousands of human rights abuses.

Castro realizes he has nothing to fear from Obama.

Hugo Chavez didn’t exactly endorse Obama when he recently claimed that Venezuela’s relations with Washington would worsen if McCain were elected. “Sometimes one says, ‘worse than Bush is impossible,’ but we don’t know,” Chavez said, according to Reuters. “McCain also seems to be a man of war.” Still, even lacking an outright statement of support, Chavez, the authoritarian communist who has trampled basic rights, severely weakened both Venezuela’s economy and democracy, and helped to destabilize global oil prices, would rather see Obama than McCain in the White House.

Chavez realizes he has nothing to fear from Obama.

Obviously, we do not want the whole world to fear us. But the fate of Saddam as an example of the good U.S. power can do in the world is not lost on those of a like kind, an example Obama clearly isn’t prepared and indeed has no inclination to make of others. He has offered to talk with no preconditions. Like Neville Chamberlain meeting with Hitler, Obama has no idea what he is doing.

Further, beyond support from tyrants and terrorists Obama also receives a thumbs up from:

Rappers like Jay-Z, Ludacris, and Q-tip (“artists” whose lurid, highly sexualized, and sexist lyrics attempt to diminish our humanity and act like a cancer on society).

MoveOn.org (the liberal advocacy group that compared Bush to Hitler, smeared Gen. David Petraeus, and works to forward many inane leftist ideas).

“Ministers” like Jeremiah Wright (who claimed that AIDS was developed by the U.S. government to eradicate African Americans, that the U.S. deserved what happened on 9/11, and whose sermons include calls for God to “damn America” and make lurid, overt sexual references to Bill Clinton treating African Americans just like he treated Monica Lewinsky).

Of course, McCain has also received praise from people he would rather not associate with. But although the rappers, MoveOn.org and Wright are telling indicators against Obama the real concern is the terrorists and dictators who want to see him become president. McCain hasn’t had that problem.

The question boils down to this: do we want someone in the White House that the bad guys of the world fear or do we want someone there that the Hamas’, Castro’s, and Chavez’s of the world openly support? A rhetorical question for those that haven’t yet bothered to peer beyond the handsome, the smooth, and wholly inadequate would-be president Barack Obama.

Jeff O’Bryant is an amateur historian and holds two degrees, a bachelor’s in education and a bachelor’s with honors in history. He can be contacted at jeffobryant@catt.com or through his blog at rightnewsandviews.com.