From the Detroit News, May 16, 2008

Frank Beckmann
Michigan has questions for Obama

It was awfully kind of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama to visit Michigan, the state he blew off during the January primary that he recently claimed to have won -- an amazing feat since he removed his name from the ballot.

Rather than expose himself to serious questions about his campaign and platform, however, Obama chose to isolate himself with planned events, including an invitation-only "town hall meeting" at Macomb County Community College.

Such an event, with questions from supporters who are asked to attend, was the equivalent of a stage play with actors reading from a script. It did not allow for any meaningful exploration of what an Obama presidency might mean for auto workers, Macomb County residents, Michigan and the nation.

So we are left to wonder how Obama might have addressed some probing questions such as:

� Is it just a coincidence that you appeared in an area with a predominantly white populace on the day after Democratic rival Hillary Clinton claimed a 40-point primary win in West Virginia, a state where she boasted that she had more support from "hard-working white Americans?"

� What does it say about the Democratic party that in the West Virginia primary, 8 out of 10 Clinton voters told exit pollsters that race mattered in their decision?

� Obama is drawing over 90 percent of the African-American vote in the primaries. If GOP presidential candidate John McCain were to attract over 90 percent of the white vote in November, would you consider those results to reflect racism?

� Obama said in Michigan that he would meet with American automakers to hear their concerns during the first month of an Obama presidency. Why did Obama not seek their council before making previous remarks about their business?

� Obama has made numerous harsh statements about our American automakers, criticizing their products and sales strategy while proclaiming that this is something they "need to hear." What, in Obama's background as a lawyer, community organizer and politician, qualifies him as an expert to tell any American industrialist how to run a corporation?

� Obama continually tells us that only the wealthy benefited from the tax cuts engineered by President George W. Bush, yet the latest IRS figures show that their tax burden has increased and that the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans are paying 40 percent of the current tax load. How much more of the federal tax burden should be borne by the country's most successful people?

� Obama supports government involvement in health care, entitlements for illegal immigrants, government-paid college education, education for "infants," poverty programs for the rest of the world, a mandatory "living wage" for private industry, flexible working hours for federal employees and government-mandated time off for workers to attend kid's plays, among other intrusive programs. Is it possible for government to ever become too big?

� Obama has conceded that ethanol fuel requirements should be reconsidered because they have caused higher food prices. Will he now consider the same possibility as it relates to energy prices if we force the nation to use more, inefficient "green" power technologies?

� Obama says he wants to end our dependence on foreign oil. Does this mean he will finally support domestic oil exploration and the construction -- for the first time in more than 30 years -- of new oil refineries and nuclear power plants?

� How is Obama's vision of America different from socialism, which was practiced so often with failure in the 20th century?

� Obama says he wants to get out of Iraq, in part, to move our Arabic translators into Afghanistan. Is he aware that the languages spoken in Afghanistan include Farsi, Pashto, Uzbek, Turkmen and Brahui, but not Arabic?

� While in Michigan, Obama gladly accepted the endorsement of former rival John Edwards. Does it trouble him that a subprime mortgage company with which Edwards was involved foreclosed almost three dozen homes after Hurricane Katrina?

� Obama claims he stands for change. Is it possible that change is not commensurate with improvement?

� Why did Obama not want to face questions like these in Michigan if he is a candidate who can unify all of us?

Next time Obama comes backs, perhaps we can tell him some things he needs to know.