Make sure you know the real Obama

The most important thing any federal government can do is protect its citizens. As a people, Americans are unaware and uneducated about the threats we face. Obama does not engage the subject of the gang violence that has been going on in Chicago and elsewhere. He's too busy saving the economy and going green that he cannot see what's right under his nose.

If we cannot stop the terrorism from street gangs at home and from the fanatics abroad, our country will not stand a chance.

At an anti-war rally in Oct. 2003 Obama said he opposed the war in Iraq. In the New York Times on 7/14/08 Obama asserted," Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been." In his primary campaign Obama said time and time again that the war in Iraq "has not made us more safe". He never repeated that line when he visited troops in Iraq. It would be a sorry picture for the man who hopes to be our commander in chief to tell U.S. soldiers in a war zone that their duty doesn't contribute to the safety of the folks back home.

Obama opposed the surge. Let's get those troops out as quickly as possible, regardless of what's happening, he said. He pushed for withdrawal when America was losing the war. He wanted to accept defeat and order American soldiers to retreat. Obama wants to negotiate with Iran's president, Cuba, North Korea, and other rouge nations. He is opposed to the Patriot Act.

The wars against Islamist terrorism and murders in our streets will be long and complex. Is this the person we want to lead us in this battle?

Robert W. Kuechenberg

Palatine