Dr. Drew's Website Tips: Just Discovered Blue Sky Scrubs - Beautiful Scrubs for Medical Professionals

As a political scientist, I have been among the first to assert that dressing well was one of the undying secrets of charismatic leadership. I'm intrigued that this concept has now reached the field of scrubs. Accordingly, I'm intrigued by a new website called Blue Sky Scrubs which brings this principle into the active medical field.

Blue Sky Scrubs started in 2005 as a manufacturer of scrub caps. They added medical nursing scrubs, medical scrubs, and hospital uniforms to their line in December 2005.

As you might imagine, their luxury scrub hats quickly became a "must-have" item for doctors, nurses, surgeons, dentists, veterinarians. In the process, they have also become something of a role-model for companies that sell clothing over the internet. Their nursing scrubs and designer surgical scrub hats are only available online at blueskyscrubs.com. They also offer scrub sets.

In the future, the company hopes to retail stores in the UK, Canada and the USA. As I like to say, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. I cannot imagine fewer places where that matters more than in the field of health care. At any rate, thank you to our friends at blueskyscrubs.com for supporting our blog.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Be Seeing You at the Polls: A New Get Out the Vote Video - Inspired by The Prisoner

I've done another get out the vote video...this one using old footage from the famous cult classic television show, The Prisoner. For better or worse, I think Number Six's outspoken honesty, courage, and eventual success gave me a lot of hope as a child as a teenager and later as a young man.



One of the things that always thrilled me about the show's final episode is that Number Six is finally recognized as a role model and manages to pull off a tidy escape with his other "doubter" friends. I'm indebted to Patrick McGoohan, in part, for my outspokenness, my coolness, my villainous enunciation, and my fun with music.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Get Out the Vote Campaign - I'm Excited for the Anti-Marxist Tidal Wave

I thought I'd try my hand at the traditional get out the vote commerical. Here's my version. It features my thanks to all the folks who helped me get out the message of young Obama's commitment to Marxist ideology. In this video, I tip my hat to my father, Richard Drew, my co-author Michael Patrick Leahy, and published authors Michael Savage who wrote Tricke Up Poverty, Paul Kengor who wrote Dupes and Stanley Kurtz who just published Radical-In-Chief.



All three leaned hard on my observations and broke out new details consistent with my take that Obama was an ardent Marxist by the fall of 1980. I grateful that they gave thoughtful attention to my brief insight into the mind of President Obama.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Implications of President Obama's Marxist Roots: On the Air with Prof. Paul Kengor - Author of Dupes

I'm steadily trying to get out the word about young Obama's commitment to Marxist thought.  I'm grateful to the folks at the Glen Meaken show for giving me some air time this morning.  Check it out here.

I was honored to be interviewed this morning by Dr. Paul Kengor. (Kengor was the guest host for the Glen Meakem radio program in Western Pennsylvania.) Kengor is a professor at Grove City College and the executive director of the College's Center for Vision and Values.

As you may know, Kengor is a regular featured columnist at Townhall.com, a web-based publication primarily dedicated to conservative politics. I know him, however, from his most known best selling book, "God and Ronald Reagan." Kengor is currently finishing a major work on Ronald Reagan’s role in his administration’s effort to undermine the Soviet Union.

I was grateful to learn that my report on young Obama's commitment to Marxist-Leninist thought has been published in Kengor's newest book, “Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century.”

On the radio show, I indicated that I knew President Obama when he was still a student at Occidental College. I graduated from Occidental College in 1979 and I was the founder of the Democratic Socialist Alliance. When I knew Obama, he was definitely a Marxist Leninist looking forward to an immenent revolution.

In my view, Obama’s attraction to this radical ideology as a young college student helps explain his absolute determination as President to pass the “progressive” agenda of the liberal left. While I painfully transformed into a church going, Ronald Reagan conservative, President Obama has never described a similar political evolution - away from socialist thinking - for himself.

You can listen to the whole radio show by clicking here.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Flexing Our Power: The New Augustine 25 - Orange County Voter's Guide

I have always wanted to provide an Orange County Voter's Guide. This one is liberally borrowed from the the Lincoln Club Voter Guide which was endorsed by Chip Hanlon's Red County Blog. Please do not take this with you into the voter booth - I think you are better off voting by mail. (If you strongly disagree with any of my picks, please do not hesitate to leave a comment.)

AUGUSTINE 25 CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS

FEDERAL
U.S. Senate: Carly Fiorina
She's getting hammered for laying off HP employees - I want her to use that same skill to lay-off federal employees.

40th Congressional District: Ed Royce
Royce is a conservative.

46th Congressional District: Dana Rohrabacher
Rohrabacher is one of my hero - a bold, courageous guy - who surfs.

47th Congressional District: Van Tran
Tran would be a gift compared to Loretta Sanchez. Sanchez has a creepy side that came out during this campaign.

48th Congressional District: John Campbell
Campbell voted for TARP...but I thought it was necessary too...to keep up the money supply.

49th Congressional District: Darrell Issa
Issa's staff was among the first to reach out to me when I started blogging and got active on Twitter. I can't wait to see what he will do when Republicans are the House majority.

STATE
Governor: Meg Whitman
No other choice.

Secretary of State: Damon Dunn
He's Republican.

State Treasurer: Mimi Walters
My State Senator right now.

Controller: Tony Strickland
According to the Lincoln Club, Strickland has a solid conservative voting record as a State Senator, while John Chiang, the current controller, is strongly backed by the public-employee unions.

Board of Equalization (District 3): Michelle Steel
According to the Lincoln Club, Steel is a solid conservative, pro-business vote on the five-member tax collection board.

34th Senate District: Lucille Kring
According to the Lincoln Club, Kring, an Anaheim City Councilwoman and local business owner, will be a solid pro-business voice in Sacramento. She is a much better choice than incumbent Democrat Lou Correa, who voted for the largest tax increase in state history as part of last year’s budget deal.

68th Assembly District: Allan Mansoor
According to the Lincoln Club, Mansoor, the mayor of Costa Mesa, is a taxpayer advocate and fiscal conservative committed to taking on public-employee unions in Sacramento.

70th Assembly District: Don Wagner
According to the Lincoln Club, Wagner is a strong conservative and worthy successor to replace termed-out Chuck DeVore for this central/south county seat. (I'm a big fan of Chuck DeVore...but still okay with term limits.)

73rd Assembly District: Diane Harkey
According to the Lincoln Club, Harkey is a staunch supporter of fiscal responsibility in Sacramento and a vocal opponent of out-of-control public employee union pensions and benefits.

LOCAL

COUNTY
Orange County Board of Supervisors, Fourth District: Shawn Nelson
According to the Lincoln Club, Former Fullerton City Councilman Nelson gained a reputation for fighting sweetheart deals for public employee unions, and will continue to be an advocate for fiscal responsibility at the county level.

Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector: Shari Freidenrich
According to the Lincoln Club, as the only candidate who has managed public investments of one of Orange County’s largest cities, Huntington Beach Treasurer Freidendrich is the only qualified candidate for the job at the county level. Don’t be fooled by the ballot designation of her opponent; Freidenrich brings far more professional experience to the job.

CITIES
All candidates for cities and school boards who applied for and received the Lincoln Club’s endorsement have signed its “Union-Free Pledge,” in which they agree not to accept campaign contributions from public employee unions. Their endorsed candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

Anaheim City Council: Brian Chuchua, Gail Eastman, Kris Murray, Tom Tait (Mayor)
Brea City Council: Ron Garcia, Steve Vargas
Buena Park City Council: Baron Night, Beth Swift
Costa Mesa City Council: Jim Righeimer
Cypress City Council: Dr. Prakash Narain, MD
Dana Point City Council: Lisa Bartlett, Joel Bishop, Bill Brough
Fountain Valley City Council: John Collins, Mark McCurdy
Fullerton City Council: Marty Burbank, Bruce Whitaker
Huntington Beach City Council: Barbara Delgleize, Matthew Harper, Fred Speaker
Irvine City Council: Chris Gonzales (Mayor), Jeff Lalloway
Laguna Niguel City Council: Linda Lindholm, Robert Ming
Lake Forest City Council: Peter Herzog, Scott Voigts
Mission Viejo City Council: Trish Kelley
Newport Beach City Council: Ed Reno
Orange City Council: Carolyn Cavecche (Mayor), Fred Whitaker
Rancho Santa Margarita City Council: Neil Blais, Gary Thompson
San Clemente City Council: Joe Anderson, Jay Gaskins
San Juan Capistrano: Jim Reardon
Seal Beach City Council: Scott Levitt
Villa Park City Council: Richard Barnett, Robert Fauteux, Deborah Pauly
Yorba Linda City Council: John Anderson, Thomas Lindsey

SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Here's where I think the voter guide concept becomes extremely important. It is difficult to keep track of these candidates and I know the union backed candidates are a big part of the problem.

Capistrano Unified School District: Anna Bryson, Ellen Addonizio, Larry Christensen, Mike Winsten
South Orange County Community College District: Kevin Muldoon, Marcia Milchiker
Orange Unified School District: Chris Nguyen

BALLOT MEASURES

STATE
Proposition 19 – Legalize Marijuana: OPPOSE

Proposition 20 – Allows Congressional Districts to be drawn by

Proposition 21 – Vehicle Tax for State Parks: OPPOSE

Proposition 22 – Stops State Government from taking local transportation funds: SUPPORT

Proposition 23 – California Jobs Initiative – Will suspend AB 32 until jobless rate comes down to specified levels: SUPPORT

Proposition 24 – Jobs Tax: OPPOSE

Proposition 25 – Repeals two-thirds vote requirement of state legislature to pass state budget: OPPOSE

Proposition 26 – Requires two-thirds vote of state legislature to impose new fees; requires voter approval to increase certain fees: SUPPORT

Proposition 27 – Eliminates citizen redistricting commission: OPPOSE

LOCAL
Anaheim City School District – Measure G (bond): OPPOSE
The Lincoln Club generally opposes general-obligation bond measures, and this $169 million bond measure is no exception.

Capo Unified School District – Measure H (change election method): OPPOSE
The Lincoln Club is listed as an official opponent of this local measure specifically because it is nothing more than an attempt by the teachers’ unions to get more members sympathetic to their cause on the school board.

City of Costa Mesa – Measure L “Hotel Bed Tax”: OPPOSE

City of Irvine – Measure R “School Support Initiative”: OPPOSE
I disagree with the O.C. Lincoln Club on this one.

City of La Palma – Measure U (ability to reduce utility tax): SUPPORT
According to the Lincoln Club: "Believe it or not, this measure would allow the city to lower the utility tax by more than the 1% currently allowed under the city’s current ordinance."

Magnolia School District – Measure I (bond): OPPOSE

I expect this will be helpful to those of us wanting to do a good job with our down ballot voting. The link to the original Lincoln Club Voter Guide is here.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Dr. Drew’s Take on Young Obama’s Marxism Now Included in Michael Savage’s New Book, Trickle Up Poverty

A year ago, I was a lonely voice in the wilderness. I knew the young Barack Obama when he was a sophomore at Occidental College in 1980-1981, and – as far as I could tell – I was the only one who knew him who was willing to verify that young Obama was definitely a Marxist socialist ideologue.

To my frustration, it looked like the McCain campaign did not want to investigate Obama’s past. McCain, in fact, piously asserted that paying attention to something as outrageous as Rev. Wright’s anti-white hostility was a non-issue for the Presidential campaign. Personally, I was heart-broken. I was frustrated that Obama’s extremist ideology was hiding in plain sight and the voters had no idea what was really going on. I didn’t give up. I also sent e-mails to Fox News and the Orange County Register. I tried to get in touch with Ann Coulter. It was all fruitless.

This week, for the first time in a long time, however, I feel relieved and at peace. I learned last week that the story of my face-to-face political conversations with the young Obama have been included as part of Michael Savages's new book "Trickle Up Poverty: Stopping Obama's Attack on Our Borders, Economy and Security.” It hit the bookstores last week. I have not read it yet, but I’m already fascinated to see how Savage has weaved my observations on young Obama’s ideological views with Savage’s own interpretation of how Obama’s ideology developed and how it is impacting our country.

Savage told World Net Daily (WND) that he wrote the new book "hoping to alter the course of human events" and added that the Obama administration is the "greatest fraud perpetrated on the American people in history." See, http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=211585
Understanding the pain caused by Marxist philosophy in the past, Savage labels Obama as "the most divisive and dangerous man that's ever occupied the Oval Office."
In "Trickle Up Poverty," Savage examines Obama's "Marxist-Leninist roots" in some detail, noting, for example, my assessment - as a contemporary of Obama's at Occidental College in Los Angeles – that Obama was a serious "Marxist revolutionary."

Acknowledging my own embarrassing past as a Marxist revolutionary, Savage reports – truthfully – that I came to see Obama as a "blood brother" and as a "member of this revolutionary elite that was going to turn around our country when the revolution hit." One of the things that Savage left out, however, is that Obama and his friends went out of their way to persuade me that Obama was not just playing with Marxist revolution. They were anxious to assure me that young Obama had been active in the work of the school’s Democrat Socialist Alliance – a group I had founded in 1976.

Savage goes on to explain that Obama is not the stereotypical Marxist of "the red beret, the marching, the Russian revolution and killing the rich." Instead, Savage places Obama in the historic Frankfurt school of socialism, a school that espoused a gradual transformation from capitalism to socialism to communism. My conversations with young Obama, in fact, were mainly focused on helping him shift from a silly revolutionary Marxist perspective to the more realistic insight of the Frankfurt school.

Savage also documents radical-left influences in Obama's past and concludes this is why Obama spoke of "spreading the wealth around."

After reading a number of biographies on President Obama’s life, I can report that Savage is the first person to really get the story right. He appears to be the first to directly connect Obama’s ideology to his current dysfunctional choices. As far as I can tell, Savage understands the long-standing, highly ideological motives which guide President Obama.
This insight leads to chilling warnings about our future. Savage admits, for example, that in the face of the Tea Party Movement and low Presidential approval ratings, Obama has not gone after the control of the airwaves - as was previously threatened by members of his administration. Nevertheless, Savage is anxious that Obama may move forward with a revival of the "Fairness Doctrine," a law that would most likely shut down conservative talk radio. Right now, I cannot think of anything that would be more frightening for our safety and our freedom.

"Don't think this man has stopped just because he's unpopular," Savage warns WND. "Don't underestimate him."

In a piece of good luck, Obama’s presidential seal fell off his podium the same day that Savage’s book came out. Obama covered this mishap by saying: “All of you know who I am.” Thanks to Michael Savage’s new book, Obama’s statement is certainly truer now than it was a week ago. See, http://www.breitbart.tv/obama-loses-his-seal/ For me, the wilderness is starting to look like the more green lawns of the comfortable suburbs.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Dr. Drew’s Website Tips: Check It Out - Just Discovered New Site for Folks with Multiple Sclerosis

Tricia and I have a number of relatives with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in our extended family. I know the fear and suffering associated with this disease.

Accordingly, I’m glad to see there is a new website called www.allaboutms.com designed to let people know more about MS and to direct folks to services and products developed to assist those in need of MS treatment.

As you may know, MS is a disease that attacks the myelin in our bodies, the material that insulates the nervous system, much like the covering of an electrical wire, allowing the nerves to transmit impulses at great speed. With myelin, our bodies are capable of rapid, smooth and coordinated movements. Without myelin, however, it is more difficult to perform these ordinary movements.

The www.allaboutms.com website includes fascinating, specialized information for people impacted by MS and tips regarding new ideas for dealing with MS related heat intolerance and the possibilities of a Multiple Sclerosis Diet. All in all, I’m amazed at the power of on-line resources to quickly bring us face-to-face with crucial information and options - especially when it comes to MS.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Cruel Ironies: Muslims in Indonesia Say Build Your Church Somewhere Else

I was on Twitter figuring out how to translate my tweets into Indonesian when I got into a "conversation" with two people who from Indonesia. In their view, I was all wrong about Muslims. They thought I would benefit by visiting Indonesia to see how peaceful the Muslims were toward their Christian neighbors.

In response, I did what I used to do as a conservative American government professor face-to-face with out of touch liberal colleagues: I confronted them with powerful counter evidence. In this little YouTube video the Muslims in Indonesia do not appear to be very friendly to their Christian neighbors. The irony, of course, is that President Obama grew up in Indonesia and he is fond of suggesting that Islamic adherents in that country are not as vicious or as extreme as the people we are fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan.

This YouTube video features a Muslim woman from Indonesia saying that she lives in a Muslim dominant neighborhood and that the Christians should just build their church somewhere else.

As an Armenian-American, I know from family experience how dangerous it is to be a Christian in a Muslim dominant country. My grandmother lost her mother and many of her relatives to the Armenian Genocide. As such, I recommend this YouTube video as a chilling and ironic reminder that Muslims - even the ones in Lolo Soetoro's home country - are inspired by a text which facilitates the abuse and mistreatment on non-Muslims. We would be unwise not to pay attention to the mistreatment of Christians at the hands of Muslims all over the world.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

How Low Can It Go? President Obama's Job Approval Numbers

I think it is important to get the word out that if you are unhappy with President Obama, then you are not alone. For example, the newest Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for September 5, 2010 shows that only 24% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way he is performing in his role as president.

I was struck to learn that nearly a majority of likely voters report themselves as being in strong disapproval mode. According to Rasmussen Reports, forty-seven percent (47%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -23. (Rasmussen's methodology is to substact the number of folks reporting Strong Disapproval from those reporting Stong Approval.)

As a political scientist, I'm not quite sure why this is a better way of reporting public opinion regarding Obama than simply presenting the overall approval rate. This issue, as I understand it, is that actual opinions on the President are complex and difficult to boil down to simplified numbers.

Nevertheless, I'm persuaded that the people are generally tolerant and well-informed about the direction of their country. Not everyone is as interested in politics as I am, but that doesn't mean that folks have not evolved their own, rational, simplified ways of detecting whether or not we are going down the drain.

These new numbers represent the highest level of Strong Disapproval and the lowest Approval Index daily rating ever recorded for Obama. My gut feeling is that we can trace the blame to unhappiness over health care reform, displeasure with the 9.6% unemployment rate, and the combination of Obama's endorsement of the GZM and his wife's lavish vacation in Spain. Even if you are not a trained chef, you can tell when things just taste bad.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

No More Keys for You: President Junks Democrats’ Limo for Ground Zero Mosque

I’m been driving around this week with a burning question in my mind: Why would President Obama support a Ground Zero Mosque (GZM) when it is opposed by 2/3rds of the American people? Given the unpopularity of this mosque, it is as if the driver of the Democrat party’s new limo has just steered it into a junk yard crushing machine.

I think the simplest answer is that Obama was being loyal to his Muslim-American base...not to African-Americans...not to his Democrat party...and not to the American people. I have found some supporting evidence for this thesis in an article in Politico on August 15, 2010 in which Carol E. Lee writes that an undisclosed administration official says this was “purely” Obama's decision. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41077.html In Audacity of Hope, Obama writes that he is intent to assure Muslims that he will stand with them during the ultimate crisis. Apparently, Obama’s brain decided that moment has arrived.

What is missing from all the reporting on this issue is what an incredibly stupid thing this was for Obama to do in terms of electoral politics. Obama has ignited a firestorm of controversy that can only do damage to his party’s chances in November 2010 and to his own chances in November 2012. Already, Rasmussen shows Republicans opening up a 12-point lead in the generic polling results. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/generic_congressional_ballot
Obama’s job approval rating, according to Gallup, is at an all time low of 42%. On a scale of one to ten for political stupidity, Obama’s endorsement of the GZM is a ten. It is the equivalent of running toward a burning car wreck and then squeezing yourself into the trunk.

Since I knew President Obama while he was an extremist, Marxist sophomore at Occidental College, I think I have an unusual insight to share regarding this politically inept decision. Based on my face-to-face talks with the young Obama, I’m among those who do not see Obama as an intellectual genius. I’ve never gone along with those who think they can find evidence of a high IQ in Obama’s election as the editor of the Harvard Law Review, or his role as an adjunct at the University of Chicago Law School, or his success in winning office. Since I never bought into the inflated view of Obama’s intellectual skills, I was not surprised by his dependence on the teleprompter. I do, however, think I know why he has not released his undergraduate transcripts from Occidental College or Columbia University: His charismatic reputation for genius would not survive the harsh reality of his ordinary grades.

Accordingly, I’m not convinced that Obama’s endorsement of the GZM was an example of a political genius playing chess while we are all playing checkers. Instead, I see Obama’s recklessness as more similar to a funny, stupid criminal story where the bank robber submits his demand for cash on the back of his own business card. I think the stress of his job is getting to him. Under stress, Obama’s thinking has become cloudy, impulsive and irrational. Reviewing this last week, even Obama may now understand that he cannot drive and should not have the keys.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

As the Twig is Bent, So Grows the Tree: Why I Think of President Obama as a Muslim

As a political scientist, I’ve always thought of Obama as a Muslim if only because I tend to categorize people by the cultural influences which impact them as children. Early influences, for example, help us predict later political party affiliations.

Surprisingly, Pew reports that the number of Americans who believe Barack Obama is a Muslim has jumped from 12% in early 2009 to 18% in 2010. Similarly, Pew reports a decline in the number of respondents who identify Obama as a Christian – 34% today compared to 48% in March 2009 and 51% during the Presidential campaign in October 2008. As usual, there is a less decisive group floating out there – adding up to a plurality of 43% - who respond that they do not know what is Obama’s religion. These undecided respondents are up from 34% in 2009.

I’m certain that if Pew telephoned me, I would have been one of the folks who said Obama was a Muslim and who would not have been given the time to fully explain what I mean.

First, I know that Obama’s step-father, Lolo Soetoro, was a practicing Muslim. According to freely available press accounts, Soetoro took little Obama with him to the mosque to pray and enrolled little Obama in school as a Muslim. Second, I know that Obama grew up in a predominantly Muslim country, Indonesia. Third, when I met the young Obama - while he was a sophomore at Occidental College - I can report that his closest friends were the Muslim students on campus, in particular, an older Pakistani student named Mohammed Hasan Chandoo. Hasan visited Obama while he was a student at Columbia and attended Obama’s wedding to Michelle in 1992, unlike the African-Americans at Occidental who now claim they were close friends with the young Obama.

As for Obama’s more contemporary connections to Islam, I pay the most attention to his words in his book, Audacity of Hope, where Obama calls into question the divinity of Christ. This is, in my view, a bright dividing line between being a Christian believer and being a Muslim adherent. I also know that Rev. Wright is a former Muslim and maintains close ties to the Muslim community. All of this information gives me confidence that Obama’s world view, his basic mental architecture, has more links to Islam than Christianity.

Nevertheless, I’m sure the media will spin the results of Pew’s poll as evidence of racism or religious intolerance or an effort to portray Obama as the “other.” My perspective, however, gives me an advantage over mainstream journalists who are puzzled about how Obama could be so completely foolish as to endorse the Ground Zero Mosque. In my view, he is simply defending his base, a base of Muslim adherents to whom Obama has shown considerable loyalty ever since he was a little child.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Final Graveside Movements: Funeral Service for My Father Richard C. Drew, Sr.

I was extraordinarily moved by the graveside service for my father, Richard C. Drew, Sr. who passed away July 20, 2010. He was 84 and a veteran of World War II. Over the course of the day, I found that I had collected clips from the military portion of his funeral, a view of the sun from almost the exact location where he died, and a few of the stargazzers in the floral arrangements at his funeral.

Here's the link to the eulogy I gave at his funeral. http://johndrew25.blogspot.com/2010/07/tribute-to-my-late-father-richard-c.html

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

A Tribute to My Late Father: Richard C. Drew, Sr. (1926 - 2010)

My father passed away this week and I thought it would be appropriate to share some comments that would be comforting for my father’s siblings, his wife, his children and his grandchildren and – perhaps - his great-grandchildren. He is pictured here on the right holding the hand of his younger brother Albert Drew. He died peacefully on July 20, 2010.

1. For His Siblings: He was born in Michigan in 1926. This is the same year welcomed Queen Elizabeth, Andy Griffith and Marilyn Monroe. While my father was in elementary school, he endured the economic disaster of the Great Depression and after high school served in World War II in the U.S. Navy. As I said during his eulogy:

He had two siblings: a sister, Marilyn and a brother, Albert. His family moved
to California in 1933 and his siblings always struck me as contemporary
Californians while Richard was much more of an import product of the Mid-West. I
know he valued their time together as a family…and spoke tenderly about a trip
he made to Redmond, WA in 1985 when they were last all together.

If you want insight into my father’s childhood, I recommend you check out the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. My father identified with the main character, Ralphie, a nine-year old Hammond, Indiana boy whose fervent Christmas wish was to receive "…an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time." (The thing which tells time is a sundial.) Ralphie, of course, continually hears the refrain: “No, you’ll shoot your eye out.”

2. For His Wife: Richard met my mother, May, and they got married in the 1950s. From the photos of their early married life, you can see that they were an ideal 1950s couple. My mother is extraordinarily beautiful and you can tell that being married to her was the best thing that ever happened to him.

3. For His Children: My earliest memories of him include kissing him as he came home from work. I still remember the smell of his after shave…and love and affection he had for me. I remember him, at the height of Cold War, stockpiling materials for a nuclear bomb shelter in the garage including wood frames, army water tanks, military food rations and burlap bags. Because of time constraints, I could not fit this into his eulogy, but I meant to say:

It goes without saying that he loved his job as a CAL-OSHA safety engineer and later as a top manager. When I saw him at work I was introduced to a whole new world of power and authority, a world in which opportunities for devoted public service were supplemented by lunches with his colleagues at Italian restaurants with fresh sawdust on the floor or by visits to cafeterias that looked like movie sets complete with colorful lights, waterfalls and California-themed dioramas.

Politically, he was an ardent anti-communist, a Goldwater supporter, and early Reagan supporter. My father took to Scouting – especially its religious values and code of character - and was remembered for it for many years. He raised money and took us to National Jamboree where we saw Bob Hope perform. He was active at district level and had the number one Boy Scout Camporee Troop in 1976.

4. For His Grandchildren: Later in life, he was a devoted grandfather who loved hosting the grandchildren (seven in all) at his house in Big Bear for the holidays. Remembering how much fun I had as a child playing around the Newhall house, I’m sure it warmed Richard’s heart to see his grandchildren happily running around the same hunting grounds.

5. For His Great Grandchildren: My father’s great grandchildren will undoubtedly learn about him from YouTube videos, blog sites, and genealogy charts - all freely available on the Internet. They will find he represented a proud tradition of American values and patriotism, a tradition extending all the way from the Civil War to the American Revolution.

Nothing was more moving to me, at my father's funeral, than the final moments when a naval officer handed a folded U.S. flag to my mother and said: "This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation as an expression of appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service."

I expect his great grandchildren will see a profound link to our nation’s heritage my father's life and in his love for God, country and family.

There is a special on-line obituary for him at http://bit.ly/9GiO7Z which includes a beautiful photo essay illustrating his life, career, and rich family connections.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Mike Griffing - California Nurses Association Staff Member - Identified as One of Thugs in New YouTube Video

One of the thugs seen in the YouTube video of a recent California Nurses Association (CNA) rally is a CNA staff member named Mike Griffing. I placed a call to Mr. Griffing earlier today and he said he was referring all comments to the CNA's media department. The media department's number, however, is busy. I'll be surprised if I hear back from them. At any rate, there is a great website post at an anti-Jerry Brown website that give you full details about Mr. Griffing. See,
http://nogovernormoonbeam.blogspot.com/2010/07/community-organizer-who-assaulted-gop.html

I'm grateful that YouTube caught Mr. Griffing assaulting some young, smaller guys because it demonstrates a number of persistent theme to me. The first is that on the left violence against others is justified by their ideology. As I learned from Thomas Sowell's book, A Conflict of Visions, liberal ideology is based on an expansive view of human capacity which justifies violence against those who - supposedly - do damage to that unlimited capacity. See, http://www.amazon.com/Conflict-Visions-Ideological-Political-Struggles/dp/0465002056

The result, predictably, has been years of violence from the left against members of the right.

Secondly, I think that there is also a sense on the left that it is okay to harass and intimidate young men if they are white and conservative. This is part of the racism of the left, a racism that they don't seem to want to address. As a victim of affirmative action, I saw this racism face-to-face and it wasn't pretty.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Push This: Goons from California Nurses Association (CNA) Hit and Harass GOP Supporters

Sadly, this YouTube video features goons from the California Nurses Association (CNA) ganging up and hitting some smaller, younger white guys covering the event with their cell phones. One of them also lies about what they just did...on tape.



This harassment incident took place on the Canada College campus. It was after the CNA folks held a rally right outside Meg Whitman's home in nearby Atherton, CA on July 15, 2010.

I think this video deserves to go viral as a remarkable demonstration of contemporary union intimidation against innocent people. It deserves to be publicized so that the CNA understands that it cannot harm others without enduring negative publicity.

It sort of makes you think of the California Nurses Association in a whole new light. Doesn't it? If you'd like to contact the CNA, their website is at http://www.calnurses.org/contact-us/

The earlier rally in front of Meg Whitman's home attracted about 1,100 people.

For a little on the controversy surrounding this stunt to pressure Meg Whitman, see http://cbs2.com/video/?id=139518@kcbs.dayport.com I find it offensive that the the CNA would be putting pressure on Meg Whitman in this manner...especially given what you see on the video tape.

According to information on Meg Whitman's specialized website for nurses, Rose Ann DeMoro is the executive director of the California Nurses Association. Apparently, DeMoro is a former Teamster organizer and not - as you might expect - a nurse. Most important, DeMoro currently is paid more than $293,000 a year and her husband, Robert, is also on the California Nurses Association’s payroll with a salary of $142,254. See, http://www.truthfornurses.com/

Surprisingly, a large percentage of their membership is Republican.

(FYI: I called the media representative at the CNA today to get their side of the story and to check on the names of the people involved in this incident. The guy hung up on me. So much for my experience as a journalist.)

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Wow! California Voters React to Obama's Soft Treatment of New Black Panther Party

It looks like Rep. Brad Sherman (D) stepped into a mighty buzzsaw when he claimed he did not have any knowledge of the U.S. Justice Department's handling of the New Black Panther party's polling place intimidation case. These townhall meetings just are not working out for Democrats.



Right now, I'm a resident of Orange County, CA. Nevertheless, I grew up in the northern part of Los Angeles County. I trully identify with the concerns of Rep. Sherman's constituents. For personal reasons, I was struck by the attached YouTube video - newly released - of Sherman's constituents reacting to his comments that he did not know anything about this highly inflammatory mistake. You can hear the crowd erupt with anger.

I feel their pain. I know that area. My parents were raised in Glendale. I was born in Behrens Memorial Hospital in Glendale. I know the people in this video like they are my own relatives.

As you can see, they are largely white. They are extremely well-informed. They also have a vivid sense of justice and fairness. (They are not racists as the mainstream media would like you to believe.) They are people who think everyone should be treated fairly. In their view, the idea that the U.S. Justice Department would not protect them against New Black Panther racists - like King Samir Shabazz - is just repugnant and completely unacceptable.

Rep. Brad Sherman won his seat back in November 1996. At the time, it was one of the most expensive House races in U.S. history. His comments in this video demonstrate he has lost touch with the people in his district and that he deserves to be retired - immediately. It was silly of a Harvard Law School graduate like Rep. Sherman to pretend that he didn't know what was up regarding the lack of punishment dished out to the New Black Panther party by the Obama administration.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

The Evil of African-American Racism: Time to Take It Seriously

Sadly, the Obama administration's failure to punish King Samir Shabazz for intimidating white voters has now encouraged even greater expressions of violence against white people.

As a victim of affirmative action, I know exactly what it is like to be the focus of the hatred of the black community simply because of my race and sex. The way I was treated by affirmative action in California in the 1990s is now illegal. What is dangerous is to look the other way and go into denial about the danger of black racism.

We should learn enough from history that people who talk this way are only moments away from taking action on their heartfelt beliefs.

The YouTube video above is a partial indication of how Attorney General Eric Holder's decision was interpreted by the leaderhship of the New Black Panther party.

 The joking and laughing remind me of Hitler making fun of the Jews.

 King Samir Shabazz was, of course, caught on YouTube advocating the murder of whites and their children. We would be foolish not to be alarmed at a government that doesn't take these threats into account when enforcing the law.

 We should be all the more cautious given the reputation of the liberal left for leading the mass murder of millions of people in the 20th century - people who did not buy into their Marxist socialist agenda.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Glorious Leader Gap: Obama’s Islamization of NASA

The video below is a terrific illustration of the absolute silliness of the Obama administration's out-of-touch with reality approach to the Muslim world. In this clip, the top NASA administrator, Charles Bolden, says that Obama's top three priorities for NASA now include the charge to help the Muslim world "feel good" about its historic contributions to math and science.



You can catch the whole, crazy exchange in the full Al Jazeera interview. There are other alarming concepts suggested by Charles Bolden including massive praise for the multicultural aspects of the Space Station, a hostility to outsourcing to the commerical sector, and his fear of the idea that NASA is only looking out for NASA. I've felt, for a long time now, that NASA is a big, dangerous, technologically out-of-date, waste of money. Objectively, the last thing we need is Muslim terrorists in space.

It seems like we would be better off having Charles Bolden focusing on things that help America's space program and spending less time as a pretend diplomat seeking to raise Muslim self-esteem.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Glorious Leader Gap: Barack Obama Considered "Gayness"

I am kind of proud to report that I got a call from Dinesh D'Souza inquiring about this photograph the young Obama. I explained that I found it while I was skimming the Occidental College alumni magazine (Summer 2010). At the same time, I also went through the class notes and found that Hasan Chandoo has been in touch with my old girlfriend Caroline Grauman-Boss and her friend Susan (Keselenko) Coll over the years.

I expect that all additional information regarding the lasting social ties between young Obama and his Occidental College friends will give additional credibility to my statements that I knew the young Obama and can affirm that he was a Marxist socialist in 1980-1981. As I have reported elsewhere, Obama and I used to be part of a strong, committed group of revolutionaries. The only difference, as far as I can tell, is that I aged out of that obnoxious ideology in my mid-20s.

Also, this photo illustrates other themes I've communicated regarding the young Obama including the fact that I never saw him with a girl and that he was strikingly effeminate at the time. The larger point, of course, is that the picture of himself that he created in Dreams from My Father is very different from the real Obama that I knew during the 1980-1981 school year.

UPDATE #1: Jerome Corsi has published a new article featuring my first impression of the young Obama. People ask me about my first impression and I tell them the truth.


UPDATE #2: Ironically, Michelle Robinson - the future first lady - apparently had her own doubts about the young Obama. She asked her brother Craig Robinson to check out Barack. Here is a great passage from Christopher Andersen's book, Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage:


Right after the game, Craig called Michelle with his verdict. "Your boy is straight," he told her, "and he can ball." (p. 126.)

Obviously, I was not the only person in young Obama's life who had questions about his sexual identity.

UPDATE #3: Jerome Corsi has another new article regarding Obama's time in Chicago which suggests that Obama hid his gay life to become president.

UPDATE #4: Rachel Maddow at MSNBC has launched an attack seeking to ridicule my first impression of young Obama.

I imagine Maddow does not have the nerve or the guts to air my complete and unedited first impression of the young Obama. Nevertheless, I am hoping this little bit of national television exposure will cause more people to look up my take on young Obama and judge its accuracy for themselves.

UPDATE #5: I met Barack Obama while he was a student at Occidental College. I have shared elsewhere that my first impression of him is that he was gay. (I was also one of the people that David Garrow interviewed for his new presidential biography, Rising Star.)

Giving Up All My Secrets: Dr. Drew Interviewed by Historian David J. Garrow

Consequently, I’m not surprised to learn that President Obama wrote that he “considered gayness” when he was younger. I think the meaning of the phrase is quite clear. Obama found men attractive enough that he seriously considered spending his entire life in a relationship with another man.

To heterosexuals, I think it sounds odd that President Obama writes that he prefers women simply because those relationships are more of a challenge. Objectively, I think it is much easier to get along with women than men. Men have a lot more testosterone which makes them quite ornery. I think, for most heterosexuals, the idea of having sex with either men or women is not decided on the basis of the comparative workload.

That being said, twin studies reveal that about half the folks who identify as gay as teenagers end up being straight when they grow up. For example, one study followed approximately 10,800 adolescents 16-22 years old. Among the 16 year-old males who had exclusively SSA, 61% had opposite-sex attraction at age 17. For same-sex attracted females, 81% changed to opposite attraction in just one year. The same study compared sexual attraction at ages 17-22 and found that 75% of adolescent males with SSA at age 17 had opposite-sex attraction at age 22.

Prevalence and stability of sexual orientation components during adolescence and young adulthood.

It looks to me like President Obama may well fall into that category of young men who have SSA but then end up with opposite-sex attraction as adults.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist. He applies his skills as a grant writing consultant in the Southern California area.

His website is at the following link: http://drdrewguaranteedgrants.com/about-us/

The Presidential Addiction in Action: Obama Caught on Video Chewing that Darn Nicotine Gum

This new YouTube video features President Obama chewing his nicotine gum in public - first at the G8 summit, later at the G20 summit in Toronto and finally in front of children in the Oval Office. I feel Obama's pain.



I have studied up on addiction and done plenty of work for charities that seek to combat alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATODs). One of my first jobs, for example, was with a government program called L.A. Link that was focused on reducing illegal nicotine use among adolescents in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. I remember interviewing a heroin addict who told me she thought it was easier to beat heroin than nicotine.

I'm not completely surprised that Obama's addiction to nicotine makes him feel that chewing nicotine gum in public is a small price to pay for stopping the withdrawal effects of nicotine. They can be overwhelming. I knew the young Obama while he was a sophomore at Occidental College in Los Angeles. We were both smokers then. I remember that I could not go a day without two packs of Marlboro Lights. Quitting cigarettes is still one of the great achievements of my life.

I was startled, however, when I learned from Jerome Corsi's book, Obama Nation, that candidate Obama was still smoking cigarettes. In fact, Corsi went out of his way to show that the manner in which Obama easily lied and hid his addiction to cigarettes was similar to his willingness to lie and misrepresent other key elements in his life story.

These video clips, however, demonstrate that Obama has gone off the deep end and - even worse - the media is not all that interested in covering up for him anymore. The liberal media hid FDR's affairs and polio, it hid John Kennedy's affairs and dependence on pain killers, it hid John Edwards infidelity - but not his affection for his hair. I think it is healthy for America that the media is no longer shy about exposing Obama's nicotine addiction.

Checking out the comments, by the way, the creator of the YouTube video indicates he got at least two of these clips from a White House website: "I had the first clip and thought it looked like he was chewing gum but I wasn't sure. The White House posted the White House Week video today where I found the other two clips."


John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

President Clinton: Stalking Our Nation’s Most Intelligent Liar

Purely by chance, I happened to be in Little Rock, AR just when the news regarding President Clinton’s role in the Obama administration’s illegal effort to offer a job to Rep. Joe Sestak in return for a political favor broke last week in the national media. It turns out that ex-President Bill Clinton was in town that day to stump for beleaguered Sen. Blanche Lincoln.

Compassionate fellow that he is, President Clinton graciously served as the keynote speaker for the Neighborhoods U.S.A. luncheon on May 28, 2010. This was my first time seeing President Clinton face to face and I was curious to hear what he had to say.

As far as I could tell, President Clinton’s primary message was that those of us working at the neighborhood level were the most important people on Earth and that his experience at the national level had taught him that it was a more cruel world than what we were used to seeing or observing.

President Clinton argued that neighborhoods were a healthy and wonderful thing because citizens were forced to get to know each other as individuals. He pointed out that - at the national level - it was easy for his political enemies to create an inaccurate and unfair characterization of him and others.

For example, he shared the comments of one of his assistants who was with him in Washington who claimed, in relation to press accounts regarding President Clinton that "They keep writing about someone I am unfamiliar with."

As someone who has occasionally been in the public eye myself, I know President Clinton is telling the truth that the media does tend to portray people in a manner that best sells newspapers or keeps you holding on through the commercial instead of the manner that might satisfy your own ego’s needs. In my case, for example, I was never on the front page of a major newspaper for anything good or inspiring that I’ve done.

At the federal level, President Clinton pointed out there are special problems “…because…it's easy when you're a long way away and there’s a lot of people in between that have various interests in…turning you into…a cartoon, instead of a human being. It's easy to perform reverse plastic surgery on you. Particularly when it’s tough.”

Since I was attending the luncheon on business, I had to keep my mouth shut at the event. Nevertheless, it was clear to me that President Clinton has a real nature which leaks out once in a while, a real nature which is immoral, ruthless, and prone to lie. Unfortunately for him, that's the part of his character which really captures the public's attention and the media is more than happy to fill their appetite for more stories of President Clinton gone wrong. Based on the comments he was making even as this latest scandal broke, I think it is safe to say that he really is a manipulative liar…concerned only for himself and his political party.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Want to Book Dr. Drew for Your Next Event? He is Now Represented by Five Star Speakers' Bureau

As you may know, I've been balancing my career as a political pundit with my existing grant writing consulting business, Drew & Associates. For me, the common theme has always been the lessons I've learned from my study of charismatic leadership. When I'm focusing on grant writing, I'm explaning how agencies can use the various tricks of the trade to speed up their organizational and application processes.

When I'm focused on politics, I'm interested in understanding how charismatic leaders speed up the process of gaining popularity and political power. In all my different roles, I'm still a political scientist.

Ironically, I seem to be able to teach what I've always like to teach about. Now, however, I don't need to deal with the unnecessary bureaucracy of a traditional college or university campus. Accordingly, I'm proud to report that I've recently been included in the client roster of Five Star Speakers & Trainers Speakers Bureau. See, http://www.fivestarspeakers.com/espeakers/16585/John-C-Drew.html

The other clients are people you've probably heard of including Dennis Miller, Sen. Bob Dole, and Dr. John Maxwell. They charge a lot more than I do, but I'm honored now to be on the same website.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

To Pull or Not to Pull: MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Runs Clip of Sen. McCain Saying Its Time We Pulled the Trigger on Iran

I just caught the YouTube video of Sen. John McCain saying that it was time to pull the trigger on Iran. From the context, of course, McCain is merely saying that we need to impose strict sanctions on Iran – not that it is time to bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran.

Nevertheless, from the point of view of the U.S. political cycle and the risks we face in Iran, I’m thinking that now is probably a good time for Israel to “pull the trigger.” Among Republicans, I'm pretty sure they will be cheered by the Israeli strike and pleased to see that force is used to put down the Iranians who obviously wish us ill. In fact, a large majority of us – conservatives and independents - would applaud this action. For example, a recent Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll of 900 registered voters on April 6-7, 2010 shows 61% support in response to the question worded: "Do you support or oppose the United States taking military action to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons?"

Among prominent Democrats, however, I think we can safely predict that “pulling the trigger” will not be a popular option. As far as I can tell, liberal Democrats are always against war and it does not matter who the bad guys are or what kind of weapons they have on the launch pad. Ironically, even foreign wars have a way of dividing us up along partisan lines. Given this context, the natural question would be when is the right time to “pull the trigger?” For example, from the standpoint of U.S. politics, is the time to pull the trigger now, just prior to November, after November, or in the Spring (or later) of 2011?

If Israel pulled the trigger now, I think it is safe to say that this action would energize Republicans and independents, while – at the same time – it would stoke a heated debate about whether or not Israel did the right thing. Such a debate, in my view, would assist Republicans in contrasting themselves with the Democrats who would be busy attacking Israel for making a pre-emptive strike. Consequently, the debate would provide Republicans with a nationalized public issue that broke in their favor.

Ironically, if Israel waited to “pull the trigger” just prior to November, then it would create a temporary rally-around-the-flag effect for President Obama that might impact the mid-term elections. Obama’s popularity would rise temporarily as he took normal actions to insure that the conflict between Iran and Israel did not escalate into World War III. Right now, we have a lot of military strength in Afghanistan, right near Iran, so it would be difficult for Russia or China to do much to defend Iran – if that was their objective. If Israel attacks just prior to the November elections, then it would strengthen the military image of Obama, and – perhaps - give him an excuse -- if he wishes to temporarily gain support by demonstrating a modest level of allied defense for Israel’s actions. I do not see how Obama could do anything to harm Israel under this timing scenario without making things worse for his Democrat party.



If Israel pulls the trigger right after November, then Obama will have almost total freedom – electorally speaking - to do whatever he wants included issuing a strong attack on Israel and potentially supporting sanctions against Israel as part of a larger effort to distract people from the poor U.S. economy. This would be the best option for Obama because he would build his ties to his base, long before he needed to pretend to be a centrist again in time for the 2012 Presidential election. From the point of view of Israel, this looks like the worst time to pull the trigger to me.

If Israel attacks in the Spring of 2011, the issue will not have too much of a partisan electoral impact within the U.S. Israel would be facing a less conservative Congress, and would still be in the doghouse with President Obama. This analysis would be particularly poignant if, as Defense Secretary Gates suggests, Iran could expedite matters and have a nuke by the Spring of 2011. So, my conclusion is that the sooner Israel pulls the trigger, the better it will be for her in ending an existential threat from Iran and for assisting her true and loyal friends in the United States.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Glorious Leader Gap: Obama Never a Professor - Never Even Close to Being a Professor.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, I got caught up in the controversy regarding whether or not Sen. Barack Obama was really a law school professor. Obama referred to himself as a “law professor,” but - in truth - he had only served as a Senior Lecturer. (This was a non-tenure track position that did not require achievements in research or publication.) To the general public, this probably looked like a minor case of a politician fudging his resume. As a published, award-winning political scientist, however, I thought Obama’s claims demeaned the once - somewhat honorable - image of genuine law school professors at the University of Chicago.

Doug Ross floated a blog post reputing to be the comments of a highly ranked University of Chicago law school professor which - in my mind – rings true as a plausible reaction from a tenured law school professor, someone who probably went into this line of work back when it was a sign of extraordinary intelligence, and not simply the expression of affirmative action window-dressing or compliance with politically correct dogma. According to the report in Ross’s blog, http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2010/03/to-be-lawyer-or-not-to-be.html, his source shared that:

I spent some time with the highest tenured faculty member at Chicago Law a few months back, and he did not have many nice things to say about "Barry." Obama applied for a position as an adjunct and wasn't even considered. A few weeks later the law school got a phone call from the Board of Trustees telling them to find him an office, put him on the payroll, and give him a class to teach. The Board told him he didn't have to be a member of the faculty, but they needed to give him a temporary position. He was never a professor and was hardly an adjunct.

Off and on, I have been an adjunct professor myself. I soon learned that my colleagues would be ticked off when I skipped out on staff meetings. As the anonymous source indicates, Obama had a similar experience:

The other professors hated him because he was lazy, unqualified, never attended any of the faculty meetings, and it was clear that the position was nothing more than a political stepping stool.

Personally, I thought it was unfair for me to attend faculty meetings as an adjunct when I was earning a fraction of the earnings of the real professors. Even worse, as a consultant, I lost time I could bill my clients when I was attending these fun, but unproductive meetings.

As much as I understand that Obama might be disinterested in attending faculty meetings, I also think his claim that he was a law school professor is likely to offend those of us who have competed for that honor through research, publication, and lonely scholarship. As Ross’s source relates:

According to my professor friend, he had the lowest intellectual capacity in the building. He also doubted whether he was legitimately an editor on the Harvard Law Review, because if he was, he would be the first and only editor of an Ivy League law review to never be published while in school (publication is or was a requirement).

Obama’s fib that he was a law school professor reminds me of all the people who seem to think that just because they earned their M.A. that they have achieved the equivalent of a Ph.D. To those of us who have gone on and earned our Ph.D.’s, however, the completion of an M.A. seems to be a minor accomplishment compared to the intellectual challenge of conducting original research and grappling, on a day-to-day basis, with the exhilarating (sometimes heart-breaking) process of creating new knowledge.

The Doug Ross blog post is a telling reminder President Obama was never a professor. He was never even close to being a professor. Professors publish articles, compete for tenure, conduct research, win grants, and speak at national and international conferences. They attend faculty meetings where their expertise and skills are challenged in lively debate. In this world, the time professors spend teaching classes, creating exams and grading papers – the majority of Obama’s work as a Senior Lecturer – has only limited significance and prestige.

Obama’s insistence that he was a law school professor shows that he sought the status of being a law school professor…yet never proved he had what it took to compete among the academic elite.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Social Justice as a Code Word for Socialism: Remembering the Young Barack Obama

I’m excited I stumbled over Richard Wolffe’s article, “When Barry Became Barack,” Newsweek, March 31, 2008. This piece covers the period around when I first met the young Barack Obama, during his sophomore year at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

My review of this article is particularly relevant right now because of Glenn Beck’s assertion – earlier this month - that “social justice” is basically a code word for Marxist socialist ideology, even when it is used in a church setting. Understanding the role of “social justice” as a code word for something a lot more sinister certainly helps us make better sense of the new information released in Wolffe’s article.

Wolffe points out, for example, that young Obama immediately dove in to the social circles of the “progressive” students. He writes: “Barry Obama met Eric Moore fresh on arrival from Hawaii at Occidental College in Los Angeles. The two roamed in the same circles, gravitating toward friends who considered themselves "progressive," including many with international backgrounds.” As a 1979 graduate of Occidental College, I was part of that same progressive/international network of friends and activists.

Wolffe writes that Obama honed his sense of right and wrong during these years at Occidental. In particular, Wolffe cites one of my old colleauges, Occidental College political theory professor Roger Boesche. Boesche says Obama "…hung out with the young men and women who were most serious about issues of social justice." Prof. Roger Boesche report he taught Obama two political-science courses and knew him as Barry at the time. (I knew him as Barry too.)

What’s missing from this story is that the “social justice” young men and women were, in fact, simply left-wing socialists. They found a hero in Professor Boesche because he made complex texts easier to understand and because he encouraged them to fight even though they would be inevitably ground up in the gears of history. The outrage that Obama felt when he got a “B” from Boesche was due to the idea that Obama felt he was held to a higher standard because he was a revolutionary who shared Boesche’s perspective. Obama felt he was held to a higher standard because he was one of the student in greatest ideological agreement with what Professor Boesche was teaching at that time.

In one instance, Obama politely confronted his professor over lunch at a local sandwich shop called The Cooler. "He'd gotten a grade he was disappointed in," Boesche recalls. "I told him he was really smart, but he wasn't working hard enough." Other students might have backed off at that point. But not Obama. He politely told Boesche he should have gotten a better grade. Even today, Obama recalls the demeaning mark. He told journalist David Mendell, author of a recent book called "Obama, From Promise to Power," that he "was pissed" about it because he thought he was being graded "on a different curve." Boesche still insists he gave him the grade he deserved.

Later, I taught with Boesche while he was a visiting professor in the political science department at Williams College. Boesche was still a socialist by 1989 and was still an ardent advocate of John Rawls, A Theory of Justice. Boesche was proud, in a paper he wrote, that he had gotten a message from Rawls basically confirming Rawls’ socialist perspective. All of this, of course, should just do more to confirm the reliability of my impression that the young Barack Obama was already an ardent socialist Marxist revolutionary when I met him in the fall of 1980.

Intellectually, we should gain a fresh and realistic perspective on the true nature (and depth) of Barack Obama’s ideology when we combine Beck’s understanding of social justice, with Boesche’s comments on Obama’s social justice friendships, and my comments that Obama was undoubtedly a Marxist revolutionary between 1980-1981.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Religious Social Justice Advocates Have No Idea What Causes Poverty - There, I Said It

Earlier this month, I noticed Glenn Beck of Fox and Jim Wallis of Sojourner's were crossing swords over the incendiary topic of social justice and the Bible. Beck got things started on his radio show when he said, "I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words…If you have a priest that is pushing social justice, go find another parish."

Wallis, however, really frightened me with his effort to twist the Christian faith to promote cold, anti-capitalist propaganda. “Beck says Christians should leave their social justice churches,” remarked Wallis, “so I say Christians should leave Glenn Beck…what he has said attacks the very heart of our Christian faith, and Christians should no longer watch his show.”

"When your political philosophy," said Wallis, "is to consistently favor the rich over the poor you don't want to hear about economic justice."

I’m thankful Glenn Beck is calling attention to something I have found annoying about the Christian churches I have attended over the years – a tendency to swap socially accepted ideas that the rich allow poverty to exist for selfish reasons for contemporary social science perspectives, perspectives that trace poverty to individual or family-level variables including child labor, lack of schooling, drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, failure to save and invest, inappropriate single-parenting and so on.

I was flabbergasted back in 2005 when my Southern Baptist church signed on to the famous ONE Campaign, a massive media blitz which had the goal of changing government policies to save lives in Africa.

The group included a coalition of dopey celebrities and august religious leaders such as Live 8's Bob Geldof, U2's Bono, Kanye West, Rick Warren and Pat Robertson. This eclectic group endorsed policies which – from the perspective of a political economist – would lead to worse poverty including: 1) Doubling financial aid sent to the world's poorest countries, 2) Debt cancellation for the poorest nations and 3) Reform of trade laws so poor nations are not shut out of global markets.

As a political scientist, I found this whole “social justice” theme – generally soak the rich, in disguise - appalling and grossly insensitive to unintended consequences. As we saw in the case of welfare reform in the U.S., public subsidization of foolish decisions takes away the honor and prestige of those who practice personal responsibility. Even worse, social justice advocates distract our attention from the real changes needed to end global poverty.

In my view, for example, I think efforts to abolish child labor and enforce compulsory schooling in America and Europe have been infinitely more successful in ending poverty and promoting economic development than any totalitarian scheme of redistribution. This is because poor parents traditionally use child labor as a primitive form of social security, disability insurance and free maid service. Although poor parents temporarily benefit from the exploitation of their children's labor, they do so at a profound cost to their children's education, intellectual development and future earning power.

The incentives for poor parents to exploit child labor is the reason why democracy, child labor, illiteracy and unremitting poverty go hand-in-hand in places like India and the Philippines. In contrast, Vietnam and China cracked down on child labor and have experienced striking and immediate improvements in economic prosperity.

Our contemporary view that parents should support their children is turned upside down so much in other developing countries that poor parents routinely seek to profit from their offspring by selling them into sexual slavery or work camps. In some backward nations, child labor is so freely available that parents inefficiently misuse a child's mind by applying their unlimited human potential to the mundane task of carrying water.

Instead of attacking the morals of wealthy countries, opponents of global poverty should be focused on eradicating primitive indigenous practices that shock our conscience. Ideally, we should use the power of religious faith to modernize cultures that still use little children as human water pipes, personal servants, agricultural robots and sexual slaves. Glenn Beck reminds me “social justice” advocates often demand international, socialist redistribution to fix problems that could be more easily and efficiently solved with inexpensive condoms and strictly enforced child labor and compulsory schooling laws.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Palin Hearts Reagan: Her Success Shows Why It Mattered to Alaskans

The life stories of charismatic leaders invariably reveal that they are ordinary people who take big risks. Even Napoleon Bonaparte, for example, was dismissed by his Austrian father-in-law, Francis I, as simply “a gambler.”

These hardy risk-takers, however, almost always rely on a handful of techniques to improve their odds of success – including a startling willingness to pattern their lives on a pre-existing model of political and military success. Young Abraham Lincoln was fascinated by the life story of General George Washington – the first U.S. President. Saddam Hussein modeled his political career on the example of the USSR’s Joseph Stalin. Fidelity to an existing political leadership model assists charismatic leaders in maintaining their extraordinary levels of self-confidence. It can also – if they pick wisely – provide them with sure solutions that make a difference.

A strong contemporary example of this phenomenon came to me from reading Sarah Palin's new book Going Rogue: An American Life (2009).

In Going Rogue, Palin indicates that she displayed an early interest in the ideas and leadership style of President Reagan while she was still in college. "I looked forward to every poli sci lecture,” she writes, “I attributed my enthusiasm to patriotism and a fascination with current events. I was also eager because this was the 1980s and our study centered on one of the most inspiring individuals ever to occupy the White House, Pres. Ronald W. Reagan."

In particular, I was impressed by the way the young Sarah Palin dug into one of the most important practical secrets of Reagan's success when she writes that "I also appreciated his focus on a handful of overarching themes, such as reining in the intrusiveness of government, building a strong national defense, and cutting taxes.”

In November 2006, of course, Sarah Palin became both the youngest person, at 42, and the first woman elected as the Governor of Alaska.

Consistent with the examples of other charismatic leaders, Palin indicates how she drew confidence from Reagan’s example: “It was a humbling experience to step in to lead an administration that would serve a state of this size and diversity,” she writes, “ I knew we could face the challenge with anticipation and without a sense of overload that we observed Ronald Reagan's principles: pick your agenda issues and focus on those; empower and motivate your departments and staff to implement your vision in other areas. Reagan concentrated on a few key issues and knocked them out of the park. That gave him the political capital to effect change in many other policy areas.”

In her case, she reasoned that if she focused on Alaskan resource development, fiscal restraint, and ethical government, she would create the victories and momentum that would allow her to later deal with “…education, services for special needs and the elderly, job training, unemployment, and social ills in rural Alaska."

True to her vision, Gov. Palin cut back on the legislature’s construction projects in her first budget and won a bipartisan ethics reform bill – all in less than a year. By August 2008, she had negotiated a natural gas pipeline deal. All in all, Gov. Palin experienced extraordinary success as measured by her high popularity with Alaska voters. Her successes in office would attract the attention of the McCain campaign in the form of an offer to serve as the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate in 2008.

For me, the lesson of this story is that it is useful for voters to ask candidates which politicians do they most admire? More than most of us suspect, the answer to this seemingly innocence question may be extremely useful in predicting their later success in elected office.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Glorious Leader Gap: President Barack Obama - Not So Bright for a Harvard Law Grad

As a student of charismatic leadership, my antenna lit up when I saw all the chatter during the 2008 Presidential campaign regarding Barack Obama’s brilliance and genius. Since I’ve gotten to know some real geniuses, I think I’m in a good position to access his intellectual capacity. Based on my experience, I can report that Barack Obama is a non-genius.



How do I know? Well, for one reason, one of my brothers is a genius. He’s tested out in elementary school with an IQ over 140. In high school, my brother figured out how to solve the Rubik’s Cube. (This was back in the days before there were on-line cheat sheets and YouTube videos explaining how to do it.) See, http://www.videojug.com/interview/how-to-solve-a-rubiks-cube-in-under-a-minute#first-layer

I have also taught at the nation’s number one liberal arts college, Williams in MA. In that job, I had the opportunity to teach some of our nation’s most talented between 1986 and 1989. I also served, briefly, as an admissions counselor at Cornell in the early 1980s where I got to interview applicants and compare what I saw face-to-face with their SAT test scores. In other words, I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting “true men of genius.”

Based on reasonable standards, I can safely assert President Obama’s mental capacity is not in that category.

Nevertheless, it is tempting for those seeking to promote his charismatic image to interpret his current behavior as if he were, in fact, a genius. From this biased perspective, Obama has a secret, long-term plan that is going to work out for him and all of us at the same time. His challenges today are due to the extremely poor mistakes made by others in the past and the sheer impossibility of doing anything productive under the constraints established by the U.S. Constitution. If you choose to believe that Obama is a genius, then his failures must be due to exogenous factors.

If you see Obama as a non-genius, however, you become more sensitive to a different storyline, a storyline that makes more sense given President Obama’s actual history. To be a little blunt, assuming that Obama is not so bright helps explain a lot of mysterious stuff that makes no sense if he were truly a genius including:

• Obama’s over dependence on his teleprompter.
• Obama’s boring performances in his now discontinued press conferences.
• Obama's factual errors during his confrontation with Republicans at their retreat.
• Obama’s indecisiveness and general slowness in figuring out how to respond to his commanders’ requests for additional troops in Afghanistan.
  
• Obama’s try and fail approach to winning the Olympic Games for Chicago, his useless trip to China, and his fruitless visit to Copenhagen on behalf of the cause of anthropomorphic global warming.
  
• Obama’s unwillingness to contribute an article to the Harvard Law Review while he served as its first African-American president.
  
• Obama’s reluctance to compete for a tenure track job at the University of Chicago Law School and the fact that he never submitted articles to peer-reviewed law journals.

In addition, the theme that Obama is no genius also makes it much easier to absorb new information regarding Obama’s past achievements and associations, including the possibility that Obama’s first book Dreams of My Father reflects the ideas and writing style of his Hyde Park neighbor, Bill Ayers. See, http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/09/andersen_book_blows_ayers_cove.html

It also raises the frightening possibility that Obama truly believed the silly liberation theology taught by Rev. Wright. Obama’s non-genius status would certainly help explain why he got married in Rev. Wright’s church and why Obama thought so little about raising his children in that bizarre, hateful environment.

As a non-genius, I think it is safe to say Obama faces the same challenges as most of us. He does not process information quickly…it is not so easy for him to retain information once he learns it…and it is difficult for him to focus - in a long and sustained fashion - on complex issues. All of this suggests that Obama is likely to spend a lot of his time as President with his family enjoying expensive, but pointless vacations. It suggests, he is unlikely to respond to the demands of political reality by becoming a Clinton style centrist. It also calls attention to the startling possibility that the mainstream media is covering up for President Obama’s intellectual weaknesses the same way they covered up for FDR’s physical disability and marital affairs.

Most worrisome, I think Obama compensates for his limited intellectual abilities with a strong reliance on ideology, with emotional appeals to fairness, and with a dogged determination to stick to the simple, leftwing perspective he learned from his mother, Stanley.

As a glorious leader, President Obama will always fall short of our normal expectations. Those who voted for him believing he was a talented intellectual, a genius of epic standards, are right to feel betrayed. Those of us seeking to protect our country from the temporary power of Obama’s charisma are wise to see him as he is…and not as his supporters pretend him to be.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.