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Obama, Not McCain, Would Be Third Bush Term

Dem doesn't offer much hope of change from current president

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 1, 2008 6:25 PM CDT

(Newser) – Barack Obama has freely used the Bush card, reminding voters that John McCain has agreed with the president 90% of the time—but “the irony here is that Obama actually has much more in common with Bush than McCain does,” Bill Siegel writes in the National Review. He argues that Obama has more in common with the man he hopes to replace than he cares to admit.

“Obama suggests he, not the surge, was responsible for the Iraqi turnaround. Is this his own ‘Mission Accomplished’?” writes Siegel, who adds that Obama suffers from Bush weaknesses: He's too beholden to advisers, short on business acumen, and liable to drive up spending. Democrats insist there will be “no more propping up an obviously unqualified candidate to serve the agenda of the powerful,” which is true, Siegel writes, “unless, of course, Obama wins.”

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Barack Obama is more like President Bush than he would like to admit, Bill Siegel writes. (AP Photo/Florida Keys News Bureau, Andy Newman)

"It is only through his skill in both articulating grievances and promising deliverance from economic hardship that he has acquired an unjustifiable reputation for economic wisdom," Bill Siegel says. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Obama's resemblance to Bush is extensive. In his refusal to credit the Iraq War "surge" with success in stabilizing Iraq, Obama has shown the same inability to admit mistakes that the left-wing media attribute to Bush. - Bill Siegel, National Review

So much of Obama's history lacks any clear and independent verification that it may take years to assess the deception that has gone into creating his image. - Bill Siegel, National Review

The Left boldly criticized Bush as dangerously limited by his inability to admit his failures and make critical adjustments; so much so as to appear 'out of touch.' But that’s exactly what Obama has done. - Bill Siegel, National Review

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Obama, Not McCain, Would Be Third Bush Term