THE HYPOCRISY FLOWS – AT 9:03 A.M. ET:  For those who will hang on every one of Barack Obama's words tonight, a word of advice:  He has a way of changing his "view" of things.  Consider his sudden, and deeply passionate, love for Ronald Reagan.  Byron York makes this note in the Washington Examiner:

In an article published in USA Today, President Obama praises President Ronald Reagan as a man with a "unique ability to inspire others to greatness." Obama also says of Reagan that "there is no denying his leadership in the world, or his gift for communicating his vision for America." The late president, Obama continues, "understood that it is always 'Morning in America.' That was his gift, and we remain forever grateful."

Obama's view of Reagan today is far different from the discussion of Reagan in Obama's 1995 autobiography Dreams From My Father. In that book, Obama says his strong feelings about the Republican president were part of the reason he decided to become a community organizer. "When classmates in college asked me just what it was that a community organizer did, I couldn't answer them directly," Obama wrote. "Instead, I'd pronounce on the need for change. Change in the White House, where Reagan and his minions were carrying on their dirty deeds…"

In another part of the book, Obama criticized Reagan for "verbal legerdemain." By that, he was accusing Reagan of intentionally maintaining a gap between his sunny rhetoric and the actions of his administration. Now, President Obama praises Reagan's "faith in the American promise."

COMMENT:  All Obama has to do is put a bowl of jelly beans on his desk, and the picture will be complete. 

As for that book, he can claim that someone else wrote it.  No, I didn't say that.  I really didn't say that.  My fingers slipped on the keys.  It's an old psychological problem.

I think that, fundamentally, Mr. Obama is a man of the left, a left that goes well beyond traditional liberalism.  At the same time, he's a hopeless opportunist, and he wants that second term badly.  To get it, he may go so far as to do something right.

January 25, 2011