Does Barack Obama live in a parallel universe?

I have a feeling he must actually be from another planet – where up is down, left is right, black is white and right is wrong.

How else can one explain his extraordinary response in the Cleveland debate to the question of which Senate vote he would like to take back?

In his four years as a freshman senator from Illinois, Obama has already cast hundreds of votes. He has also failed to cast dozens and dozens of votes on some of the most important and controversial legislation debated in the upper house as he campaigned across the country in his bid for the presidency. (He has missed 40 percent of Senate votes in the current session.)

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But let's examine some of Obama's key votes:

• On May 24, 2007, he voted against continued funding of our troops in Iraq. He was one of only 14 negative votes, meaning most of his Democratic colleagues opposed him.
   
• On Jan. 11, 2007, he voted against reform on earmarks, the basis of pork-barrel spending – again contradicting the majority of his fellow Democrats.
   
• On June 22, 2006, he voted against procurement of F-22A fighter aircraft and F-119 engines – again contradicting the majority of his fellow Democrats.
   
• On May 17, 2006, he voted against an increase in the amount of fencing and vehicle barriers along the southwest border of the U.S. – again contradicting the majority of his fellow Democrats.
   
• On Sept. 29, 2005, he opposed the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.
   
• On Aug. 3, 2007, he voted against expanding the power of U.S. intelligence agencies to eavesdrop on foreign terror suspects.
   
• On April 26, 2007, he voted to set dates for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
   
• On March 29, 2007, he voted to start withdrawing troops from Iraq last summer.
   
• On July 18, 2006, he voted to allow federal funding for experimentation on embryonic stem cells.
   
• On June 6, 2006, he opposed a cloture motion on a same-sex marriage amendment that effectively killed it.
   
• On May 25, 2006, he voted for a "comprehensive immigration reform" bill that would have provided amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.
   
• On May 11, 2006, he voted against extending President Bush's tax cuts.
   
• On Jan. 31, 2006, he opposed confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

I could go on and on. He has cast dozens and dozens of votes to spend taxpayer money on extra-constitutional programs. The National Journal characterized him as the most liberal senator in 2007. He's been out there – on the fringe – casting tough votes, controversial votes, extreme votes.

And that's why I thought his answer to that question at the Cleveland debate was so amazing, so unbelievable, so shocking.

What is the single, solitary, lone vote Barack Obama regrets having cast in his years in the Senate?

Here's what he said: "When I first arrived in the Senate that first year, we had a situation surrounding Terri Schiavo. And I remember how we adjourned with a unanimous agreement that eventually allowed Congress to interject itself into that decision-making process of the families. It wasn't something I was comfortable with, but it was not something that I stood on the floor and stopped. And I think that was a mistake, and I think the American people understood that that was a mistake. And as a constitutional law professor, I knew better. ... And I think that's an example of inaction, and sometimes that can be as costly as action."

That "situation" surrounding Terri Schiavo was, I like to think, an earnest effort by a group of lawmakers to save the life of an innocent woman who was eventually put to death by court order – starved and dehydrated against the wishes of her mother, father and siblings, who wished to care for her at their own expense.

That is Barack Obama's deepest legislative regret – his biggest mistake. He tried to save the life of a poor, handicapped woman who was being victimized in the most inhuman way by her estranged husband and a rogue local court.

This should give you some insight into the character of Barack Obama. It should give you a glimpse of his dark soul. It should give you a look into his hardened, politically correct heart. It should give you a picture of what this country has in store for it when he is elected president later this year.

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"Terri's Story"

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