If you’re looking for change in 2008, voting for Barak Obama will only bring more constancy.

His charismatic speeches and smooth attitude have been attracting and catching the American public’s attention. His sudden rise as a leading presidential democratic candidate can be credited to the mass media. The Obama frenzy we see on television lets us know only a few things about him: He’s black, not a Republican and against the war in Iraq.

In his non-fiction book, “The Audacity of Hope,” Obama promotes the idea that the U.S. has the duty to “help make the world more secure.”

This rhetoric was used by the Bush administration to justify the invasion of Iraq in the fi rst place. This imperialist view of foreign policy and function as the world police has gotten America into a deeper hole of worldwide resentment. The junior senator from Illinois’ lack of a track record has been touted as one of his best assets.

But the few things he has done look pretty ominous, like his vote in favor of re-enacting the Patriot Act.

A man who claims to stand for civil liberties and the rights granted by the constitution approved a bill that is infamous for its disregard of constitutional law.

Obama opposed an amendment called the Bankruptcy Act that would have capped credit card interest rates at 30 percent, relieving millions of Americans in debt. He also opposed the introduction of the Canadian-style, single-payer national health insurance that would guarantee all Americans their right to health care.

In “Hope,” Obama joins victim-blaming Republicans by saying that poor blacks’ “cultural” issues are the cause of concentrated black poverty. He doesn’t recognize the many well-documented, interconnected structures, practices and consequences of imposed white supremacy and corporate-state capitalism.

His childhood went something like this: He was raised by his white grandparents, attended an elite private school and lived in tropical Hawaii.

In his book, Obama claims blacks have joined the “socioeconomic mainstream.” This statement must have been made without any real research on the subject. According to economist Jennifer Weary in her report “The Future Middle Class: African Americans, Latinos and Economic Opportunity,” the median black household net worth falls to less than eight cents.

We should not vote on shallow information from mass media. Americans need do their own research to find the best candidate, not that of the corporate elite.

A good president isn’t based on charisma alone. If Obama is going to have a chance, he needs to first prove himself to win over voters.

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