EDITORIAL - In a speech delivered to a group of supporters yesterday, Barack Obama spoke highly of feel-good policies and increased entitlement spending to help woo over the female vote. Something tells me Obama probably does not consider his promises a form of vote-buying using hard-earned money from American taxpayers.

The speech began innocently enough with talk of the women in his family, from his single mother who “put herself through school”, to his grandmother who apparently helped to raise him, to his wife, the “rock” of the family. “Now Michelle and I want our two daughters to grow up in an America where they have the freedom and opportunity to live their dreams and raise their own families,” he said, warming up the crowd for the soon-to-be-unveiled entitlement promises, such as:

“I'll be a President who stands up for the American family by giving all working parents a hand. To help with childcare, I'll expand the Child and Dependent Care tax credit, so that working families can receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses.”

“I'll double funding for afterschool programs that help children learn and give parents relief.”

“I'll invest $10 billion to guarantee access to quality, affordable, early childhood education for every child in America.”

“And with more and more households headed by two working parents - or a single working parent - it's also time to dramatically expand the Family and Medical Leave Act.”

“We'll also allow workers to take leave to care for elderly parents. We'll allow parents to take 24 hours of annual leave to join school activities with their kids.”

“I'll also stand up for paid leave. You shouldn't be punished for getting sick or dealing with a family crisis. That's why I'll require employers to provide all of their workers with seven paid sick days a year.”

“And I'll support a 50-state strategy to adopt paid-leave systems, and set aside $1.5 billion to fund it.”

“And at a time when folks are struggling with the rising price of everything from gas to groceries, I'll provide working women with immediate relief. While Senator McCain wants to continue the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans who don't need them and didn't ask for them, I'll pass a middle class tax cut of $1,000 for each working family.”

“I won't leave any working people behind. That's why, unlike Senator McCain, I'll index the minimum wage to inflation so that it goes up each year to keep pace with rising costs.”

There is no example more clear than this speech of a politician who wants nothing more than an outrageous expanse of federal government power and control and more spending on feel-good federal government programs – in return for your vote come November. Senator Obama ought to be ashamed of himself for playing off of the delicate sensibilities of the American people; sensibilities that are far too apt to be exploited.

The Illinois senator is promising the world to his supporters, bought and paid for by the American taxpayer, so long as he becomes president and leader of the free world.

Obama is a pathetic excuse for a politician, a representative of the people and a follower of the Constitution. His abysmal ignorance of the realistic duties of the federal government and pitiful understanding of the clear and direct limitations placed on the government by the Constitution makes him, sadly, a typical politician of our federal government. A typical politician who uses the delicate influence bestowed upon him as a senator to further expand the rampant proliferation of social entitlement programs and wasteful spending throughout our society, even as our government currently sits on a $9.3 trillion dollar national debt.