Expect 'anti-family' Obama smears to begin

If Barack Obama becomes the Democratic nominee, GOP campaign strategists will focus a lot of their attacks on an inner city case study called the Harlem Children's Zone, which Obama said serves as an example of how he plans to tackle urban poverty across the country. 

The Harlem Children's Zone is a non-profit organization that has been fighting poverty in New York City since 1970.  In a speech this week, Obama said their organization's model of fighting poverty has proved successful, and should be replicated in at least 20 American cities.

The Examiner outlined Obama's anti-poverty crusade:

The Harlem Children's Zone is a program that provides prenatal care,early childhood education, life skills classes and free medical care ata cost of $46 million annually. It also offers job counseling,technology training and crime prevention. Obama pledged to fund half ofthe plan, which he expected to cost in the billions, through federalmoney with the remainder coming from the business and philanthropiccommunities.

In addition to replicating the Harlem plan, Obamapledged to raise the minimum wage to a livable one, invest $1 billionover five years in transitional jobs programs and develop more than112,000 affordable housing units nationally.

Obama said on Wednesday that under his administration he would "retire the phrase 'working poor' in our time."

Now back to the strategy aspect.  If this Harlem program serves as the example for how Obama plans to combat poverty, then look for the Republican Party to investigate the non-profit organization more closely, and use its negatives to attack Obama.

It turns out that traditional news sites like ABC are already beating them to it:

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told Planned Parenthood Tuesday that sexeducation for kindergarteners, as long as it is "age-appropriate," is"the right thing to do."

Of course, Obama's quote was completely mis-characterized.  He was actually referring to age-appropriate education in general -- not that kindergarten students should be taught about intercourse.

The bigger picture is that the attacks on Obama's morality and views on family have now begun.  They will look for any minor flaw in either Obama's rhetoric or his proposals -- such as the Harlem Children's Zone -- and use them to paint him as an anti-family, Hollywood-friendly, threatening black politician whose candidacy poses a risk to your children.

If you think they can't get that low, look what they did to John Kerry, Max Cleland, Bill Clinton, Michael Dukakis and even John Edwards.  But unlike Kerry, let's hope Obama responds to these attacks immediately before it is too late.