I find the way he won his first election in Chicago distasteful. And illuminating.

In his first race for office, seeking a state Senate seat on Chicago’s gritty South Side in 1996, Obama effectively used election rules to eliminate his Democratic competition.

As a community organizer, he had helped register thousands of voters. But when it came time to run for office, he employed Chicago rules to invalidate the voting petition signatures of three of his challengers.

The move denied each of them, including incumbent Alice Palmer, a longtime Chicago activist, a place on the ballot. It cleared the way for Obama to run unopposed on the Democratic ticket in a heavily Democrat district.

“That was Chicago politics,” said John Kass, a veteran Chicago Tribune columnist. “Knock out your opposition, challenge their petitions, destroy your enemy, right? It is how Barack Obama destroyed his enemies back in 1996 that conflicts with his message today. He may have gotten his start registering thousands of voters. But in that first race, he made sure voters had just one choice.”

This is the guy who projects such a genteel persona when he’s in front of the cameras.

Here’s the woman he shoved aside to get elected btw.

Alice Palmer

Hardly the behavior of a gentleman.

Then I read stuff like this:

In all, DOJ lawyers and staff in the metro area have donated at least $150,000 to Obama. No wonder they seem more interested in prosecuting those who warn against vote fraud than enforcing vote-fraud laws.

What could be more fair than to give everyone a chance to verify the accuracy of new voter registrations in a state (Ohio) that just might decide a national election?

But it’s not going to happen.

That stinks to high heaven.

Our voting process is broken. The ONLY way it can be fixed is to set and enforce OBJECTIVELY fair rules. Otherwise we will never move beyond the fallout of the 2000 debacle in Florida.

But that “change” isn’t going to come from Obama. And why not? Because winning is more important to him than honor. So of course he went back on his word to accept public financing for his campaign. Why let a little thing like a public promise get in his way?

I’m sure his backers are more than happy to overlook such tactics. After all, it gave him (another) huge advantage over McCain. All’s fair in love and war, etc. etc.

And he’s using some of that money, naturally, to ensure that any disputes about the election process are resolved in his favor. Like trying to make things uncomfortable for people questioning ACORN’s voter registration tactics.

And once the votes are all in — make way for an ARMY of lawyers.

In Florida, Democratic lawyer Charles H. Lichtman has assembled almost 5,000 lawyers to monitor precincts, assist voters turned away at the polls and litigate any disputes that can’t be resolved out of court.

“On Election Day, I will be managing the largest law firm in the country, albeit for one day,” said Lichtman, 53, a Fort Lauderdale corporate lawyer and veteran of the five-week recount after the 2000 election when Florida eventually delivered the presidency to George W. Bush.

Again, if you support Obama, you’ll find this excusable, I’m sure, if not admirable. But it belies the facade of Ivy League gentility that he projects. And that troubles me.

Integrity is a real quality, not a rhetorical trick.

People worship this man, but insofar as their respect is based on the assumption that he’s a “good man,” they’re being duped. He’s not a good man. He’s an ambitious operator who knows how to manipulate both peoples’ perceptions and the electoral process.

Welcome to the brave new era in national politics.