Monday, March 31, 2014

President Selfie: Hopelessly Delusional, Cravenly Dishonest or Mind Numbingly Incompetent?

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President Obama made a statement the other day in response to a question about what Mitt Romney had said in the presidential debates about a possible Russia threat. At the time, Obama cavalierly dismissed it as living in the past.
"The 80's called. They want their foreign policy back!"
He doubled down on that stupidity in his reply:
"Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors — not out of strength, but out of weakness"
Weakness? Really?? Was Germany in 1939 merely a "regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors — not out of strength, but out of weakness"? BTW, Mr. President, in case you were on vacation at the time, Russia did more than merely threaten her neighbors, she invaded one and annexed it with nary a shot fired. And as far as being merely a "regional power", exactly how many nukes and ICBMs does this "regional power" possess?

Prior to WWI, Archduke Ferdinand was the leader of a "regional power", whose assassination sparked a global conflict. Some of the "neighbors" the current regional power of Russia might be threatening, are members of NATO. The US has signed treaties with them, that we will defend them the same as if the US were attacked. To quote from their website:
NATO’s essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
Now, you can debate all day long whether or not making alliances with various allies is the wisest course to take, or whether we will pursue this course in the future, but are we going to run away from these treaties we have already signed, as Obama has done with the agreements to guarantee the sovereignty and defense of the Ukraine?

The White House is making a big deal out of the fact that the last phone between Putin and Obama was initiated by Putin. Really? This is not because of any weakness. Putin is the kind of guy who, when he shakes your hand, you'd do best to count your fingers afterwards. He is seeking to consolidate his gains and perhaps gauge when the next bit of Russian adventurism might most effectively and efficiently take place.

Barack "President Selfie" Obama and John "Magic Hat" Kerry try to portray Russian acts of aggression as being "weak" and "old fashioned". Perhaps, if either had spent a significant amount of time in the military, they might have learned that the aggressor in a war is not "weak", and war, rather than being somehow a uniquely 19th century phenomenon or as old fashioned as last year's bicycle spandex, is historically an integral part of the human condition.

Someone had best remind The Least Serious President in the History of the Republic™, that part of his job is Commander-in-Chief, and to explain to him everything that goes along with that responsibility. If you can ever get him off the 18th green...

BTW, the headline does not preclude the possibility of a combination of all three.


Original art by John Cox. More at John Cox Art

Cross posted at Proof Positive

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