Unfit for Command

Many applied that term to Sen. John F. Kerry when he ran in 2004 against President George Bush. The sobriquet was aimed at his narcissistic personality that even as a young man he created a legend more heroic than what was reality. It seems the term was applied to the wrong person. It should be applied to Barack Hussein Obama instead.

How else to explain the happenings since the inauguration that was supposed to bridge the gap between political divides, why even to start healing the planet we all live on. How else indeed.

I have mentioned previous snubbings of close allies and coddling of enemies. This proclivity has continued with bullying of Israel to stop all settlement activity, even trying to stop the growth of existing settlements to accommodate population growth. Honduras continues to be bullied for defending its democracy. Colombia still awaits what should be a piece of landmark legislation that could finally heal the wounds between that country and the US, a free trade agreement that languishes as President Obama speaks softly to Chavez of Venezuela. And in dealings with Iran, the diplomats might as well be reading from menus as they rehash the same points over and over again, meanwhile an Iran that kills its citizens and puts in as Minister of Defense a man wanted for the bombing of a synagogue in Argentina rushes forward to embrace the atomic bomb. Meanwhile it seems Iraq is sliding backwards and Afghanistan is in need of a surge that Obama's allies in Congres seem unwilling to think about.

On the economic front, we see a man who operates in an environment devoid of any connection to reality. Even as the Peoples Republic of China is understandably worried, Obama's Treasury keeps piling on debt while printing more money which devalues its holdings in US dollars. This past Friday, the Obama Administration added another bone of contention between the US and the PRC by imposing a tariff upon tires imported to the US to protect a union that supported his candidacy. What Obama is risking is a trade war and possible sanctions if this is brought before the WTO and the WTO rules against the US.

These two disagreements with the PRC could very well boil over onto the diplomatic front. Obama has touted himself as the man to heal the breaches the previous administration has created. Obama needs the PRC on his side in dealings with a nuclear North Korea that is in the middle of a power transition. Then there is the matter of a nuclear Iran. The PRC sits on the UN Security Council and has a veto vote and on Sept. 24th when Obama heads the Security Council and asks for help with imposing more sanctions upon Iran. The PRC can veto any such sanctions, giving Obama a diplomatic smack down. Some healing right?

All of this stems from Obama being unable to actually lead. To lead risks failure and Obama is very much adverse to public failure. So he stumbles into failures and then tries to blame someone else. Here it is September and Obama was sworn in at the end of January, but he still blames President Bush every time he can. When it comes to criminal conduct in his appointees, it is always someone else who failed to vette the person properly. On the Stimulus bill, the Waxman-Markey Bill, and the various flavours of health care overhaul the Democrats have crafted; Obama has never sent to Congress what he would like in these bills, he has let Congress run wild and craft these legislative initiatives. When thinking about it, Obama is a classic politician. He wants his name attached to something when its a success, but will deny ever being near something that is a failure - ask Rev. Wright or Van Jones.

In the history of the English people, Ethelred the Unready is an obscure footnote in their long illustrious history that they would prefer to forget. Meanwhile William the Conqueror has had many books written about his accomplishments as a leader. I have a feeling we have the former in the White House instead of the later.