In the best of times, a vacuum of leadership produces chaos and confusion.
These are not the best of times.
Unrest in the Mideast and Libya in particular; our national energy policy, as gasoline prices rise; the economy, as the recovery takes a snail's pace; and the current federal budget, which has still yet to be written -- all these issues and more cry out for leadership, and there is none.
The window for helping rebels in Libya overthrow strongman Moammar Gadhafi -- long a thorn in America's side -- seems to be closing, with Gadhafi forces turning the tide against the uprising. If he survives, history may look back on this episode as a show of American weakness, a Carter moment for Mr. Obama.
Our own policies seem to be in utter confusion: There was disagreement in officialdom even on whether an arms embargo on Libya pertained to the rebels.
On energy, as oil sources were in growing jeopardy -- prices have spiked even aside from the question of whether Saudi Arabia might sink into Libyan-style anarchy -- the president suggests tapping the nation's strategic oil reserve, but not untapped oil stores. In other words, spend your savings, but don't try to increase income.
Rather than focus all his efforts on the economy, the president now wants to overhaul the nation's education system via the No Child Left Behind Act. By all means, let's open another can of worms.
And on the federal budget, the president has almost nothing to say -- drawing rebuke even from Democrats on Capitol Hill, such as Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who lamented that "the most powerful person in these negotiations -- our president -- has failed to lead this debate or offer a serious proposal for spending and cuts that he would be willing to fight for."
Instead, Obama appointed as his point man on the budget Vice President Joe Biden -- who promptly left the country as the government operated on temporary "continuing resolutions."
"President Obama's Friday news conference," wrote Dan Balz in The Washington Post , "did little to advance U.S. policy on Libya or clarify the White House's position on resolving the budget impasse in Congress.
"For those hungering for bolder leadership in the effort to force Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi from power, the president had little new to offer ..."
Ever so kindly, Balz wrote that on the budget impasse, "Obama remained above the fray." There's a fine line between "above the fray" and "out to lunch." When Reagan did such things, the media lampooned him as intellectually bereft.
Consider the stunning lack of leadership in Obama's budget advice for Congress: "Both sides are going to have to sit down and compromise on prudent cuts somewhere between what the Republicans were seeking that's now been rejected and what the Democrats had agreed to that has also been rejected. It shouldn't be that complicated."
In other words: Hey, somebody should do something! It's as if the president were trying to broker peace in a far-off land rather than a budget compromise down the block.
Noting that in Illinois, state Sen. Barack Obama voted "present" 129 times, conservative writer Michael Barone concludes Mr. Obama is still voting present on major issues.
Even liberal writer Wendy Kaminer -- who's more concerned with Mr. Obama not being forceful enough with Republicans or nice enough to "non-citizen terror suspects" -- laments in The Atlantic that a penchant for compromise and bipartisanship "that might have made him a valuable senator, especially in ordinary times, have made him a disastrous president" in today's "bullying" political world.
As a candidate, he famously remarked that having an opinion on when life begins is "above my pay grade."
Alas, many more mundane items seem to be as well.
"Rather than focus all his efforts on the economy, the president now wants to overhaul the nation's education system via the No Child Left Behind Act. By all means, let's open another can of worms."
That can of worms is already open, and it was opened the day it was enacted. NCLB was the worst thing that has ever happened to American education, and keeping it in place will just lead to more financial problems, both short-term and long-term.
That has to be addressed, and adressed immediately. Education and the economy has very distinct correlations- and a weak education system can never produce a strong economy.
On another note, the president has been able to improve his golf game.
Lets see... tuesday, bash Obama, bash Obama, bash Obama... hummmm you think we could get some 'local issues' of concern that WE the citizens of the CSRA can DO something about !
A leader is born. Very seldom can a leader be made. What on earth made anyone think this guy is a leader? By virute of POTUS?
A community aggitator with no achievements made public. A Constitutional scholar with no published work.
His most vocal support of legislation as an IL Senator was to push a law that prevented medical care for babies who survived late term abortions.
You don't have to have military experience to know who is and isn't a leader. It's evident in most workplaces.
"we are slowly tightening the noose" around the Libyan leader..."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42032735/ns/politics-white_house/
tell the rebels that, if you can catch them as they run for cover.
Sen. Barack Obama said on the Senate floor in 2006:
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance the government's reckless fiscal policies."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110115/ap_on_re_us/us_debt_wars
He believes his absence in matters will lead to results others can be blamed for. He is a narcissist. He looks down his nose at middle America. He is jealous of those who do accomplish the American dream.
He will fade away in less than 2 years. We will persevere inspite of the damage he has done.
Sorry....but when this President is doing as much damage to the country as he is, he will continue to be bashed. He deserves every bit of it.....sorry if bashing your hero bothers you, but until he stops damaging MY country, he will continue to be criticized.
As the editorial points out unfortunately as leader of America you can't vote present like he did as a senator!
‘faithson, 'Lets see... tuesday, bash Obama, bash Obama, bash Obama... hummmm’
But there is just so much to bash about the community organizer. You have to feel a little sorry for him because he is in way over his head. That’s what happens when you put someone in a job they are not qualified for.
When it comes to making major decisions, Obama is strictly a binary thinker. He is either OFF or WRONG.
"The window for helping rebels in Libya overthrow strongman Moammar Gadhafi -- long a thorn in America's side -- seems to be closing"
What do you want America to do? Send troops in there to smash some faces, let the air force bomb parts of the country? How much do you think that will cost in American resources, and lives? What about in Saudi Arabia, where they are cracking down on their protesters, firing into crowds and suppressing the people there. Or the civil wars in Congo- something like five million people killed in the past 4-5 years. Let's go into Mexico and fight those people.
You guys have no idea what is happening behind doors, and covertly. I know you'd guys be happy if Obama did the Gipper thing by illegally arming people- but that's illegal. Haters gonna hate, that's all.
This paper now wants readers to subscribe? For what? To read daily hateful dribble from people like Sideshow and Carcraft? A constant parade of perjorative and sophmoric editorials to stroke the hackles of the uninformed. How much damage did Bush and Cheney did to this country. Does anyone remember the support this paper gave to the last administration?
We hope Obama goes down in history as a great president, and the sooner he gets S-T-A-R-T-E-D on that, the better... ha haha
For a while I thought all of this chaos & the devastating leadership was intentional. As time marches on, now I KNOW it is.
Obama & his pals want us to fail so they can be in total control. Soros has done it two or three times already. The plan is almost complete. The perfect storm is here.
Are you ready for it?
President Obama is actually very busy: http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2011/03/15/president-obamas-trivial-pur...
Soros's role was crucial in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, he is all about free society. I guess supporting movements that bring freedom to nations scare you though....
Beck, let a military mind tell you what could have been done without a cost of American military lives. I know these options had to have been presented, it's just that Obama didn't have the spine to back up his talk.
We have bombs designed to crater runways. Libya has only a few dozen jet aircraft operational. Crater the runways and throw a some Tomahawks into hangars and Command/Control centers.
Same with the attack helicopters. Destroy on the ground with cruise missiles, destroy the command centers.
A no fly zone is more complicated than most think. The rebels have surface to air missiles and AA artillery. They don't have the capability to IFF, identify friend or foe. We would need SF and/or USAF combat controllers on the ground with the rebels to insure they don't shoot our guys.
Coordinating with the rebels is easier said than done.
We could have wiped out Libya's air power in a matter of an hour. That opportunity, for the most part, is gone.
I bet Bush would have ordered it weeks ago. Even the threat of it from him to Gaddafhi probably would have grounded the aircraft. Gaddafhi, like the rest of the world, knows Obama is incapable of swift, decisive decisions.
Let another military mind- someone who has spent a little over two years of hunting in Afghanistan in an elite infantry unit- that people need to study history. I understand there is no place on this planet that the military cannot touch and destroy. We're good at it, the best. We can wipe the air power out now, tomorrow, next week. There is no closing time. We dominate the air, no one comes close. Having all this power means you need to use it correctly. What you're talking about is war. With war, you need to make a case. I would like to hear your case for war, but to do so without ignoring all the other problems other countries have that will fit in the same criteria, which can be solved by us blowing them up. You should find out what's going on in Bahrain right now. Are you ready to interfere there as well? Who else is next? War, war and more war. You know it's not the only option, right? You know it costs money to conduct wars, right? You understand long term effects it causes, and problems we have today from interference in the past?
"Soros's role was crucial in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe"
Yea Soros stuck so many folks in Eastern Europe with his unpaid rents they all went broke. I was in Moscow when he and his armed goons opened up on the Moscow police with automatic weapons when he wouldn’t give up an entire city block he and his henchmen took over. Soros is an INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL. In other words, he's the Looney left's new hero poster poser.
"Soros's role was crucial in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe", this according to Neil Clark, who about as left wing as you can get.
Soros WAS responsible for collapse in Europe. The collapse of The Bank of England!
Soros' Five Step plan. Which one do you think we are on right now? I say Step 3 though part of Step 5 is in place right now.
Step 4 is coming next year.
Step 1 — Create a Shadow Government
Step 2 — Control the Airwaves
Step 3 — Destabilize the State
Step 4 — Provoke an Election Crisis
Step 5 — Take Power/Stage Demonstrations
He is a FINANCIAL TERRORIST. He should be in jail.
Pretty good expose in Soros. Can't vouch for it's accuracy, but interesting. http://www.questionsquestions.net/docs04/engdahl-soros.html
The man gives me the shivers . He doesn't look right.
I have to change channels when he is on TV.
"He doesn't look right". Yep folks, there it is in a nutshell.
Beck, the Arab League called for a "No Fly Zone". France and Britain did too. Now, if you are, as you imply, a former member of an "elite" infantry unit, ok. Take a back seat to strategic thinking, because you demonstrated a lack of it.
An active enforcement 24/7 for an unspecified period of time of a no fly zone or less than 1 hour of cratering runways and cruise missile strikes on some hangers. I see you didn't grasp the implications of those actions.
From http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/canada-rejects-g8-a...
"The Arab League backed the rebel pleas and called Saturday for a no-fly zone to stop government jets and to create safe zones for civilians. "
"French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, "What allowed the Gadhafi regime to tip the balance between its opposition and itself was the use of air power. Had it not been able to bomb a number of military and civilian sites, well Gadhafi would not have regained the upper hand," said Juppe.
"We British and French envisaged proposing to our partners not a no-fly zone — contrary to what some have said — but the use of air power for targeted strikes on air strips or the Libyan regime's 20 aircraft."
From the same article, it said Russia wanted more info from the Arab League. No mention was made of an American position.
No surprise. Obama is incapable of making a decision and the Canadians knew it was useless to mention any USA position in the article.
corgimom: "That has to be addressed, and adressed immediately. Education and the economy has very distinct correlations- and a weak education system can never produce a strong economy."
Education has went downhill every year since Carter formed Dept of Education.
Abolish it and let the states and localities get back to taking care of things.
absence, ignorance and indifference are not styles of leadership
"President Obama is displaying a stunning lack leadership", Augusta Chronicle editorial words to be little more than empty rhetoric. And yeah,tell Democratic Leadership:Don't cave to Republican budget extremists
"I know you'd guys be happy if Obama did the Gipper thing by illegally arming people- but that's illegal"
News flash - Doing something illegal is illegal. Deep thinking, doncha know...
Just wish NoBama would do something, even if it's wrong... Other than play golf or basketball..
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