VDH latest (not quoted by LGF) points out some flaws in the current president in terms of foreign policy.
Here is the problem for our President: the Iranian negotiation is an IED that will blow up in our faces. The theocrats want, need a bomb for a variety of reasons (why would a country that burns natural gas off at the oil well head need “peaceful” nuclear power?). Bombs have been a win/win situation for both Pakistan and North Korea. If Iran wins, we are off to the races—Saudi Arabia next, Egypt? Syria? Venezuela?
I hope the President is up to encouraging madcap drilling in the Alaska, Gulf, California, and the Dakotas to get these new finds into production, since if or when the Israelis strike, all hell is going to let loose in the Gulf. Cannot someone tell Obama that the moral, the peaceful, the only realistic thing now is to get tough with Iran through ostracism, sanctions, boycotts, even, heaven forbid, a blockade if need be, to prevent the far more terrible scenarios that lie ahead?
The problem here is a person is who he is: President Obama is an inexperienced Machine Pol who parlayed personal charisma, a weak republican opponent (at least at the top of the ticket) a fawning media, a country desperate to put race behind them, and an overconfident Hillary Clinton into the presidency.
No matter how much I might not like this situation he IS our president duly elected. He has not committed any impeachable offense and I doubt he is likely to. He is the man in Charge until at least Jan of 2013 and that’s that.
It is only the 10th of 48 months just over a fifth of his terms so things can turn around, and this president has some intrinsic advantages.
1. His relative youth:
As a 40 something guy I think he is less likely to be set in his ways. It is very possible that he can learn from his current mistakes and make smarter moves.
2. An Experienced VP:
We laugh a bit at Joe Biden gaffes but he has decades of experience (He really should have been on the top of the ticket) and is a lot smarter than he carries himself. He can give some advice if this president is willing to listen.
3. His own ego:
Nobody likes to lose. I don’t think this president wants to be the fellow who lost Afghanistan and Iran. This more than anything else has the potential to push him in the right direction, particularly since he has a long life ahead of him and he is does fail he will be hearing about it for decades.
4. The best military in the world bar none:
In anything resembling a shooting war there is absolutely no military force better than ours, not INCLUDING ISRAEL. Why am I willing to include Israel in that? Because we have tens of thousands of troops with direct combat experience. This is one of the few good side effects of any war. There is no substitute to actual field experience. Combine that with the training and the equipment and nobody can stand against our troops.
5. An experienced security infrastructure:
We tease about threat levels and some moan about the patriot act but the bottom line is that we haven’t been hit in 8+ years and we still break up terror threats successfully. This is quite a record and all those in law enforcement should take a bow.
6. Political reality:
It doesn’t matter if it comes from a change in congress in 2010 or a shift by the sitting congress due to self interest. The desire to protect one’s seat is a great motivator to get people to do the right thing.
What can we do?
So what do we do, well on the domestic front we continue what he have done, and object to bad policy that will cause long term hurt to the country.
On the foreign policy front we support candidates who look at the world the way it is instead of figuring a coexist bumper sticker is going to make people love us.
And if you are religious pray for the country and for our president. He is still our president and it is in our interest for him to do the right thing. So pray that he gains strength and wisdom.
And remember this to keep the eyes on the prize, what do I mean by that. I mean this:
It is better for us to have a president Obama who keeps Iran from getting nukes, wins the war in Afghanistan, and keeps America from being successfully attacked and thus wins re-election than for him to fail in these tasks and be replaced by a president Palin.
You want a president to advance a goal, if the goals are met it doesn’t matter who is in the white house.
Anyway that’s what I think.
