Thanks (for nothing) Obama!

Thanks to our friends across the pond in GB– our own media have become lapdogs for our idiot President, but the UK Telegraph has the ‘cojones’ to speak the truth:

The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown

The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House. While the anti-establishment Tea Party movement has gained significant ground and is now a rising and powerful political force to be reckoned with, many of the president’s own supporters as well as independents are rapidly losing faith in Barack Obama, with open warfare breaking out between the White House and the left-wing of the Democratic Party. While conservatism in America grows stronger by the day, the forces of liberalism are growing increasingly weaker and divided.

Against this backdrop, the president’s approval ratings have been sliding dramatically all summer, with the latest Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking Poll of US voters dropping to minus 22 points, the lowest point so far for Barack Obama since taking office. While just 24 per cent of American voters strongly approve of the president’s job performance, almost twice that number, 46 per cent, strongly disapprove. According to Rasmussen, 65 per cent of voters believe the United States is going down the wrong track, including 70 per cent of independents.

The RealClearPolitics average of polls now has President Obama at over 50 per cent disapproval, a remarkably high figure for a president just 18 months into his first term. Strikingly, the latest USA Today/Gallup survey has the President on just 41 per cent approval, with 53 per cent disapproving.

 There are an array of reasons behind the stunning decline and political fall of President Obama, chief among them fears over the current state of the US economy, with widespread concern over high levels of unemployment, the unstable housing market, and above all the towering budget deficit. Americans are increasingly rejecting President Obama’s big government solutions to America’s economic woes, which many fear will lead to the United States sharing the same fate as Greece.

Growing disillusionment with the Obama administration’s handling of the economy as well as health care and immigration has gone hand in hand with mounting unhappiness with the President’s aloof and imperial style of leadership, and a growing perception that he is out of touch with ordinary Americans, especially at a time of significant economic pain. Barack Obama’s striking absence of natural leadership ability (and blatant lack of experience) has played a big part in undermining his credibility with the US public, with his lacklustre handling of the Gulf oil spill coming under particularly intense fire.

On the national security and foreign policy front, President Obama has not fared any better. His leadership on the war in Afghanistan has been confused and at times lacking in conviction, and seemingly dictated by domestic political priorities rather than military and strategic goals. His overall foreign policy has been an appalling mess, with his flawed strategy of engagement of hostile regimes spectacularly backfiring. And as for the War on Terror, his administration has not even acknowledged it is fighting one.

Can it get any worse for President Obama? Undoubtedly yes. Here are 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in serious trouble, and why its prospects are unlikely to improve between now and the November mid-terms.

1. The Obama presidency is out of touch with the American people
In a previous post I noted how the Obama presidency increasingly resembles a modern-day Ancien Régime, extravagant, decaying and out of touch with ordinary Americans. The First Lady’s ill-conceived trip to Spain at a time of widespread economic hardship was symbolic of a White House that barely gives a second thought to public opinion on many issues, and frequently projects a distinctly elitist image. The “let them eat cake” approach didn’t play well over two centuries ago, and it won’t succeed today.

2. Most Americans don’t have confidence in the president’s leadership
This deficit of trust in Obama’s leadership is central to his decline. According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, “nearly six in ten voters say they lack faith in the president to make the right decisions for the country”, and two thirds “say they are disillusioned with or angry about the way the federal government is working.” The poll showed that a staggering 58 per cent of Americans say they do not have confidence in the president’s decision-making, with just 42 per cent saying they do.

3. Obama fails to inspire
In contrast to the soaring rhetoric of his 2004 Convention speech in Boston which succeeded in impressing millions of television viewers at the time, America is no longer inspired by Barack Obama’s flat, monotonous and often dull presidential speeches and statements delivered via teleprompter. From his extraordinarily uninspiring Afghanistan speech at West Point to his flat State of the Union address, President Obama has failed to touch the heart of America. Even Jimmy Carter was more moving.

4. The United States is drowning in debt
The Congressional Budget Office Long-Term Budget Outlook offers a frightening picture of the scale of America’s national debt. Under its alternative fiscal scenario, the CBO projects that US debt could rise to 87 percent of GDP by 2020, 109 percent by 2025, and 185 percent in 2035. While much of Europe, led by Britain and Germany, are aggressively cutting their deficits, the Obama administration is actively growing America’s debt, and has no plan in place to avert a looming Greek-style financial crisis.

5. Obama’s Big Government message is falling flat
The relentless emphasis on bailouts and stimulus spending has done little to spur economic growth or create jobs, but has greatly advanced the power of the federal government in America. This is not an approach that is proving popular with the American public, and even most European governments have long ditched this tax and spend approach to saving their own economies.

6. Obama’s support for socialised health care is a huge political mistake
In an extraordinary act of political Harakiri, President Obama leant his full support to the hugely controversial, unpopular and divisive health care reform bill, with a monstrous price tag of $940 billion, whose repeal is now supported by 55 per cent of likely US voters. As I wrote at the time of its passing, the legislation is “a great leap forward by the United States towards a European-style vision of universal health care, which will only lead to soaring costs, higher taxes, and a surge in red tape for small businesses. This reckless legislation dramatically expands the power of the state over the lives of individuals, and could not be further from the vision of America’s founding fathers.”

7. Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill has been weak-kneed and indecisive
While much of the spilled oil in the Gulf has now been thankfully cleared up, the political damage for the White House will be long-lasting. Instead of showing real leadership on the matter by acing decisively and drawing upon offers of international support, the Obama administration settled on a more convenient strategy of relentlessly bashing an Anglo-American company while largely sitting on its hands. Significantly, a poll of Louisiana voters gave George W. Bush higher marks for his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with 62 percent disapproving of Obama’s performance on the Gulf oil spill.

8. US foreign policy is an embarrassing mess under the Obama administration
It is hard to think of a single foreign policy success for the Obama administration, but there have been plenty of missteps which have weakened American global power as well as the standing of the United States. The surrender to Moscow on Third Site missile defence, the failure to aggressively stand up to Iran’s nuclear programme, the decision to side with ousted Marxists in Honduras, the slap in the face for Great Britain over the Falklands, have all contributed to the image of a US administration completely out of its depth in international affairs. The Obama administration’s high risk strategy of appeasing America’s enemies while kicking traditional US allies has only succeeded in weakening the United States while strengthening her adversaries.

9. President Obama is muddled and confused on national security
From the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the War on Terror, President Obama’s leadership has often been muddled and confused. On Afghanistan he rightly sent tens of thousands of additional troops to the battlefield. At the same time however he bizarrely announced a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces beginning in July 2011, handing the initiative to the Taliban. On Iraq he has announced an end to combat operations and the withdrawal of all but 50,000 troops despite a recent upsurge in terrorist violence and political instability, and without the Iraqi military and police ready to take over. In addition he has ditched the concept of a War on Terror, replacing it with an Overseas Contingency Operation, hardly the right message to send in the midst of a long-war against Al-Qaeda.

10. Obama doesn’t believe in American greatness
Barack Obama has made it clear that he doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism, and has made apologising for his country into an art form. In a speech to the United Nations last September he stated that “no one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold.” It is difficult to see how a US president who holds these views and does not even accept America’s greatness in history can actually lead the world’s only superpower with force and conviction.

There is a distinctly Titanic-like feel to the Obama presidency and it’s not hard to see why. The most left-wing president in modern American history has tried to force a highly interventionist, government-driven agenda that runs counter to the principles of free enterprise, individual freedom, and limited government that have made the United States the greatest power in the world, and the freest nation on earth.

This, combined with weak leadership both at home and abroad against the backdrop of tremendous economic uncertainty in an increasingly dangerous world, has contributed to a spectacular political collapse for a president once thought to be invincible. America at its core remains a deeply conservative nation, which cherishes its traditions and founding principles. President Obama is increasingly out of step with the American people, by advancing policies that undermine the United States as a global power, while undercutting America’s deep-seated love for freedom.

This morning on the news I saw that Barbara Walters has Michelle Obama on some list of the ‘most interesting people’–  why is that?  What makes her ‘interesting’?  Yes, she fell for one of the best liars to hit the US since Bill Clinton, but you can say the same about a little over half of the people who voted in the last Presidential election!  It reminds me of Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize– an event that will forever lay bare the TRUE nature of that body of prize-givers.  Of course anybody watching the awards for the past couple decades already knows the politics of the Nobel committee, and the silly nature of the Peace prize awards process.   Jimmy Carter got himself one a number of years ago– for fixing the mideast conflict.  Did a bang-up job, didn’t he?  Thank heavens we never have any problems over THERE anymore! 

By the way, also on the news today was the announcement that Iran has perfected the solid-fuel, moderate-range ballistic missile.  Combined with their announcement a week ago that they are ramping up production of the material needed for nuclear weapons, and the discovery a few days ago of documents showing that they have perfected the technology to set off nuclear warheads, we now know that they are perhaps months away from having nuclear missiles that can strike Europe.  Maybe Norway feels a bit safer knowing that the fall-out will travel west, not north… but they shouldn’t find too much peace in that weather phenomenon (which ironically is much more relevant to their survival than any ‘global warming’!) since the long range missiles are only another year away.  For those who don’t understand the relevance of solid-fuel rockets, the liquid-fuel missiles must be filled before launching, a process that gives the world about a day of advance warning before mushroom clouds start sprouting up all over Israel and Europe.  Solid-fuel missiles just sit in underground silos until ‘Im-a-nut-job’ pushes the button, and the fireworks start in less than an hour.

Gotta love the way obama charmed that Iranian guy, don’t you think?!

Obama, our embarrassment-in-chief, spends the first 6 months of his presidency apologizing for the mean USA.  No National pride, this guy–  Gay Pride, Black Pride, Muslim Pride… but none of that horrible National Pride!  I hate to say it, but lately the Dems have shown their idiocy so often that I am starting to wonder about the collective intelligence of that half of the country!  Obama clearly suffers from the notion that people won’t LIKE you if you are a WINNER– if you do the RIGHT thing.  He has spent a lifetime hating those who are successful at anything in the private sector;  his friends are people who blow up things that represent that kind of success!  Of course, once obama does it and makes  his money– his wife enjoys celebrity status  by paying a ghostwriter to pen some drivel, and she makes half a million- so that would now be considered HONEST money by obama!

So obama grows up with losers, and mistakes his own envy of others for some sort of moral imperative.  He has way too much ego to ever develop insight– that is probably the scariest thing about the guy.    He actually believes that if he just runs down the US, then everyone will LIKE us!  He betrays are allies, does the ‘bro’ thing with Chavez and Castro… The worst was in front of the Olympic com where he and him self-obsessed wife give a presentation about… THEMSELVES!  Gee, what a surprise that was.  They think that if they just get up there in front of all the friends they made by dumping on those of us who life in this country, that surely everyone will love them and do what they say!

We get 18 votes.  Knocked out in the first round.  The spin doctors are really struggling– yes, this is… good!  Yeah, that’s the ticket… it’s a good thing!

In reality it is a humiliating blow, or at least it would be for anyone with humility.  But humility isn’t the prez’s thing, so it really is no sweat at all.  But what a joke– the two o’s, thinking that the international community respects them, just because their teacher friends get a bunch of kids to sing MMM, MMM, MMMMMM.  To make it even more pathetic, Oprah tags along.  Wow– what a team we got going.  I wonder if obama will take Oprah to the Middle East to talk some sense into that Iranian dude?

Meanwhile, Biden–  can anyone say that without just feeling all funny inside?  He is saying ‘the stimulus’ (the one, by the way, that every economist not in bed with the administration has agreed was a giant boondoggle for the teachers and unions that straddled us with massive debt for the next century– and did nothing to create jobs) ‘it’s working even better than I ever imagined!’ he says.  Today the economy lurched right up to 10% unemployment… as obama boasts about jobs he ‘saved’, for some reason hundreds of thousands of jobs are leaving every month.  No matter– the media still has his back.

Then this morning I watch three idiots on NBC sprain their backs as they try to twist to explain how it isn’t hypocritical at all for Letterman to sleep with a number of staff, and call Palin’s teen daughter a ‘slut’.  This is similar to the hypocrisy that made me switch sides in the 90′s– all of the women who talked about the ‘power differential’ suddenly saw no problem with a US president bagging a college intern– while his wife slept upstairs.  Nope– Monica was a bad girl– no power differential there!  And it was the same this morning, as the women talked about how if it is ‘consensual’, then the power thing doesn’t really matter.  As I watched, I had to wonder– do these people go home and die of embarrassment over what they just did, or do they really not see it?  How could they not see it?  How come everyone in the country isn’t laughing out loud?

Toss in Hollywood’s support of a guy who raped a 13-y-o girl (is it better that he drugged her first?).   How does that work?  I know I’ve seen some of these people condemning the idea of raping little kids– didn’t I?  Maybe not– maybe I assumed they were against that.  They sure don’t mind it when one of their friends does it.

Oh, I almost forgot– Pelosi, crying over the scary old ladies at healthcare meetings, without a word about the tear gas in the streets of Pittsburgh…  Or condemning the ‘you lie’ guy even though her party hissed and booed Bush during his similar address to Congress, and of course not a word about the idiot from Fla who somehow thought  it was tricky or funny to do the ‘just die’  presentation, when we all know who is trying to secretly push through an agenda that slashes the hell out of Medicare.

I don’t write much because there is just too much– where do you start?  The frightening thing is that in spite of all of this AND MORE, there are still idiots out there who believe what obama is peddling.  Useful idiots, he calls them.     Very scary.