President Obama's latest abhorrent pronouncement that the actions of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez have not had "a serious national impact on us" is a strong indication that the electorate should focus long and hard on Obama's incompetence in the foreign policy arena. For the implications of the President's misplaced trust in leaders such as Vladimir Putin, dangerous belief that terrorist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood are moderate, and complete ignorance regarding who does and does not pose a "serious" national security threat to our country are dire.

In Obama World, the fantasyland that has taken over 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, bowing to the world's dictators, traversing the globe apologizing for America's greatness, remaining idle while innocent freedom fighters were killed in Iran in 2009, Libya in 2011[i], and Syria in 2012, reneging on promised to build missile defense systems, signing agreements with the Russians to gut our weapons arsenal and whispers of flexibility after the election all constitute "serious" national security policy decisions. Abandoning allies and buttressing unreliable relationships with enemies laughing at our weakness has become the norm from an administration whose determination of what constitutes serious policy on any subject is Orwellian. And yet, just when one thinks that the absurdity cannot get worse, Obama out did his idiocy with his latest candor.

In Obama's fantasy world, the "serious" national security threats that resulted from Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diminished due to his premature withdrawal of troops - no worries that the Taliban is on the rise in Afghanistan and terrorists are infiltrating Iraq. And the man who promised an open hand to Iran's Ahmadinejad recognizes a serious national security threat when he sees one so he delayed dealing with Iran's progressing nuclear program, postponed implementing strident sanctions against the Iranian regime, and provided more waivers to dilute the sanctions' effectiveness than any serious person could imagine.

It is difficult to imagine what Obama was thinking when he made the Chavez statement. Mitt Romney found Obama's comment to be "stunning and shocking" as well as "disturbing to see him downplaying the threat posed to U.S. interests by a regime that openly wishes us ill." Marco Rubio stated, "President Obama continues to display an alarmingly naïve understanding of the challenges and opportunities we face in the Western Hemisphere." And Joel Pollak observed:

Hugo Chavez might be shipping fuel to the murderous Syrian regime. He might be helping the genocidal Iranian regime build a missile base in Venezuela that can target the United States directly. He might have supported Muammar Qaddafi, just as he has supported terrorism in Columbia and incited hatred against Israel. He might have tried to undermine constitutional democracy in Honduras and across the continent. He might hate America and launch into anti-American diatribes at every opportunity. But according to President Barack Obama, Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez is not a "serious" national security threat.

Ironically, the day before Obama's Chavez comment, it was announced that the administration is seeking to shut down nine border control stations across four states. If creating, and announcing to the world the locale of, large holes in our already porous southern border is a serious national security policy, we are exposing ourselves to unnecessary peril that could very well result in attacks rivaling or exceeding the devastation of 9/11. For political gain, this administration has fought any state that has attempted to enforce our immigration laws while ignoring the national security threat such policies pose. With Hezb'allah forming a stronghold across Latin America and coalescing alliances with the drug cartels in Mexico, how exactly are Obama's policies on this front furthering our safety and security?

Obama has no idea what terrorism is or how serious a threat it poses to Americans at home and abroad. Obama's ignorance led to the adoption of the term "Overseas Contingency Operation" but his unserious policies have become just plain dangerous - and offensive. It was bad enough last month when Obama excluded Israel from the initial Global Counterterrorism Forum, a U.S. founded organization, held in Istanbul. After the initial meeting, the State Department promised to include Israel; however, Israel was once again excluded from the GCTF in Spain this week. The "serious" Obama administration left out the one country that has been forced to combat terrorism daily for more than six decades notwithstanding its expertise in the area and its decades' long alliance with the United States on such matters.

While Adam Kredo reported that "Congressional sources and regional experts say that the Obama administration is intentionally downplaying Israel's struggle with terrorism in order to appease and gain the cooperation of Arab nations that are often hostile to the Jewish state," a larger and more important issue is being ignored. Yes, Obama's policies are resulting in further isolation of our reliable and strategic Mideast ally. And as Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies surmised, it could be that "to a certain extent, this is due to regional politics" and "looks like a quiet effort to downplay the struggle that Israel has been enduring."

But Obama is also sending a message that perhaps he does not believe that Israel is facing terrorist attacks. By purposely banning Israel's participation in the GCTF which is comprised of countries that are forced to combat terrorism, the administration seems to be saying that "Israel is not one of us. The attacks on Israel are simply justifiable acts of a desperate people who hope to achieve sovereignty from their occupiers." AP reporter Matthew Lee questioned the State Department representative on the rationale for excluding Israel, wondering, "Does the administration believe that Israel and Israelis specifically have been victims of terrorism?" There was no substantive response. But whatever the President's reason for excluding Israel from an international counterterrorism forum, the decision does not even closely resemble serious, informed policy and it certainly gives Israel's enemies fodder for justifying future aggression aimed against her. And a weakened Israel, the country on the frontlines of the "Overseas Contingency Operation," is ultimately harmful to America's national security.

It is surmised that Israel was initially excluded from the GCTF due to the administration bowing to pressure from Turkey. Once again, Obama is failing to recognize a "serious" national security threat -- this time in the form of Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister. The administration is dangerously ignoring Turkey's alliance with Iran and its detrimental impact on the international sanctions regime that Obama continually flouts as proof of his "serious" attention to Iran's growing threat. Again, Adam Kredo reported that according to a Turkish news report, "[o]ver the past several months, Turkey has given Iran 60 tons of gold, or more than $3 billion..." Kredo quotes the American Enterprise Institute's Michael Rubin who stated that

Obama doesn't understand that for regional rulers like [Turkish Prime Minister] Erdogan and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, he has gained not respect, but disdain....

The underlying problem, Rubin said, "is that while Obama claims his sanctions policy is a success, Iran is moving closer to a nuclear bomb. While Obama admires himself in the mirror and tells himself how smart and popular he is, the region may very well slide into war.

Obama's lack of seriousness in ensuring every American's safety and security is also evident in his failure to ensure that the defense budget will not be slashed to levels that fall short of those required to maintain a strong military. Obama has completely ignored the peril that the country will face well into the next President's tenure and beyond by cutting defense spending in order to feed his entitlement frenzy and for that he has proven himself an unserious Commander-in-Chief.

The safety and well-being of every single American depends upon a serious President and a serious national security policy. Barack Obama is neither and anyone who states otherwise will sound just as foolish as Obama did with his Chavez claim earlier this week.

[i] Obama's delay and lack of leadership in ousting Gadhafi  led to many more Libyan deaths than would have occurred if he did not dither, as well as resulting in Libya's weapons stockpiles being dispersed to terrorists groups across the region.