White House Amateur Hour Again

By Thomas Lifson

Another diplomatic blunder from the dilettante crew Barack Obama brought into the White House. The geniuses there demonstrated their amateur standing and general sloppiness by displaying the flag of a close ally upside down, as the leader of the country sat at the President's elbow in a public meeting. Andrew Malcolm of the Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket blog writes:

Obama meeting hangs ally's flag upside down; No big deal though, it's only the Philippines

Yes, yes, the Philippines is a close American ally. A practicing democracy in Asia with nearly 100 million people. And a whole bunch more living -- and voting -- abroad in places like the United States.

And, yes, the island nation's president, Benigno Aquino III, was sitting at President Obama's left elbow at their ASEAN meeting in New York City last week. And directly behind Aquino the American staff placed the Philippines' flag, well, kind of upside down.

Kind of embarrassing, too. Go to the LA Times link to see a picture of the gaffe. Here is the flag itself, displayed right side up:

If you and your crew are Chicago community organizers, astroturf consultants, and political hit men, there is no real need to become familiar with the flags of our allies, or even sweat the details. But if you are a serious national leader, it might well be worthwhile having serious professional people who know what they're doing.

The American media won't ever tell the public, but many overseas leaders of important countries regard the Obama administration as a joke. His lack of preparation for the job of president is patently obvious, his lack of a work ethic is demonstrated for all to see by his frequent vacations and hectic schedule of parties at the White House, and his naiveté in dealing with foreign tyrants like the madman Ahmedinejad is frightening.

God save the Republic!