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PrintMarch 31, 2011
Obama Self Destructing Over Libya
Barack Obama barely had time to enjoy his Egypt moment before mad dog Muammar Gaddafi threatened to kill innocent protesters in his own country. Clearly, the Libyan debacle hit the fan before Obama had time to test which way the wind was blowing. Politico is reporting that a new poll shows the President's approval rating dropped by 4 points since the beginning of March.
The downward shift may in part be the result of dissatisfaction over U.S involvement in Libya, with 47 percent of those surveyed saying they oppose it.
Unlike Egypt, Obama had no time to change guises or to fine tune his delivery. There was no "new beginning for Muslims and America" Tripoli speech like the one he gave in Cairo two years before the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.
Nine days after the Libyan uprising the president issued a flat, canned condemnation of the violence with no mention of Gaddafi. His misfiring caused conservatives and liberals to question his Ft. Hood style lack of enthusiasm. On February 23 Nile Gardiner told Fox News that Obama was acting "spineless, weak-kneed" and "like a deer in the headlights." That was enough to fire up the community organizer. Obama does not act from conviction, loyalty or a belief system; he reacts to others' reactions.
Besides Gardiner's jabs, there was France's Sarkozy and Germany's Merkel immediately calling for a no-fly zone while Barack was making sure the skies over Brazil were clear for his arrival. Not to be outdone, the commander-in-chief quickly parroted the critics who demanded that Gaddafi must go.
This fake king is in constant flux. As a result, the American people have become subject to his endless efforts to modify, alter and hide from reality. The media hyped speeches like the one on race after the Jeremiah Wright G-Damn America scandal or the recent Together We Thrive Tucson tribute, and now the Libyan Jabberwocky prattle keep Obama hiding in plain sight.
Trouble is, this strategy is wearing thin. On Monday, ABC News wouldn't pre-empt Dancing With the Stars for the leader of the free world. He had to settle for an earlier time slot. When the Obama-loving networks don't want to schedule another make-believe speech, you know there's trouble ahead.
Obama's whack-a-mole behavior may help him survive from one blunder to the next, but sooner or later the world stage becomes much too broad for his ego-syntonic hypervigilance.
Tossing grandma under the bus or throwing back a few brewskies to make amends for calling out an entire police department may cut it in Chicago, but miscalculating a military action in Gaddafi's Libya? Well, you've got to be kidding. No wonder he summoned his nearest and dearest, Samantha, Susan and Hillary. The triumvirate acted quickly to reinforce the cracking façade.
Meanwhile, Obama continues to give delusional speeches crediting himself for organizing a humanitarian military coalition to fight a ruthless dictator, selectively ignoring the fact that he was samba dancing in Brazil while the crisis unfolded.
Obama's just an existential disaster. His repertoire of false selves has even Jon Stewart pummeling him on the Libyan maelstrom. Now the White House reveals that it's sending CIA operatives to aid the rebels all in the hopes of making the One look presidential. This March madness of playing Libya by ear and picking brackets will soon be over and then it's April, the cruelest month.
Read more M.Catharine Evans at www.potterwilliamsreport.com
