Liz Cheney on Hannity last night:
“It’s very, very tough to understand how this administration is defending American interests at this point. You’ve got a situation where the King of Jordan warned today, as example, where Al-Qaeda gets control potentially of these chemical weapons and the administration’s response is to pivot to Asia… You can see very clearly that the United States has lost credibility since he’s been in office.”
“Four years ago, I made you a promise. I pledged to take the fight to our enemies and renew our leadership in the world. As president, that’s what I’ve done.”
“As you reflect on recent years, as we look ahead to the challenges we face as a nation and the leadership that’s required, you don’t just have my words, you have my deeds. You have my track record. You have the promises I’ve made and the promises that I’ve kept.”
And he delivers with a serious face. The Middle East is in flames. Iran ascendent. Iraq blowing up. Egypt and Libya spiraling toward doom. Look, Syria! Israel alone. Russia waits until after our pliant leader’s election for the spoils of his acquiescence. North Korea is off its meds. Did I mention Islam?
Obama’s idea of leadership is clearly the Lead from Behind variety and the world isn’t impressed. As Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr told Romney:
“America is just one budget deal away from ending all talk of America being in decline.”
Realize what Carr is saying in that one sentence:
- The World recognizes that our government isn’t sincere in addressing its budget, and
- The lack of a budget itself is responsible for international talk of America in decline.
This suggests that the economic and diplomatic impact of a successful budget would be a huge boon to Obama, America’s position in the world and his election chances, and so he should make it a priority for the Administration. Yet the President and the Senate ignore the issue completely. Obama’s last attempt at a budget didn’t receive a single “yea” vote in either house of Congress. It almost makes you think Obama knows what he’s doing, that his actions and policies will be damaging, and that’s the point.
The President has remarked on his budget priorities often, and did so again while speaking to the VFW:
“If the choice is between tax cuts that the wealthiest Americans don’t need and funding our troops that they definitely need to keep our country strong, I will stand with our troops every single time,” he said. “So let’s stop playing politics with our military. Let’s get serious and reduce our deficit and keep our military strong.”
Yet there is the complete absence of an obvious option: Decrease spending. The President himself frames the debate as a false choice between tax cuts for the rich or funding the military when that’s not the choice at all. He offers us more class warfare, deliberate misrepresentation, diversion, and division.
And simultaneously, the President, whose private sector experience is limited to community organizing, is attacking Romney suggesting he doesn’t have the business chops, even though Romney’s success at Bain isn’t in dispute and his tenure as head of the Salt Lake City Olympics were a success as well. In addition, the President, who has spent more time apologizing to foreign nations for American expansion, aggression, arrogance and more, has had a turnaround and now says, “we will never apologize.” These examples don’t just make the President appear disingenuous. They confirm his propensity to say anything necessary, regardless of veracity, including self-contradictory statements, to get elected.
But the world is watching. Americans are watching. Voters are watching. Business owners and taxpayers and families are watching. And we are all horrified as the President abdicates his global responsibility, attacks and vilifies honest Americans and ignores his most basic responsibilities to golf and campaign while lying about his opponent and avoiding discussion of his own failures.