Obama AWOL

No symbol more aptly encapsulates the Obama presidency than the empty chair made famous by the late-blooming political genius Clint Eastwood. That empty chair even more accurately sums up the Obama presidency now than when Eastwood brought it on stage in Tampa some three weeks ago. An accurate and funny symbol, the empty chair is also sad and catastrophic. We are talking about the President of the United States, not some small-town mayor, PTA chairman, derelict rural dog catcher, or a European Minister of Sport. Because of that empty chair, Americans get murdered, and our nation comes under assault by adherents of the "religion of peace." Western civilization is put at risk.

The Middle East in flames; our closest ally in the region, Israel, in mortal danger; our diplomatic missions under assault; an American ambassador and his staff murdered and dragged through the streets; Egyptian and Pakistani politicians, whom our tax dollars support, lecturing us on the need to abandon our core principles; and our President nowhere to be seen. Well, I take that back. Our "eye candy" President, as he arrogantly described himself on TV, is seen, but not acting as President: in Las Vegas picking up a check from campaign contributors; on 60 Minutes describing our murdered diplomats as a "bump in the road" and dismissing PM Netanyahu's concerns as "noise" to be blocked out; partying with Beyonce and Jay-Z; and, of course, appearing holding hands with his silly and ignorant wife, Michelle, on the vacuous The View. At a time of enormous economic, political, and security distress--e.g., our close ally Japan faces a major direct challenge from China, Europe is on the verge of economic collapse--he refuses to meet friends or foes in New York; he cannot even instruct the State Department to have our diplomats do a walk out during the speech of deranged "truther," Holocaust-denying, gay-hanging, terror-promoting, A-bomb building, rabid anti-semite, and anti-American Ahmadinejad.

Our President appeared before the UNGA and gave one of his classic low-protein, high fructose, empty calorie speeches that sounds more like some cut-and-paste Sunday sermon than a speech by the "most powerful man in the world." Let me put it this way, if his speech were food, Michelle would not allow it to be fed to school kids. I will not go through the exercise of deconstructing this long, dopey address--you can do it, if you have the stomach, or just read the excellent job done by Jennifer Rubin.  I only note that his repeated use of "must" highlights his ignorance and impotence on the world stage. In world politics, nobody "must" do anything. World leaders do things because they want to, or have to. How will he make them do what they "must"?

So, yes, some time next month we likely will see some Libyan-based slug get droned or drilled by a SEAL. Obama will "spike the football," again, and tell us of his "great victory." The Islamic crazies will know better: It will be just a "bump in the road," and Obama just "noise."