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Obama the Dragon Slayer?
It's a myth
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by Ken Hoagland
Restore America’s Voice t
Image: AP
As bad as our coming "lost decade" of economic anemia may be under Barack Obama's capitalism-hobbling administration, his (in)actions on the world stage may be even more dangerous.
Recent testimony by senior administration and military leaders makes clear that Mr. Obama was fully briefed on the on-going terrorist attack that left our ambassador and other Americans dead in Benghazi. He chose to do next to nothing for them while he went on his way to scheduled campaign events.
Instead of acting as the Commander-in-Chief, candidate-Obama misled voters with the campaign-friendly fiction that a "spontaneous" attack (inspired by an American video) caused these murders. In other words, this had nothing to do with the very enemies who breached fortress America on 9/11/2001. Obama had slain the Al-Qaeda dragon and Americans could relax in their gratitude to him - or so went the story.
But the Al-Qaeda dragon and other America-haters are still very much alive and denial of this reality for political gain may be even more dangerous than misleading the public about domestic policy fiascos like Obamacare or the Keystone Pipeline.
We also learned in recent testimony that the Joint Chiefs, the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton have all told the President that if we do not help arm Syrian rebels, terrorist organizations surely will. They unanimously recommended that we step up, or suffer the consequence that those who celebrated 9/11 gain even more influence in the Middle East. President Obama summarily rejected this advice. It just didn't fit into his sleight-of-hand patter that all is well.
The fiction that this President and his Machiavellian spinners put forth is that we can all just relax both here and abroad. Why worry that we are borrowing trillions, that unemployment has not remained this high for this long over the last 70 years or that fundamentalist zealots are as determined as ever to hurt us and that they rejoice and are strengthened by this Administration's politically-inspired dithering?
Many have asked how is it possible for the nation to become so hypnotized by this storyline when the stark reality of reversals both here and abroad is so apparent. The answer, domestically, is that this Administration has used easy money to fund greater and greater dependency through food-stamps, unemployment benefits, disability payments, redistribution through the tax code and relaxation of welfare/work rules. Now we even have a brand new entitlement in Obamacare, in spite of our growing and crippling debt. All of this works as a dangerous opiate that dulls the senses of the people as, asleep, we march toward a dark future.
In terms of foreign policy inadequacies, we are treated to non-watchdog "journalism" on 60 Minutes where nothing, nothing, is asked about the dangers facing us. Instead, we are entertained and misdirected, à la Depression-era movies, with the fabulous relationship between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Indeed, on both domestic and international policy, no modern President has ever enjoyed the extended honeymoon that the American press has willingly extended to Barack Obama. This watchdog has become a lapdog begging for White House treats.
There are signs that some in the Senate are awakening and challenging the confirmations of key national security nominees who seem equally unaware of the dangers that face America and the foreign policies that define this Administration. Alone, these few Senators may sound the warnings. But until average Americans awake, their efforts might only be appreciated in retrospect.
The problem with a dragon-slayer myth is that while comforting, it is only fiction, and the dangers of fire and destruction still exist. The problem with "don't worry, be happy" in terms of domestic policy is that a nation lulled to sleep won't hear the thief who robs us of our work-ethic, our children's future, our opportunities for growth and our strength.
Ken Hoagland is chairman of Restore America's Voice, a two million person strong advocacy organization working to restore, "consent of the governed" on public policy decisions.
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