Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Has Obama Succeeded at Anything?

Can anyone tell me any policy area where Obama has actually succeeded in doing what he has set out to do?  I'm not talking about passing bills, I'm talking about seeing a problem and actually solving it or at least making things better.  Clearly not the economy.  Clearly not Iraq and Afghanistan, where things are pretty much status quo since the end of the Bush era.  The mideast peace process?  Things have actually gone backward.  The two sides were actually talking under W, now they won't even do that, despite Obama stabbing Israel in the back on numerous occasions.  Russian reset?  Don't make me laugh. 

At least Obama must have made the Arab world change their view of the United States after his Cairo speech and his acceptance of the Palestnian position as his own.  Afraid not.  According to this poll conducted by Zogby for the Arab American Institute Foundation, current attitudes towards the US are the same or lower than they were in Bush's last year in office, despite spiking considerably higher following Obama's election (how could they not like the fact that someone named Barack Hussein Obama was elected President of the United States).  There are two main lessons from this, first, Obama is a complete and utter failure at governing who has only been able to achieve one thing in politics, getting elected.  In terms of actually getting things done, his record has about as much substance as Justin Beiber's.  Second, appeasement doesn't work.  Obama has pretty much accepted the Palestinian negotiating position as his own and has even promoted the ethnic cleansing (nonviolent) of Jews from the West Bank and East Jerusalem (remember how he opposed the building of apartments for Israelis on Jewish owned land in East Jerusalem and opposes the very idea of the existence of Jewish settlements on historically Jewish land?).  He has pretty much done everything he could do, yet the Arab world still hates him and thinks he should be doing more.  That's why you can't let someone bully you to appease them, they will always want more. 

2 comments:

  1. The Arabs (and some Americans) think Obama is a Muslim! But I don't think Obama is promoting ethnic cleansing. I think his administration lacks any discernible foreign policy on the countries that really matter.The Arabs (and some Americans) think Obama is a Muslim! But I don't think Obama is promoting ethnic cleansing. I think his administration lacks any discernible foreign policy on the countries that really matter.

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  2. It does seem like he is just making it up as he goes along doesn't it?

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