Posted on 01/01/2010 4:57:02 AM PST by Kaslin
Clueless. It’s the word that best describes the Obama administration’s first year in office. They’ve proven themselves clueless about creating jobs; clueless about handling growing nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea; and now, most devastatingly, clueless about protecting Americans from terrorist attacks on our own soil. And with nearly one year under the belts, they can’t keep blaming the Bush administration for everything that goes awry.
It is hard to imagine a more incompetent handling of the thwarted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. jetliner. First, the commander in chief was too busy enjoying his vacation in Hawaii to do much more than issue platitudinous assurances that he was "actively monitoring" the incident, while dispersing White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to the weekend talk shows to downplay the significance of the event.
When the news media began uncovering evidence that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was exactly who he claimed to be when taken into custody -- a terrorist tied to an al-Qaida network in Yemen -- the administration began backtracking on its earlier statements that the incident was not part of a larger terrorist plot and that "the system worked." But it took the president three days to appear before the American public to insist on a thorough investigation. By that time, everyone knew that the would-be suicide bomber’s own father had alerted U.S. intelligence officials of his son’s threat to American security. But the warnings didn’t keep Abdulmutallab off a jetliner headed to the United States.
Even the words the president used in his press conference Dec. 28 suggest how clueless he is. He described Abdulmutallab as a "passenger (who) allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device," repeatedly referring to Abdulmutallab in his comments as a "suspect." These are the weasel words we use when talking about ordinary criminals, which is no accident. The Obama administration’s anti-terrorism philosophy is to treat terrorist attacks like criminal actions, not acts of war.
The Obama administration’s response to the deadly terrorist attack at Fort Hood in November was exactly the same. For days after Nidal Hasan gunned down his fellow soldiers at the Texas Army installation, killing 13 and injuring dozens, the administration tried to portray Hasan as a troubled lone wolf whose actions had nothing to do with his increasingly radicalized Islamic faith. But as news organizations revealed that the FBI had been monitoring Hasan and that he had been in contact with a known radical imam in Yemen, the insanity explanation looked increasingly lame. Now the administration is engaged in a review of why so many clues to Hasan's terrorist intentions went ignored.
The Obama administration’s cluelessness has reached the point that even the president’s admirers have to admit something is drastically wrong. The Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus, one of President Obama’s most fawning fans, wrote this week: "The more I think about the Christmas all-but-bombing, the angrier I get. At the multiple failures that allowed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to get on the plane with explosives sewn inside his underwear. And at the Obama administration's initial, everything's-fine-everybody-move-right-along reaction." And Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, now wants to stop the administration from releasing Guantanamo detainees to Yemen, in light of growing evidence of al-Qaida's active presence there.
Many of us who criticized Barack Obama’s candidacy did so because we felt he was too inexperienced to be president. His first year in office has done nothing to allay those fears. He has put together a team of White House operatives who politicize every crisis. Their first concern seems to be to protect the president from blame, not to protect the American people from harm, whether it be from failed economic policies or terrorist attacks.
And the president seems unable to go much beyond reading a script. He shows little actual leadership, whether in crafting a health care plan or devising a coherent foreign policy, preferring to delegate to others duties that he should assume. He turned over responsibility for the stimulus plan and totally revamping of U.S. health care to Democrats in Congress, with predictably unsatisfactory results. Meanwhile, his policy of engagement with enemies like Iran and North Korea has simply emboldened them to pursue their nuclear aims at a faster pace.
Americans have given President Obama an extended honeymoon, but their love affair with a man who showed much promise, if not actual accomplishment, is cooling down. The latest Rasmussen presidential tracking numbers show the president at only 47 percent approval. Unless President Obama dramatically changes course, 2010 will be the year when most Americans begin thinking about divorce.
I suppose we can’t possibly hear anymore now how president Bush “wasted” a whole seven minutes with the little kids after he was advised of the WTC tragedy, can we?
obama is not clueless. He knows exactly what he’s doing
AND MILLIONS OF US AMERICANS KNOW WHAT HE’S DOING.
I am praying for a Democratic bloodbath in November followed by impeachment.
Yes, they will. and the DBM will let them and go along with them.
The Obama administration successfully spun the Fort Hood massacre as anything BUT a terrorist attack, so they wouldn't be labelled as having the first post-9/11 terrorist attack on American soil during his administration.
THIS one is a thwarted attack, even after all the info available.
When will the American people realize that our guard is down?
Good article - ouch.
I think he delegates for 2 reasons: he wants to keep his Teflon coating (that’s not working), and he has never run anything or formulated policy, so he has no choice.
It is now 2010; if I have to hear on a daily basis, regardless of the issue, that Bambi had to “overcome 8 years of failed policies on _______” I will puke.
And quit insulting people’s intelligence by insisting he has “pulled back the economy from the cliff.” Gag.
I almost agree with you - BO knows what his sponsors expect from him. He knows what the MSM is doing to keep the fairy tale alive.
He knows that most of the public is more concerned with government ‘meeting their needs’; so health care, jobs and housing will stay front & center.
In the dark of night - American liberty is being stolen and replaced with tyranny.
FTA: “Their first concern seems to be to protect the president from blame, not to protect the American people from harm, whether it be from failed economic policies or terrorist attacks.”
This is the Clinton “War Room” model, reinforced by Kerry’s failure. Never let a charge go unanswered. Always push back. Blast critics and dismiss/brush off criticism. Deny, deny, deny...spin, spin, spin.
Meanwhile, the enemy is working 24/7 figuring out ways to kill us. And our putz of a president views the terrorists as criminals when we’re in a war of many fronts.
We let a stugots and his angry, bitter wife into the White House, I’m afraid.
“When will the American people realize that our guard is down?”
It will take an incident in which hundreds or thousands are killed on our soil.
The bad guys know our guard is down and we are led by phoney incompetents.
Its true....although I don’t think OBAMA is the one pulling the stings....
But those who are pulling the strings know EXACTLY what they are doing.....Turning AMERICA into a MARXIST STATE.
And the vast majority (both democrat and republican) is truly clueless.
You know, I think that those seven minutes Bush spent with those children, were some of the most difficult in his presidency.
Can you imagine looking at all those hopeful, innocent faces-knowing what you know and staying calm and focused-for their sake?
That’s leadership plain and simple.
Someone should write an article called “7 Minutes vs 3 Days” and compare the two “leadership” styles.
This is the most incompetent administration I have ever seen.
“...government has NOTHING to do with job creation.....all government can do is create a hospitable or inhospitable environment....and basically keep its inherent narcissism out of the way and acknowledge its dependence.
BTW....when is Glen Beck or Rush going to start to open their show every day with the announcement as to the day count of job losses? We’re well into 18 months!!! of losing 65000 JOBS/day!!!!!! An entire city of unemployed a DAY!!!
Email Glen Beck and Rush and ask, or suggest it to them
bump
Stugots...hadn’t heard that in awhile.
Who is the more clueless...Obama, or the useful fools who voted for him? But then, this is a thread about 2009 (not that we got an answer in 2008).
Yeah, it’s kind of interesting. My Dad used to use it a lot - probably first remember him using it in the late 50’s or early 60’s. He was first generation American of Slovak parents, so I assumed it was an eastern European word. It was only today, when I looked it up online to verify the spelling, that I find out it’s Italian. I never watched the Sopranos, but I guess that’s where it gained notice.
Semper Fi,
Thank you!
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