Posted on 11/26/2015 4:29:10 AM PST by HomerBohn
I once asked, What if Obama cant lead? The answer after Paris is painful
In his memÂoir, LeÂon PanÂetta arÂgued that for all of Barack Obama's strengths, he is missÂing an esÂsenÂtial inÂgrediÂent of leadÂerÂship. He lacks "fire," wrote Obama's former CIA dirÂectÂor and Pentagon chief. "The presÂidÂent reÂlies on the loÂgic of a law proÂfessÂor rather than the pasÂsion of a leadÂer."
Obama has proved PanÂetta right again and again durÂing his presÂidÂency, but nevÂer more danÂgerÂously so than with his shoulder-shrug apÂproach to ISÂIS. Obama called it a "J.V. team" beÂfore it starÂted beÂheadÂing AmerÂicÂans. He said it was "conÂtained" beÂfore it atÂtacked ParÂis. Now he's callÂing it "a bunch of killers with good soÂcial meÂdia."
That's how you deÂscribe a street gang--a bunch of killers with good soÂcial meÂdia. The IsÂlamÂic State is no street gang.
ObÂjectÂive obÂservÂers from across the politÂicÂal specÂtrum took exÂcepÂtion to Obama's tone. This from Frank Bruni, a libÂerÂal-minded New York Times columÂnist:
He was at his worst just after the ParÂis atÂtacks, when he comÂmuÂnicÂated as much irÂritÂaÂtion with the second-guessÂing of his stewÂardÂship as he did outÂrage over ParÂis and deÂtermÂinÂaÂtion to desÂtroy the IsÂlamÂic State, or ISÂIS.
He owed us something difÂferÂent, something more. He'd just said, the day beÂfore ParÂis, that ISÂIS was conÂtained and that it was weakÂenÂing, so there was an onus on him to make abundÂantly clear that he grasped the magÂnitude of the threat and was inÂtensely foÂcused on it.
From Obama we needed fire. InÂstead we got emÂbers, along with the un-presÂidÂenÂtial porÂtrayÂal of ReÂpubÂlicÂans as snivÂelÂing wimps whose fears about refugees were akin to their comÂplaints about tough deÂbate quesÂtions.
There it is again--"from Obama we needed fire."
The man who so aptly diaÂgnosed Obama's tonÂal weakÂness, LeÂon PanÂetta, apÂpeared on Meet the Press on Sunday to deÂmand more leadÂerÂship against ISÂIS. This time, he stuck to subÂstance--and was no less devÂastÂatÂing.
"I think the U.S. has to lead in this efÂfort beÂcause what we've learned a long time ago is that if the United States does not lead, nobody else will," PanÂetta said. He blamed Obama for unÂder-serving his promÂise to disÂrupt and deÂfeat ISÂIS. "I think that the reÂsources apÂplied to that misÂsion, frankly, have not been sufÂfiÂcient to conÂfront that."
PanÂetta is not alone among DemoÂcrats worÂried about Obama's apÂproach. LeadÂing DemoÂcratÂic SenÂatÂor DiÂanne FeinÂstein told Face the NaÂtion that the United States is not doÂing enough to fight the IsÂlamÂic State.
"We need to be agÂgressÂive," she said. "Now." inst ISÂIS would reÂquire shared sacÂriÂfice. I am symÂpathÂetÂic to the fact that Obama faces no easy opÂtions after inÂherÂitÂing PresÂidÂent Bush's ill-conÂceived war in IrÂaq. And I've got abÂsoÂlutely no paÂtience for the GOP presÂidÂenÂtial field's hyÂperÂbolÂic, disÂhonÂest, and bigÂoted rhetÂorÂic.
But there is only one comÂmandÂer-in-chief, and ours is stubÂbornly clingÂing to a strategy against ISÂIS that lacks clarÂity, creÂativÂity, and urÂgency. There is only one presÂidÂent, and ours doesn't seem to know how to rally us to a comÂmon cause.
Look at this TwitÂter feed from Ron Klain, a leadÂing DemoÂcratÂic conÂsultÂant who served as Obama's Ebola czar. He reÂcalls the irÂraÂtionÂal, politÂicÂally charged calls to close U.S. borÂders to people from naÂtions stricken by the disÂease--a panÂic not unÂlike the one over SyrÂiÂan refugees today. "Ebola exÂperÂiÂence ofÂfers three lesÂsons for manÂaging fears," Klain writes.
1. AcÂknowÂledge and adÂdress the pubÂlic's fear. Don't disÂmiss it as ilÂleÂgitÂimÂate. "That only exÂacerÂbates fears and fuels doubts about leadÂers' candor."
2. ExÂplain the dangers of "givÂing inÂto fears." InÂacÂtion is risÂkiÂer than acÂtion.
3. "Show that govÂernÂment has a plan to manÂage the risk--not igÂnorÂing the risk, but takÂing actÂive, serÂiÂous steps to reÂduce it."
Klain didn't say this but I will: On ISÂIS, Obama breaks every rule. He minÂimÂizes the threat and disÂmisses our fears, which raises doubts about his candor and capÂabÂilÂity. An overÂwhelmÂing maÂjorÂity of AmerÂicÂans disÂapÂprove of his handÂling of ISÂIS, a new poll shows, and 81 perÂcent think ISÂIS will strike the United States.
In JuÂly 2013, six months inÂto his second term, I wrote a column that quesÂtioned whethÂer Obama would fulÂfill his enormÂous poÂtenÂtial, whethÂer he even cared anyÂmore about his promÂises to change WashÂingÂton, whethÂer he could write the modÂern rules of the presÂidÂency and build a new bully pulÂpit. I asked, "What if Obama can't lead?"
I now have my anÂswer.
Americans Convict Obama
I AM USING THE CONVERTER AND, AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS CRAP STILL GETS POSTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The man is a coward, pure and simply and coward who would sell out his country before fighting.
The first order he gives when he takes office is to retreat, and that’s how it’s been.
We have roughly 14 months left of this nightmare, and Heaven help us, but I thin we are on the verge of seeing how truly impotent this man is.
It’s not that he lacks fire. It’s that he APPROVES OF ISIS.
Where has Michelle Obama been? She certainly is avoiding her husband big time, IMHO.
Coming from Panetta, a first-class shill for the dummycrats. How could he imagine any of "all Barack Obama's strengths" and say it with a straight face? It's incredible that they still attribute any kind of attributes to this total fool.
Perhaps she’s found herself a real playmate. Perhaps a celebrity like, say, Hillary Rodham or Rosie O’Doughnut.
Until you start telling the truth about Islam! Then he gets all "fired" up.
Post Turtles don’t lead.
“I once asked, What if Obama cant lead?”
...I stopped reading there. To even ask such a question means you are now and always have been completely clueless.
Try copying the text into Notepad or another plain vanilla editor. It should strip out the meta characters.
Then copy the text from Notepad and paste it into the post window.
Quoting Rush:
“Our old friend, Ron Fournier.”
Is this article in the original Klingon? ;-)
Obama's stated goal is to "fundamentally transform the United States of America". Why would would any true lover of America and its values want a guy like him to have more "fire". Then again, Panetta is anything but a true patriot.
__________________________
"In addition to his voting record, in 1986, Rep. Panetta publically opposed what he called President Ronald Reagan's "illegal and extraordinary vicious wars against the poor of Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala." This, Panetta said, as he pledged his support for the Soviet satellite government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua as well as other KGB and DGI (Cuban intelligence) backed Marxist paramilitary groups throughout the Western Hemisphere in Latin America.
Panetta's solidarity with these communist-backed forces may have been in part due to his close affiliations with the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), a Marxist think-tank in Washington D.C. In a 1978 article in National Review, Brian Crozier, director of the London-based Institute for the Study of Conflict, described the IPS as being the "perfect intellectual front for Soviet activities which would be resisted if they were to originate openly from the KGB.""
“I now have my answer.”
Ron, we had that answer 8 years ago.
I’ve been noticing that myself. There’s a photo of them serving food in the paper today.
It shouldn't be that hard to do text translation on any text being posted in the server code.
I thought I tried that some time ago.
I would guess they are now living permanently in the BUNKER, awaiting the terrorist attacks due all of us.
This I think was a first here. As far as I'm aware this problem has only been related to slanted apostrophes, slanted quotation marks, and long dashes. But here it seemed somehow related to ordinary letters, although it's hard to figure out exactly which ones. Looked like some of the vowels.
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