Obama's Priorities

By Abir Mandal

 

Je suis Obama, a failure. 

 

You know you have a problem if the French beat you in sheer bravery. More so if you happen to be the leader of the country that won two world wars, singlehandedly ran successful campaigns against Islamists and has been described as the Shining City upon the Hill by its past leaders.

Such is the quandary in which President Barack Obama finds himself, as he deals with the aftermath of the deadly attacks on the French tabloid, Charlie Hebdo, that claimed the lives of 12 innocents. The attack was ostensibly in response to cartoons published-- get this-- 9 years ago, of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Apparently no amount of time is enough to forget an “insult” to the Islamic faith, leaving aside the fact that cartoons should never be enough for spur a murdering rampage in the name of your god. 

 

In a show of solidarity, unprecedented since the 9/11 attacks on America, leaders of the Free World descended upon Paris to demonstrate that they would stand up for free speech and freedom of press. They were joined by millions of Parisians who decided that they had had enough of staying silent when faced with murderous thugs. Not our Dear Leader, however. To President Obama’s chagrin, this trivial defense of freedom was scheduled at the same time as a very important football game. Apparently First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, were also engrossed with the same match.

 

Contrast that with what happened after the terrorist attacks on the United States. One of the very first world leaders to put his arm around then-President, Mr. George W. Bush, was Jacques Chirac, the French Prime Minister. A tad insensitive and unstatesmanlike of Obama, don’t you think? To be fair, nothing more can really be expected from this man, who, right after delivering a quivering lip speech eulogizing an American beheaded by the ISIS, went off to drown his supposed sorrows in a round of golf. And who, instead of taking the time to meet with Ben Netanyahu, the leader of Israel, one of the most steadfast of America’s allies, insulted him and chose to meet a YouTube personality who eats cereal from a bathtub. This surely was to the delight of his Gen-Y YouTube mates. He is just so bloody cool! 

 

The truth is Obama has been too busy campaigning for his liberal lackeys and pitting Americans against Americans to learn the nuanced art of diplomacy, an essential for a politician. True Americans should be ashamed to call him their leader but should take heart in the fact that via the recent midterm elections, they have signaled to the world that they no longer consider Obama their representative. A small consolation for the grieving French, perhaps, but an important gesture nevertheless. May freedom be eternal and God bless America