By John Douglas
Surveying the world situation at this writing, the attacks on Libya are continuing while Japan lurches from telling us that its nuclear power plants are being brought under control to telling us there are new or growing problems. In the Middle East, neighboring countries have sent troops into Bahrain (home of the US 5th Fleet) to save that government from its own people, the US budget deficit in February was more than the entire deficit for 2007 and the price of gasoline continues to rise. No doubt this is time for decisive leadership from the United States, a crucial factor in regaining the equilibrium we need for stability and what passes for peace these days.
In a time of world crisis and turbulence, all eyes turn to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the occupant of the White House who is the most powerful person on earth. But don’t turn your eyes to the Executive Mansion now, no one is home. Our President, First Lady, their daughters, her mother and the girl’s Godmother and by all reports, many others are all in South America on yet another foreign trip funded by the endless well of money provided by the American taxpayer. After a couple of stressful days in Brazil, its off to Chile and then El Salvador before returning to the White House and whatever crisis happens to still be boiling at that time.
Indeed, at the height of the Japanese crisis, Obama spent an afternoon playing his 61st golf game since becoming President and later took enough time to sit down and fill out 68 NCAA basketball tournament slots and then film a segment on ESPN to explain them. When it came time to tell the American people about our attack on Libya, he was standing in front of the cameras in the capitol of Brazil, the first time such an announcement has been made by a President while visiting a foreign country.
Our military participation only came about because the French had taken the lead and were on the verge of attacking Libya, basically giving us an ultimatum to either participate or get out of the way. With the British and other NATO members following the French, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton participating in crisis meetings in Paris more as a spectator than a leader, with even Senator John Kerry, D-Mass, infamous for his anti military remarks, beating the war drum and the President eager to get on with his travels, Obama finally gave the signal to get our military involved. But he was not about to let this third front in an escalating middle east war slow him and his extended family down from enjoying the luxuries awaiting them in Latin America.
What more can be said about Obama’s lack of leadership? The world demands great things of American Presidents; some are able to deliver, some are not. Clearly this President is not able to deliver. He values his free time and travels around the world more than remaining here at home to manage American responses to world situations. Ronald Reagan used to say the President lives above the store. This President is living it up above the store while the world burns. So in the absence of anyone being at home in Washington, the world lurches from one crisis to another with no end in sight. It’s a very dangerous situation but we should all settle in for another two years with no changes expected.
Former State Senator John Douglas was chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Military and Homeland Security in the Georgia Senate for six years. He and his family live in Newton County. He can be reached at jfdouglas@aol.com.