Search This Blog

Thursday, March 17, 2011

I guess I am a stereotype

For at least a decade, I have been reading that the main supporters of the GOP are angry white males. It was nonsense when it was first said and it remains nonsense. Most people who support the Republicans are not any angrier than those who support the Democrats. Look at Al Sharpton, a man who made his whole career channeling anger and ignorance. But, I have to admit that after watching the performance of the Obama administration and Obama in particular over the last few months, I have become the stereotypical Republican, an angry white male.

I was always a white male, so it is the deep seated anger that is new. And it just keeps getting worse. The democratic uprising ini Libya is a good place to start. When the protests began, Obama adopted the model he used in not supporting the Iranian protests of the year before. Obama first was silent. When the voices of the American people got loud enough, the White House finally said that the president would make a statement. That statement came in a summary released by the White House of a phonoe call between Obama and Angela Merkel of Germany. Obama can take time to record a speech about Women's History Month or a long interview about his choices for the NCAA Basketball Tournement, but as to the protests in Libya and the crackdown by Gaddafi, he can only make his point in a summary of a phone call to a German that is released on paper only. Mr. Teleprompter cannot manage something that could be rebroadcast and seen by America and the world.

Next came the Gaddafi attacks on the protesters using bombers and fighter planes. This is the act of a crazy man. Even the Arab League came out with a request that a no fly zone be imposed in Libya. That would neutralize the Libyan Airforce and allow the democratic (rebel) side a chance to regroup and hold off the Gaddafi forces. Obama's response? Dithering and silence. Finally he had Clinton come out with a statement that any action in Libya needed to come from the UN. Since the Chinese and the Russians had already made clear that they would not support a UN no fly zone, that killed any chance that there would be a meaningful act to help the democracy protesters who were being slaughtered by Gaddafi's forces.

Now we have reached the end game. Gaddafi's son says that within 48 hours, the fighting will be over. the people in Benghazi have been warned that attack by the Gaddafi forces is imminent. It looks like the end is here for the rebels. For most of them, that is a literal statement as the Gaddafi forces will most likely round them up and kill them. so what does Obama do now? He starts trying to cover his ass by talking more aggressively. He gets the US ambassador to the UN to announce the the US is considering stronger actions than just a no fly zone. Will there be airstrikes? Will the marines be landing on the shores of Tripoli again? Both of those could have been avoided had Obama had the nerve to act with a no fly zone a week ago. Such a show of force would probably have crumbled the last remnant of Gaddafi's authority. But do not worry, Obama added the magic words: any stronger use of force would only be done with UN approval. In English, what this means is that Obama is positioning himself to be able to say that he was ready to use strong force against Gaddafi (even though he chose not to do so.) he is positioning himself for subsequent domestic criticism. He does not give a damn about the people in Libya or even the national interests of the USA. A democratic Libya would be a major improvement in the Middle East. Imagine one less country run by a despotic, terrorist supporting madman.

As I said before, this all makes me furious. Obama is supposed to lead, not to worry about re-election. But Libya is not the whole story. Obama does the same thing with regard to energy policy. Ditto on the budget. And now, Obama has the Treasury Secretary saying in essence that the USA looks favorably on there being a new world reserve currency to replace the dollar. I wonder if he even knows what that means. Let me spell it out. If there is a new world currency the following will happen: 1) the dollar will fall against other currencies. 2)Interest rates in the US will rise. 3)There will be massive inflation in the USA. 4) The economy of the USA will suffer a major blow. 5)Foreigners holding dollars will need to park them somewhere. As a result, there will probably be a buying spree by them snatching up American assets. 6) The ability of the Federal Reserve to print more money in an emergy will be severely curtailed. 7)The power of the USA will be lessened. While not all of these things are necessarily bad, they are in sum a disaster.

As I said, I am really angry at this fool.

No comments: