It Works for Obama

It seems that the world is taking note of the way that president Obama has handled the sequester.  I am speaking, of course, of Obama's attempt to shift responsibility for the cuts in federal spending to the Republicans even though (1) the sequester was completely Obama's idea when it was first passed; (2) last fall Obama said he would veto any attempt to stop the sequester from happening; and (3) Obama said, as recently as a few days ago, that he would not accept any measure that would give him the ability to shift the cuts around so that they hit less important and more expendable spending items.  According to the polls, at least some of the public seems to be buying into this nonsense.  Of course, at the same time, Obama's overall job approval numbers have tanked and he has returned to negative approval is some of the larger polls.  (Negative approval means more folks disapprove of how he is handling his job than approve.) 

In any event, Obama's ploy seems to have inspired various world leaders.  One good example came today in the Sunday Times in London.  President Bashir al Assad told the Times that it was "nonsense to suggest" that the conflict in Syria was about his future as leader.  Of course, the stated goal of the uprising is to oust Assad and his cronies from power in Syria, but Assad just denies that to the press.  The British Foreign Secretary was quoted as saying Assad's comments were "delusional", but you cannot blame Assad for trying.  After all, the lying thing sort of worked a bit for Obama.