President Obama has raised doing nothing in foreign policy to an art form. It seems that doing nothing is always Obama's "go to" policy.
I used to think that Obama chose inaction because it pleased the public and kept his poll numbers up, but that is no longer true. In a recent poll, only 40% of the people approve of Obama's handling of foreign policy while a large majority disapprove. Obama announced a red line for the use of chemical weapons in Syria and then did nothing when those weapons were used by the Assad forces. According to another poll, voters support the use of American air strikes or cruise missiles against Assad's positions in Syria by a margin of 49 to 38%. Obama, however, still does nothing. Egypt has been melting down for weeks, and once again Obama has done nothing. Here too, the public is waiting for action. No doubt there will be polling on this one soon.
Look, most Americans do not sit about concerning themselves with foreign policy. They believe that such worries are the province of the president and his people. They expect leadership not silence. They expect clear analysis of the problems the country faces, not avoidance. They expect a policy that supports our national aims and national interests, not an inability to discern what we ought to do. They expect an explanation from the president of why the country is following a particular foreign policy, not the absence of any foreign policy at all. In short, Americans expect presidential leadership in the field of foreign policy, but they have been getting a disappearing act from Obama instead.
I am sure that Obama and his cronies do not want to be too heavy handed in America's foreign policy because many of them think that we have been too involved in the world in the past. That does not mean, however, that we have to completely pull out of the world. I know that and the average American knows that too. The world is too dangerous a place for us to go for another three and a half years without a coherent foreign policy. The president needs to wake up!
I used to think that Obama chose inaction because it pleased the public and kept his poll numbers up, but that is no longer true. In a recent poll, only 40% of the people approve of Obama's handling of foreign policy while a large majority disapprove. Obama announced a red line for the use of chemical weapons in Syria and then did nothing when those weapons were used by the Assad forces. According to another poll, voters support the use of American air strikes or cruise missiles against Assad's positions in Syria by a margin of 49 to 38%. Obama, however, still does nothing. Egypt has been melting down for weeks, and once again Obama has done nothing. Here too, the public is waiting for action. No doubt there will be polling on this one soon.
Look, most Americans do not sit about concerning themselves with foreign policy. They believe that such worries are the province of the president and his people. They expect leadership not silence. They expect clear analysis of the problems the country faces, not avoidance. They expect a policy that supports our national aims and national interests, not an inability to discern what we ought to do. They expect an explanation from the president of why the country is following a particular foreign policy, not the absence of any foreign policy at all. In short, Americans expect presidential leadership in the field of foreign policy, but they have been getting a disappearing act from Obama instead.
I am sure that Obama and his cronies do not want to be too heavy handed in America's foreign policy because many of them think that we have been too involved in the world in the past. That does not mean, however, that we have to completely pull out of the world. I know that and the average American knows that too. The world is too dangerous a place for us to go for another three and a half years without a coherent foreign policy. The president needs to wake up!
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