Obama Administration and 2010

Well, it has been no picnic, has it Mr. President?  And why did you want so badly to do this?  Power? Change?  Ok.  With the War on Terror dragging on just like it would have without you in power, it brings to light your comments during the election that mocked the policies at the time. 

And enviromentalists.  You didn't ever think during the election you would have them beating down your doors all hopped up on soy lattes and veggie burgers.  You thought they were in your camp.  That was before you let BP off the hook, let the false security of their promise that their drilling technologies were sound lull you to sleep at the proverbial wheel. 

I, for one, do not fault you directly for either of these missteps.  You inherited some poor situations and haven't handled them any better than your predecessors.  And I wasn't convinced you were going to.  You were doomed, Mr. President.  Superman would have failed.  You have inherited a broken America.  A broken world. 

Health Care? You should drop that for now.  Economy?  Do you really have any control over that? Afganistan?  Worthless cause.  Why are we there?  Why stay?  Why spill blood--good American young men--when everyone else has abandoned the cause?  Why stay when the Al Queda has moved on to greener pastures?

And McChrystal? Wow.  This sort of pistol-toting, flag-waving, snuff-spitting was the exact reason you won the election over McCain.  The McChrystal-Bush clone is a renegade in camo, a wanna-be politician who openly sought to create a new nation through his COIN military initiative, a guy that was already wrapped in controversy and had a history of insubordination. And this was your guy.  After criticizing McCain for not properly vetting his running mate, you assign McChrystal who by all accounts seems intelligent but beligerent and unconcerned with chain of command.

COIN was a few cents short of being a viable military policy.  It has never worked in real life.  Never.  McChrystal is no Alexander or Cyrus the Persian.  He is no Ghengis Kahn.  He is no Napoleon, even. His Waterloo: Marja?  Culture cannot be dictated by artillery and a baton.  It can be defended.  It can be punished.  It can be conquered.  But I wax philosophical.

Mr. President, you have already demonstrated a propensity to bury America in further debt for centuries to come.  You trade immediate gratification and government subsidized quick fixes for municipalities and unfortunates for our grandchildren's future. You are weakening our military position.  You are allowing the Gulf of Mexico to be an epic natural disaster.  You have bowed and cowtowed to corporations, socialists, and special interest groups.  Your ony "victory" to date?  Healthcare.  Really?  Just another vehicle to sink America in the financial quagmire of your confused and destructive policies. 

And you thought your only battle would be the ants at the picnic, didn't you?  Instead, a thunderstorm came and you have elected to stay under the tree as the lightning splits the sky.  God help us all.

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

Alright, right off the bat, politics. Ok, I just read the BBC version of this story. I cannot say that awarding the prize to Obama was a wise choice. Granted, his contenders have as many clear problems (and maybe more) than he does. Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe was actually considered the favorite to win the award. He has risen from a nickel mine foreman to be Prime Minister (at least a share of the title). He joins Robert Mugabi, the incumbent PM who has ruled with violence and has completely torched the Zimbabwe economy--one of the world's worst. However, despite his rise to share in governing his country, Mr. Tsvangirai was taped in 2002 discussing with Canadian media sources ways in which someone could carry out an assasination attempt on Mugabi. He was cleared of treason twice, once acquitted and once the charges were deemed "unconstitutional."

OK, maybe not the stiffest competition. It seems to me that the underlying problem is that when you are awarding a "peace" award, the candidates must exhibit traits that are peaceful or act in ways that bring about peace. Although I do not deny that Mr. Obama does desire peace, talks about peace and has met with world leaders to discuss peace, our world is no safer, no more peaceful than we were two or three years ago. I know. Give him time. But the award should be for doing something that promotes or creates peace, not just thinking about it or passionately supporting it.

I suppose what I am thinking is that Obama may turn things around in Iran, Afganistan, Iraq, Jerusalem, or even Mexico or right here in the good 'ole US of A. He may get a college football playoff, Major League Baseball players to stop taking growth hormones, or get the Mexican cartels to turn themselves and all their drugs over or maybe erect a wall to prevent illegal immigrants from being "mules" and allowing the drugs to even touch our soil in the first place. Maybe Mr. Obama will get Russia to actually completely de-arm their nuclear arsenal and we can do the same.

And if Obama does any one of these things (except the playoff, maybe), he will deserve to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. And even win it, if he manages more than one of those assignments, as daunting as they are. But, so far, his choice for the Nobel Peace Prize was about as inappropriate and premature as awarding Tim Tebow the Heisman trophy before the season started. Let it play out. Let us see how this all pans out. Is it good that world leaders support Obama? Of course. Is it nice that America is actually getting begruding respect where once it was glaring ridicule and hatred? Why, yes, it is nice.

Let it be known that I am a republican. I am conservative. But, above all that, I am a patriot. I love America. And, I want to see her succeed. There is a bit of pride that an American won. It seems we have been shut out since 1993 for the Nobel Peace Prize in literature and that galls me. So, Obama won. Prematurely, to be sure, but in my mind it is an American "win," whether it is deserved or not. Hooray. Now go out and do something to deserve it, I guess. And that does not mean pushing a national health care plan through or allowing gays to get married. Do something in areas where you are strong--global PR, bringing people together and galvanizing peace. That will be your victory, Mr. President.