Was Hillary Right?

Many of you may remember a particular television commercial that the Clinton camps ran during last year’s bitter democratic primary between Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama. It was a very simple ad that posited the question, when the phone rings at 3:00AM in the White House, who do you want picking up that phone? The simple insinuation was that Barrack Obama was not ready to be President of the United States. His other primary opponent, and eventual VP pick, Joe Biden, went further saying that Barrack Obama was not ready and that he would be tested within the first six months of his administration by our adversaries across the globe.

Well, here we are America. There are so many commercial slogans I can think of, you want it your way, Barrack Obama. You want it, you got it, Barrack Obama. We have blindly followed a media in love with a man without substance. We have ignored the warnings of partisan pundits and the plain evidence of a resume that was so thin and lacking any sort of gravitas. In short, we have elected a man who was and now proves that he is terribly ill prepared to stand up to the challenges of the office of President of the United States.

Make no mistake, I do not discount President Obama's intelligence. President Obama graduated from the most prestigious colleges in the country. He taught at another. He ably and adeptly negotiated a meteoric rise to power. Simply put, no one gets to be President of the United States without some measure and level of intelligence. No, make no mistake, it is not President Obama's intelligence I call into question. Rather it is almost every other aspect of the man's qualifications that I challenge. From his lack of experience, to his naive pacifism, his dedication to unfathomable government expansion and intrusion, his insistence on diplomacy as an answer to the tyrants of the world, and finally to his unwavering commitment to give legitimacy to that same lunatic fringe element of world leaders, President Obama shows just how unqualified he is.

Considering his pre-election posse which included the likes of Reverend Wright, terrorist Bill Ayers, Van Jones, convicted fraud man and money launderer Tony Rezko, communist sympathizer Sam Graham-Felsen, (the list could go on and on) it isn't too surprising that Obama wants to play nice with the radical America-hating leaders of the world.

However, it is this desire to be liked by the world and the adherence to diplomacy nd pacifism that those same leaders will interpret and exploit as weakness and use to their advantage. The following political cartoon from the Wall Street Journal says it all:


Just last week, we were told that a second secret facility inside Iran has the capacity and ability to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons development. The President’s response was to act tough, but still consent to diplomatic negotiations on October 1st. Now, Iran is test firing mid-range ballistic missiles that could strike Isreal, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and other nations. They are taking a play straight from mad-man Kim Jung Ill’s playbook. Ignore the rest of the world, do whatever you want, because all the Americans will do is talk, talk, talk. What Iran has been doing for the last 25 years is the classic wait and stall game. They have been slowly and methodically building their capacity to develop a nuclear weapon while stalling the rest of the world. Meanwhile the rest of the world has been in wait and see mode sticking their head in the proverbial sand hoping that their worst fears will not come true. Iran is a theocratic dictatorial country whose leaders will not and cannot be deterred from pursuit of a nuclear weapon through diplomacy.

This week’s revelation confirms all the more that the Iranian regime is one that is willing to lie and deceive the world. It has little to no respect for international law or opinion. To be intellectually honest, why should it? For 25 years the international community has done nothing but bicker, and obfuscate any responsibility when it comes to containing this threat. What's worse is that when the United Nations did actually act and initiate resolutions against Iran's neighbor Iraq, they refused to actually enforce them. What a shining lesson and example for Iran's leaders. They saw first-hand as Hitler did some sixty plus years ago that the world does not have the stomach for armed conflict or hostilities.

Now we see that Obama is playing the role of Neville Chamberlain. He will send his envoys to negotiate and engage in diplomacy on October 1st. What is worse however is that Chamberlain went to the meeting expecting and believing he was getting concessions for his appeasement, we simply go hat in hand like paupers or beggars hoping the Iranians will change of their own accord. This European method of solving international emergencies, the wait and hope approach has clearly failed.

It is time for the United States to get tough. We can begin by shutting off Iran from the outside world. We must freeze all Iranian assets that we can assert power over. We must encourage the Saudis (strong arming if needed) to lower crude prices to cut off Iran's source of capital. In addition, we must blockade Iranian ports and cut off any supplies coming in or out of the country. We must continue these tough actions in the face of world criticism until Iran dismantles its nuclear program. Finally, we must never take the option to preemptively strike the nuclear sites off the table. It is time for President Obama to step up in a huge way. To make a baseball analogy, we've already let the first three games of the series slip away. We now need to become the 2004 Boston Red Sox; we must come from behind to win it all. Just like the Cuban Missile Crisis, losing this game of nuclear brinksmanship is not an option.

We are the only country with the ability and the will to make this happen. We must step up to the plate to stop this before it is too late. If we shirk our duty and we leave the responsibility to our friend Israel, the world will be plunged into a far graver situation than we can imagine. President Obama, it's time to stop playing president on TV and actually be the President.

As Mark Helprin wrote in this week’s Wall Street Journal,

"Stalin tested Truman with the Berlin Blockade, and Truman held fast. Khrushchev tested Kennedy, and in the Cuban Missile Crisis Kennedy refused to blink. In 1983, Andropov took the measure of Reagan, and, defying millions in the street (who are now the Obama base), Reagan did not blink. Last week, the Iranian president and the Russian prime minister put Mr. Obama to the test, and he blinked not once but twice. The price of such infirmity has always proven immensely high, even if, as is the custom these days, the bill has yet to come."

President Obama, you have to answer that phone. Unfortunately, you are the only one who can. The question is will you. If you don't, your presidency is destined to be exactly what and who I thought you were; Jimmy Carter version 2.0.