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Townhall Finance
America: The
Ostrich Years
Derek Hunter
Aug 24, 2014
In every cartoon I’ve seen with an ostrich, there comes a scene where
it gets scared and buries its head in the sand. Ostriches don’t do this
in real life, but it came to symbolize, in cartoons at least, the
concept of thinking something bad will go away if you simply ignore it.
It’s foolish – some would say stupid – but it appears to be the crux of
President Barack Obama’s foreign policy.
There are times when a president has to be president, even on vacation.
This is the part of the job President Obama seems to hold in contempt –
the doing of it. The trappings – the motorcade, Air Force One, hanging
out with celebrities, being a celebrity himself, having nearly every
whim catered to – are the most appealing part of the job. But it is a
job, and he sought it twice. He just doesn’t seem to like doing it.
This isn’t a new development. This president has been checked out to
one degree or another since he checked in, but he at least paid lip
service to the concept of domestic policy. He didn’t involve himself
with the details of many of the laws Democrats in Congress passed; he
just gave speeches in support of their concepts and signed them. But
when policy issues crossed salt water, he lost all interest.
After a series of groveling speeches trying to make up for his
predecessor, who just happens to be more popular than he is now, the
president retreated to the comforts of his office and buried his head
to the realities of the rest of the world.
Aside from occasional speeches and selfie-filled funerals or summits,
Obama turned his gaze domestically and green-ward, to the golf course.
But the funny thing about the rest of the world is it doesn’t go away
simply because you wish it would. The troubles of the world have a way
of existing regardless whether you pay attention to them.
Afghanistan is on the verge of collapse. Libya is in anarchy. Israel is
being attacked hourly by the terrorists in Hamas. Russia is putting its
band back together. China is making aggressive moves toward us and
Japan. And ISIS is executing people like it’s an Olympic event.
Meanwhile, the president has given a few speeches and shaved two
strokes off his handicap...
Read the rest of the article at Townhall Finance
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