Category Archives: Foreign Policy

Updated: He's A Magic Man (Not)

Barack Obama, Etiquette, Europe, Foreign Policy, Politics, Sport

There are many ways in which a politician can throw his weight around and display his insularity and solipsistic self-absorption. The Obama entourage’s vulgar show of self-importance—down to the feeble-minded Talker they took along for the ride in their bid for the next Olympics—must have gotten under the collective skin of the more understated Nordic, European folks. Europeans have been first to shatter Obama’s messianic invincibility.

In a previous post, “How She Sacrifices For Us,” I wondered when the Europeans would finally get “sick-and-tired of the Obama dog-and-pony show. I assume they have some pride.”

Well, the time has arrived—and sooner than I imagined it would. But I’m not complaining. “The 2016 Games are going to Rio de Janeiro,” reports MSNBC. “Chicago was knocked out in the first round, despite in-person lobbying by President Barack Obama — one of the most shocking defeats ever handed down by the International Olympic Committee.”

The slap to Chicago was such that some IOC members were left squirming. The city’s plans for Olympic competition along its stunning Lake Michigan waterfront had long made it a front-runner and earned support from the highest possible level — President Barack Obama himself. His wife, Michelle, flew in two days before the vote to butter up IOC members, an essential part of the selection process. And Obama himself flew in Friday morning.

IOC members had seemed wowed, posing for photos with Mrs. Obama and taking souvenir shots of the president with their mobile phones. But, in the vote, Chicago was shunned.

Update (Oct. 3): THE TIMES OF ENGLAND (warning; intelligent writing ahead): “Mr Obama was greeted — as usual — like a rock star by the IOC delegates in Copenhagen — then humiliated by them. Perception is reality. A narrow defeat for Chicago would have been acceptable — but the sheer scale of the defeat was a bombshell, and is a major blow for Mr Obama at a time when questions are being asked about his style of governance.

… Chicago’s dismal showing yesterday, after Mr Obama’s personal, impassioned last-minute pitch, is a stunning humiliation for this President. It cannot be emphasised enough how this will feed the perception that on the world stage he looks good — but carries no heft.”

[SNIP]
In their understated, quiet way, the Europeans may have done us a favor. However, will a man with a messianic complex (Bush had it but, other than the Republicans, no one bought into his delusions) intensify his efforts at tyranny? On second thought, is that even possible?

How She Sacrifices For Us

Barack Obama, Etiquette, Europe, Foreign Policy

Is it the cramped quarters of her private jet? Jet lag? Too many haute couture dress fittings; layers of war paint? Michelle Obama elaborates on the hardships she and the Other O have endured in recent days for the good of the … kids:

“As much of a sacrifice as people say this is for me or Oprah or the president to come for these few days, so many of you in this room have been working for years to bring this bid home. As first lady, as many of you know, I’ve made it a priority to bridge the gap between the White House and communities across D.C. and across the country…I’ve spent much of my first nine months trying to open the doors to the White House to kids who might not otherwise see themselves having access to these institutions, because that’s where I came from – communities like that where kids never dreamed that they could set foot in the White House, let alone live there… And Barack and I made a point of doing the same thing when we lived in Chicago – making the concerns of kids in all sorts of communities our own.”

[SNIP]

The stress must have caused Mrs. O to suffer some hearing loss. Everyone is saying the exact opposite about her gallivanting around the globe with the Fat One for no good at all.

When it comes to Mr. O, time away from the President’s Office is not a bad thing; it means that for a while, he get to do less damage.

I wonder when the Europeans will get sick-and-tired of the Obama dog-and-pony show. I assume they have some pride.

Update II: Bachmann & Paul Against Bernanke

Federal Reserve Bank, Foreign Policy, Iran, Liberty, Military, Politics, Ron Paul, War

I like the idea of a Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann ticket. Paul needs no introduction, but Bachmann is bright in the way Palin isn’t; she is intellectually curious in the way Palin is not (this accounts for why she has beefed up her knowledge of the Fed and is familiar with Tom Woods’ Meltdown); she is attractive, and she drives liberals stark raving mad. (Or madder)

Here Bachmann introduces Paul:

And here is Paul:

Update (Sept. 28): With respect to “Hot Air,” advanced hereunder by Haym as an ostensible source of credible opinion; it isn’t. Credible news, quite possibly, but not opinion. At least not on foreign policy. And not on this site. (Yeah, the adventure in Iraq was fun wasn’t it!) This is a libertarian site; Hot Air is neoconservative. We’ve adjudicated the last 8 years of foreign policy here on BAB in blog posts and in article on IlanaMercer.com. My perspective, which comports with that of Paul, albeit with some differences, has been vindicated. I’m surprised war mongers are unrepentant, and are still be plumping for preemptive war against countries that have not aggressed against the US given the lessons of Iraq. I guess when it’s not your kid who’s hobbling around on prostheses or dead, it doesn’t much move the mind, much less the heart. The “isolationism” pejorative is lobbed by neoconservatives when they wish to discredit those of us who believe in fighting just wars only. It’s like pacifist.

Update II (Sept. 29): I am sure Myron has preordered his copy of “Going Rogue: An American Life.”

Barack’s Banalities

Barack Obama, Foreign Policy, UN

He was elected based on his ability to sweetly say NOTHING MUCH AT ALL. True to character, Obama demonstrated, in the words of Ralph Nader, his prowess at “weak, waffling, wavering, and ambiguous” during his first address to the the UN.

Obama spoke for “the people of the world”: “they want change,” he declared. “Change We Can Believe In,” naturally. He warned his fellow con men and women against being “on the wrong side of history.” He heralded a “new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect”; warned against old habits; building walls instead of breaking them down; not being interconnected; hip to climate change and the imperative of economic justice. Blah, blah, blah.

Toughness he demonstrated by shaking a fleeting fist at North Korea and Iran and denouncing anti-Americanism (where did that come from?).

As expected, Barack The Banal waffled about the World As One. And he felt sufficiently at home to use a dread expression to described the “world order” America was demanding.

I almost forgot: Gadhafi clapped. Fidel Castro approved.