Barack Obama’s presidential record is nothing short of dismal. The man who brought hope to the world with his intelligent balanced approach has reneged on almost all of his pre-election promises, leaving the door ajar for Republican opponents.
His pledge that there would a Palestinian state before September 2011 has gone by the board. He swore to close Guantanamo and end military tribunals for detainees and U-turned on both. The controversial PATRIOT Act has recently been renewed under Obama’s watch.
As a senator, Obama railed against the illegal invasion of Iraq saying he would pull out US troops when not only are they still in country after three years of his incumbency, there are plans to keep 10,000 in Iraq beyond the 2011 withdrawal deadline. Afghanistan is still in a mess and he’s even managed to turn US relations with Pakistan icy over US drone attacks. He said he would sit down with the Iranian leadership and did nothing. In 2009, he ditched George W. Bush’s planned missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic that so incensed Moscow only to replace it a year later with one that is more extensive.
On the home front, he pushed through his health care bill but by the time it left Congress it had been watered down. At least his handling of the economy has been effective—or has it? Hardly when he’s urging lawmakers to raise the country’s unsustainably high $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. This is the man who in 2006 slammed any expansion of the then $8 trillion limit saying, “Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren.”
I’m not American, but if I were I would certainly vote “no” to Obama’s second term. I’m convinced he started out with honest intentions but, unfortunately, his courage hasn’t matched his convictions. With the left disappointed and in disarray, much of Obama’s formerly enthusiastic base could decide to stay home on ballot day, leaving the field wide open for his Republican rival whoever that might be.
Some in the Republican running stakes are downright scary, beginning with property mogul, casino-owner and TV reality show host Donald Trump. When he initially hinted he might run, most people took this as a joke. How could such an egotistical show-off, famous for his big mouth, funny hair and exotic trophy wives, ascend to the White House? But he’s got one thing going for him. He’s the very antithesis of smooth, sophisticated, sweet-talking Barack Obama who’s been dubbed “Ditherer-in-Chief.”
Trump’s no over-thinker. He gets things done. He’s upfront and gutsy—great qualities in the business world but deadly dangerous in a politician. Nobody’s laughing at the Donald now. According to polls, he’s currently tied in second-place with Mike Huckabee as the Republican front-runner—a mere four points behind Mitt Romney.
Trump is also ruthless. He’s so focused on winning that he’s stooped low with birthers who claim Obama’s presidency may not be legitimate because he hasn’t proved to their satisfaction that he was born in the US. If he makes it to the Oval Office, it’s my guess most non-Americans will be thinking, “Come back Bush, all is forgiven.”
During a televised interview aired on ABC News, Trump outlined his energy policy. He plans to reduce prices at the pump by threatening OPEC to increase production. “I’m going to look ’em in the eye and say, ‘Fellas, you’ve had your fun. Your fun is over.’”
Iraq would need to watch out too as President Trump would unashamedly sequester Iraqi oilfields. “We go into Iraq. We’ve spent thus far $1.5 trillion. We could have rebuilt half of the United States . . . and we’re going to leave. So, in the old days, you know when you had a war, to the victor belong the spoils. You go in. You win the war and you take it,” he announced. His rants also extend to America’s chief creditor China for stealing American jobs and undermining US trade competitiveness by maintaining an undervalued currency.
Another off-the-wall potential contender for the White House is one of the Tea Party movement’s most vocal supporters, Rep. Michele Bachmann. She’s accused Obama of holding “anti-American views.” She somehow magnetizes ordinary working folk, although she has opposed raising the minimum wage and has urged the phasing out of Medicare and Social Security.
Bachmann is currently prostrating herself before the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC). “I am convinced in my heart and mind that if the United States fails to stand with Israel, that is the end of the United States . . . We have to show that we are inextricably entwined, that as a nation we have been blessed because of our relationship with Israel and if we reject Israel, then there is a curse that comes into play,” she recently told RJC members. A curse! How can anyone possibly take this woman seriously?
Then, of course, there’s the good old hunting, shooting, moose-munching former governor from Alaska, Sarah Palin, who cooked her goose when she upset Jews by saying she was a victim of “blood libel” following shootings in Arizona. For that slip of the tongue, she was labeled insensitive to holocaust survivors and victims of anti-Semitism.
Less colorful candidates include Mitt Romney, a wealthy devout Morman; former Baptist preacher and Fox News talk show host Mike Huckabee; former Speaker of the House Newt Gringrich who’s crippled by reports of an affair while he sought to impeach President Bill Clinton; and doctor, author and advocate for liberty, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who’s made an unsuccessful play for the top job numerous times.
There is no Republican standout in the 2012 race so far, which could mean Obama won’t have to clear out his desk after all. For all his faults another four years of Obama talking out of both sides of his mouth would be preferable to a Trump/Bachmann or Trump/Palin winning ticket with an apocalyptic scenario in tow.
Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk.
