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No President Before

Reader comment on item: Obama and Qaddafi

Submitted by Fred Baehr (United States), Mar 14, 2011 at 22:27

It bothered me a little when President Obama bowed to the Emperor of Japan. But the Emperor of Japan is a nobody so I figured it didn't matter that much. But when he bowed to the number one Jew hater and terrorist enabler in the world, the King of Saudi Arabia, I was shocked and dismayed. Presidents of the United States have never bowed to anyone because in so doing they are bowing for the nation and this nation does not bow to Kings, Emperors or anyone. This has been the custom from our very beginnings and everyone knows it so no one is offended when the American President declines to bow. The time-honored greeting of an American President is a handshake and it is an honor for anyone to shake the hand of the President of the United States. But does President Obama think so?

No! Such a thing is not "good" enough for Obama. He must pay obeisance. He must humble himself and the United States he represents. He must not be so "arrogant" as all the Presidents of the past. He must prove his high moral stance by humbling the country he has vowed to "fundamentally change". I believe President Obama believes that American power is the fundamental problem in the world rather than (as I believe) the greatest force for freedom in the world. I did not realize this when I voted for him. I will never vote for him again. Our enemies are emboldened by him. Our allies are dismayed. He is the worst President since Jimmy Carter and of much the same ilk. No one can understand his foreign policy, if he can even be said to have an actual "policy". He ignored the nascent democrats in Iran, who were subsequently slaughtered, because he would rather get a sit down - with no preconditions - with a disgusting excuse for a leader like Amadinijad. Yet he threw Mubaric under the first bus even though Mubaric, for all his many serious faults, had maintained the peace treaty with Israel and had been at least something of an ally in the middle east for 30 years. And now he is fumbling with Qadaffi while whatever democratic forces are in Libya are waiting and waiting for some kind of help. The whole lousy Arab League has called for Qadaffi's ouster but still we do nothing.

So I think it will be quite understandable when the democrats of the Maghreb are pushed aside by the much more powerful forces of the Muslim Brotherhood, who Obama's administration portray as a secular political movement and nothing to fear. After all if you fear the Muslim Brotherhood you are by definition an Islamophobe. I question that designation because a phobia is an irrational fear, and I hold it irrational not to fear a group that is spoken for by the likes of Yusef Qarardawi, who wishes to die while shooting Jews and called for war with Israel in his first speech at the Friday prayers in Cairo. But I am sure that President Obama did not take that too seriously, or experience anything like fear upon hearing it. I'm sure he would just love to get a no preconditions talk with Qaradawi too, or will after the Brotherhood takes over Egypt, which is going to happen as sure as the sun shall rise. Obama has no sense of the honor that attaches to an audience with anyone occupying his office. He's a citizen of the world after all.

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Reader comments (14) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Defeat of Gadhafi [225 words]J GouldMar 31, 2011 07:07183766
Obama did not bow. [40 words]DavodMar 26, 2011 16:22183624
A Missionary's Letter to NATO Questioning the Remarks of Prime Minster Erdogan Turkey [970 words]Dan ThrappMar 25, 2011 00:46183589
Obama and Ghaddafi [165 words]isaacMar 23, 2011 16:19183558
No President Before [588 words]Fred BaehrMar 14, 2011 22:27183424
Go easy... [17 words]Steve MartinMar 11, 2011 23:27183330
1Yar Fas gaye Obama [31 words]Firozali A.MullaMar 11, 2011 14:08183322
1Corinthia Hotels and the Maltese front for Ghaddafi [95 words]HajiMar 9, 2011 07:51183236
Turkish intervention [155 words]Robi3304Mar 7, 2011 21:47183219
Smack his hand... [36 words]SeanMar 7, 2011 15:59183216
Respect? [52 words]johnrupertMar 6, 2011 13:43183192
Respect [87 words]NickMar 5, 2011 12:13183167
Respect: Addendum [241 words]NickMar 5, 2011 19:30183167
Jeremiah Wright [50 words]AlexMar 4, 2011 17:06183150

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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