Kinda Makes You Wonder...
Our President has been given the Nobel Prize for Peace. Your scribe is not the only one to wonder why, especially given that he now wants to throw more troops into the quagmire known as Afghanistan. He seems totally oblivious to the fact that the British tried and failed to subdue the country in the 19th century, as did the then-mighty USSR in the 20th. What makes him think that he will fare any differently?
With all due respect to the office he holds, the man seems to live on some plantet of his own. He has managed to offend deeply the country of Norway by claiming to be too busy to meet with the committee that awarded him his prize, or any of the other groups, including schoolchildren, who traditionally spend time with the Laureate, and he even snubbed the King of Norway's luncheon invitation. Talk about a diplomatic tin ear!
Of course, this President has been doing this kind of thing almost from the day he took office (and even on that day, if memory seves, he made a hash of taking his oath of office, and had to be re-sworn later behind the scenes). One of his very first acts was to fire every single appointed ambassador, regardless of the situation in the countries involved. Charles Glazier, our fellow Greenwich townsman, was told, as he put it, "don't let the door hit you in the rear." Thus El Salvador, one of our few allies in our military misadventures around the globe, has been without an ambassador for nearly a year. In exasperation, they have recalled their own ambassador. Is this President trying to win friends and influence people to support the United States of America? He could hardly be doing a worse job if his intent were the direct opposite.
And of course, he has also offended our closest ally, Great Britain, by snubbing their Prime Minister when he came to Washington, and by returning the bust of Winston Churchill that had been in the Oval Office for years back to the Brits. As we all know, there are closets in which we can store Great-Aunt Gertrude's self-portrait in between her occasional visits, but the last thing we would ever do is to offend that good lady by telling her to take her painting back. Doesn't this President have even the remotest sense of social grace?
Apparently not. If your scribe were on the Nobel Committee, he would immediately move to rescind the unearned and undeserved honor from this ungrateful and ungracious militant who is bankrupting our country both financially and spiritually by his actions. And if your scribe were the King of Norway, he would have this socially inept bumbler declared persona non grata and have him deported forthwith, being sure only to reclaim the medal at the border and to stop payment on the prize money check.
And people wonder why we have increasingly fewer friends around the globe....
Update 12/11/09:
"US-Japan Rift Grows As Obama Snubs Prime Minister Hatoyama In Copenhagen," reads a headline in today's Japan Times. What in the sweet name of sanity is going on? Is our President trying single-handedly to destroy our country's reputation overseas? Well, whether he's actively attempting to do it, or passively bumbling all over the world, he's digging us into the deepest diplomatic hole the USA has ever been in.
With all due respect to the office he holds, the man seems to live on some plantet of his own. He has managed to offend deeply the country of Norway by claiming to be too busy to meet with the committee that awarded him his prize, or any of the other groups, including schoolchildren, who traditionally spend time with the Laureate, and he even snubbed the King of Norway's luncheon invitation. Talk about a diplomatic tin ear!
Of course, this President has been doing this kind of thing almost from the day he took office (and even on that day, if memory seves, he made a hash of taking his oath of office, and had to be re-sworn later behind the scenes). One of his very first acts was to fire every single appointed ambassador, regardless of the situation in the countries involved. Charles Glazier, our fellow Greenwich townsman, was told, as he put it, "don't let the door hit you in the rear." Thus El Salvador, one of our few allies in our military misadventures around the globe, has been without an ambassador for nearly a year. In exasperation, they have recalled their own ambassador. Is this President trying to win friends and influence people to support the United States of America? He could hardly be doing a worse job if his intent were the direct opposite.
And of course, he has also offended our closest ally, Great Britain, by snubbing their Prime Minister when he came to Washington, and by returning the bust of Winston Churchill that had been in the Oval Office for years back to the Brits. As we all know, there are closets in which we can store Great-Aunt Gertrude's self-portrait in between her occasional visits, but the last thing we would ever do is to offend that good lady by telling her to take her painting back. Doesn't this President have even the remotest sense of social grace?
Apparently not. If your scribe were on the Nobel Committee, he would immediately move to rescind the unearned and undeserved honor from this ungrateful and ungracious militant who is bankrupting our country both financially and spiritually by his actions. And if your scribe were the King of Norway, he would have this socially inept bumbler declared persona non grata and have him deported forthwith, being sure only to reclaim the medal at the border and to stop payment on the prize money check.
And people wonder why we have increasingly fewer friends around the globe....
Update 12/11/09:
"US-Japan Rift Grows As Obama Snubs Prime Minister Hatoyama In Copenhagen," reads a headline in today's Japan Times. What in the sweet name of sanity is going on? Is our President trying single-handedly to destroy our country's reputation overseas? Well, whether he's actively attempting to do it, or passively bumbling all over the world, he's digging us into the deepest diplomatic hole the USA has ever been in.
posted by Bill Clark | 12/10/2009 09:21:00 AM
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