The Pool Empties

(The following can be read in conjunction with 'On A Silver Platter'.)

It was remarkable to see: a foreign head of state giving our president a public schooling yesterday. Some were outraged that this could even happen. Others were jubilant. All felt somewhat uncomfortable.

For far too long Obama has been getting away with it, just saying things for the mere sake of talking without anything to back it up. And we were expected to become all wobbly and swoon at the mere strains of ‘Hail to the Chief' marking his entrance. We’d grown tired of waiting for the oft promised manna from heaven while most of the time it’s been raining stones.

Yesterday, someone finally took it upon himself to stand up to the charade. It’s not that Obama was fooling anybody anymore. All the other world leaders noticed the utter lack of substance in the man. But they just smiled and discretely turned away, pretending to blow their noses while laughing out loud. “Be careful, we’ve got a nut case here,” they said to each other.

Israel couldn’t take it so lightly. Its very existence depends upon a viable partnership between our two nations – now more than ever, as the Middle East is preparing to rise up against it. It cannot continue to play childish games that have no basis in reality.

In what was billed as a major foreign policy statement last week at the State Department, the president reiterated America’s long-standing position toward Israel. “Our commitment to Israel’s security is unshakeable,” he said. Three paragraphs later, he went on, “…and Israel must be able to defend itself – by itself – against any threat.” What the hell does that mean? - that we now will or won’t support Israel if she were to be attacked?

It’s the same with our economy. On one hand, Obama says that private enterprise is expected to pull our nation back from the fiscal brink. On the other, he is singularly responsible for placing roadblocks in the path of every private enterprise and condemning the very notion of capitalism at every turn.

No wonder everyone is left scratching their heads by this American Shiva’s eternal skull dance. And we do know that confusion and uncertainty keeps everything from moving forward.

Desperate to land on some green twig, he’s got us grasping at straws. We pick and choose from his torrent of words to find those that would signal a positive turn, ignoring all others. It’s impossible for us to believe that our very own leader does not have a plan – easy to do as we hear him talking out of both sides of his mouth. He exhorts industry to hire. Industry is reluctant. They don’t just hire to pad payrolls. They expect to see results, even as planning has become impossible in this fog. Consequently, they’re not hiring. They’ll wait until the air clears at least enough to discern some direction.

Netanyahu did us a favor yesterday. He introduced some urgency into the mix. Will our president now feel compelled to sharpen his pencils? Or will he harden his stance toward an ally who has cared enough to expose this administration's treading water while the pool empties.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/