Dakota Beacon

What is it that a competent lawyer NEVER does?  If you are a lawyer yourself, or a law student, or if you go to many movies or watch TV or are just a smart, logical person, you know.  NEVER ASK A QUESTION IN COURT UNLESS YOU ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER.  If Barack Obama, once out of office, ever decides to try to put that much-vaunted Harvard law degree to work in the real world, my advice is:  don’t become his client.

Yesterday in a rapture of hubris, Obama, out of the blue, informed us all of his decision that Israel must now return to borders of 1967, forgetting that quite a lot has happened since then.  He seems to advocate that we make common cause with Hamas, as in fact, we already have, through the United Nations laundering system.

Today, in front of God and the media and everyone, he really put his foot in it – in his major joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  What was he thinking?  If he were so stupid that he could not see that Netanyahu was not realistically able, even should he be insane enough to desire, to allow Obama to dictate foreign and domestic policy to him and his constituency in Israel, he spent considerable time discussing his directions to Israel vis-à-vis her national borders, immediately prior to the public show.

He should have known before that speech on Thursday that he was overstepping the bounds and not even into territory that reflected American national interests at that.  If one word sums up this particular president it would have to be “arrogant”.  If you don’t like that one, just say he’s “silly”.  Even Teddy Roosevelt – who actually did carry a big stick – wouldn’t have thought of anything so outrageous.  It was stupid.  There is no other word.  Stupid to make a speech in which you publicly demand self-defeating policy on the part of an ally (or any nation for that matter, with whom we are not negotiating peace, as a victor in war).  And even as a victor in war, it has been demonstrated to be unwise to unnecessarily humiliate and hobble a defeated nation.  Most of us thought we had learned this and applied it to defeated nations of World War II. 

Firstly, to suggest that Israel should be awaiting our orders on her internal and foreign policies is out of line.  No matter what those orders might be.  Then, when any fool could see that those orders are not either in Israel’s best interest, or in any way acceptable to Israel, her leadership or her people, or even in our American national interest, there is obviously no point in making a public demand that they do as we say.  Finally, if all of the above, the substance, were not enough, we see the President of the United States of America, on worldwide TV, speak first and then sit down to listen to Mr. Netanyahu publicly and justifiably take him to the woodshed. 

What did he think Netanyahu would say?  It is utterly inconceivable that Netanyahu made any bones about what his position was on this issue in private conversation.  So, back to that courtroom example, what would have motivated an American president to make such a complete fool of himself in public? 

We can all understand the position of Israel and her leader.  We might have a little trouble understanding the American position as set forth by this president.  But no one could explain how a grown man, in the highest office in our land, could be such an absolute mental deficient as to make so idiotic an appearance, and with a world-class leader who put Obama in such stark contrast. 

Israel’s eternal struggle has apparently yielded competent leadership.  America’s seemingly too-easy road for too long has enabled our nation to elect a complete buffoon to our highest office.  If we did not realize this before, we know it now:  America can no longer afford to elect morons to the presidency.  We should have learned this with Jimmy Carter; we should have learned it with many since.  If we haven’t learned it today, with the contrasting images of competency and courage on Netanyahu’s part and arrogant stupidity on Obama’s part, there isn’t much hope. 

Does anyone else out there tremble for our country, in the hands of a government whose leadership is so inane, so incompetent?  Rush Limbaugh, who, for some reason, seemed surprised at Netanyahu’s public comeback, is quite right about one thing:  the so-called Republican “leadership” should be taking notes.  This is what “standing up” looks like.  This is what it looks like when a leader has a spine and a brain.  On the other hand, when he doesn’t he embarrasses his own country and his own people and makes fools of us all.  If what the Democrats give us is Obama, we are now asking Republicans, what will YOU give us?  What we need is our own Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sally Morris is a member of Americans for Constitutional Government and the executive committee of the Valley Tea Party Conservative Coalition in Grand Forks.