DESPERATION DROVE THE OBAMA STUMBLE ON BERGDAHL
Why did Team Obama so badly botch the publicity of the
release of five Islamist militant leaders in exchange for an accused Army
deserter? The deal was sure to have been controversial, but might have, if done
with humility and a low-key approach, engendered respect. Instead, the
publicity blitz backfired on the administration. New Fox News polling explains
how the struggling White House team ended up here, with Democrats in open rebellion
and President Obama’s
old rivals in Hillaryland taking potshots at his judgment? Desperation seems to
be the thing. After a damaging turn with the revelation of widespread
abuse of veterans at government hospitals and deepening concerns about the
administration’s foreign policy setbacks in Eastern Europe, the Middle
East and Asia, the president’s previous strong suits are a shambles. The
desire to return to the high point of his presidency, the killing of Usama bin Laden and subsequent
Afghan drawdown, was understandable. But with a milky foreign policy speech at
West Point, N.Y. and then the accused deserter PR fiasco, Obama finds himself in even
worse position. But the poll shows us why he got greedy for a big win.
Worse than Bush - The latest Fox News poll shows Obama’s job approval on foreign policy, previously his most reliably good measure, slipping to the bottom of the heap, with just 36 percent approval, lower even than on the economy and health care, his perennial weak spots. But what ought to truly terrify Democrats who are running for office is that a president whose unofficial foreign motto was recently revealed to be “don’t do stupid sh*t” is widely seen as incompetent. Obama was viewed as less competent than both of his predecessors, with a 48-percent plurality saying that Obama’s administration is less competent than that of George W. Bush, including 18 percent of Democrats. That’s dire, given Bush’s low ratings on those issues at this point in his tenure. Worse still, the poll shows that 55 percent of voters, including 53 percent of female voters, believe the president has made America less safe.
The survey, which was taken before full details had emerged about ransomed Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s alleged desertion and the dangers posed by the released Taliban members were widely known, showed split opinion on support for the deal. But as to the question of whether negotiating with the Islamist terrorist group would encourage more American hostages to be taken, 84 percent agreed.
And kind of like Nixon - George Will: “The 44th president, channeling - not for the first time - the 37th (in his post-impeachment conversation with David Frost), may say: ‘When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.’ Already the administration says events dictated a speed that precluded complying with the law. … This episode will be examined by congressional committees, if they can pierce the administration's coming cover-up, which has been foreshadowed by the response to congressional attempts to scrutinize the politicization of the Internal Revenue Service. If the military stalls on turning over files to Congress pertaining to the five years of Bergdahl's absence, we will at least know that there is no national institution remaining to be corrupted.”
Kelly File: White House ‘Swift Boat’ charge gets broadside from the right - Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., told Fox News host Megyn Kelly Wednesday allegations by administration aides that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s platoon members are “swift boating” are “pathetic” and designed to “hide a foreign policy move.” Hunter told Kelly, “When you’re fighting and it’s dirty and you’re tired and hungry, it’s not always for your flag and for your country but for the man and woman standing next to you. He betrayed that. That is the most sacred trust you have in the military.” Watch the full interview courtesy of the “Kelly File.”
And volley from the left - On MSNBC, staunch Obama defender Chris Matthews cried, “Wait a minute! The swift boating of John Kerry was a dishonest PR campaign!” Matthews continued, “Where’s the dishonesty in the portrayal of Bergdahl so far? I haven’t seen it. What’s been misconstrued about him so far?”
The Judge’s Ruling: unfaithful to duty - New Today at Fox News Opinion Judge Andrew Napolitano asks Can President Obama faithfully enforce the laws?: “The president has a serious problem with competence and with fidelity to his oath. In one week, he has alienated and demoralized much of the intelligence community by revealing the true name of one of them and by releasing their worst nightmare back into the theater of Middle East warfare. He has, as well, flagrantly failed to enforce federal law by materially aiding a non-state terrorist group condemned by American law. This is almost inconceivable in an American president.”
Worse than Bush - The latest Fox News poll shows Obama’s job approval on foreign policy, previously his most reliably good measure, slipping to the bottom of the heap, with just 36 percent approval, lower even than on the economy and health care, his perennial weak spots. But what ought to truly terrify Democrats who are running for office is that a president whose unofficial foreign motto was recently revealed to be “don’t do stupid sh*t” is widely seen as incompetent. Obama was viewed as less competent than both of his predecessors, with a 48-percent plurality saying that Obama’s administration is less competent than that of George W. Bush, including 18 percent of Democrats. That’s dire, given Bush’s low ratings on those issues at this point in his tenure. Worse still, the poll shows that 55 percent of voters, including 53 percent of female voters, believe the president has made America less safe.
The survey, which was taken before full details had emerged about ransomed Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s alleged desertion and the dangers posed by the released Taliban members were widely known, showed split opinion on support for the deal. But as to the question of whether negotiating with the Islamist terrorist group would encourage more American hostages to be taken, 84 percent agreed.
And kind of like Nixon - George Will: “The 44th president, channeling - not for the first time - the 37th (in his post-impeachment conversation with David Frost), may say: ‘When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.’ Already the administration says events dictated a speed that precluded complying with the law. … This episode will be examined by congressional committees, if they can pierce the administration's coming cover-up, which has been foreshadowed by the response to congressional attempts to scrutinize the politicization of the Internal Revenue Service. If the military stalls on turning over files to Congress pertaining to the five years of Bergdahl's absence, we will at least know that there is no national institution remaining to be corrupted.”
Kelly File: White House ‘Swift Boat’ charge gets broadside from the right - Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., told Fox News host Megyn Kelly Wednesday allegations by administration aides that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s platoon members are “swift boating” are “pathetic” and designed to “hide a foreign policy move.” Hunter told Kelly, “When you’re fighting and it’s dirty and you’re tired and hungry, it’s not always for your flag and for your country but for the man and woman standing next to you. He betrayed that. That is the most sacred trust you have in the military.” Watch the full interview courtesy of the “Kelly File.”
And volley from the left - On MSNBC, staunch Obama defender Chris Matthews cried, “Wait a minute! The swift boating of John Kerry was a dishonest PR campaign!” Matthews continued, “Where’s the dishonesty in the portrayal of Bergdahl so far? I haven’t seen it. What’s been misconstrued about him so far?”
The Judge’s Ruling: unfaithful to duty - New Today at Fox News Opinion Judge Andrew Napolitano asks Can President Obama faithfully enforce the laws?: “The president has a serious problem with competence and with fidelity to his oath. In one week, he has alienated and demoralized much of the intelligence community by revealing the true name of one of them and by releasing their worst nightmare back into the theater of Middle East warfare. He has, as well, flagrantly failed to enforce federal law by materially aiding a non-state terrorist group condemned by American law. This is almost inconceivable in an American president.”
How much
longer can the U.S. tolerate such behavior?
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