Reassurance From Alfred E. Obama

Our 'What, Me Worry' President reassures his well-heeled supporters that these current foreign policy distractions are just distractions:

Obama: Media makes you think ‘world is falling apart’

President Obama on Friday said social media and the nightly news are partly to blame for the sense that “the world is falling apart.”

"I can see why a lot of folks are troubled," Obama told a group of donors gathered at a Democratic National Committee barbecue in Purchase, N.Y.

But the president said that current foreign policy crises across the world are not comparable to the challenges the U.S. faced during the Cold War.

Acknowledging "the barbarity" of Islamist militants and Russia "reasserting the notion that might means right," Obama, though, dismissed the notion that he was facing unprecedented challenges.

“The world’s always been messy ... we’re just noticing now in part because of social media,” he said, according to a White House pool report.

“If you watch the nightly news, it feels like the world is falling apart,” said Obama.

He's right! The original Cold War is over, and we aren't protesting the Vietnam war or eyeballing Russia over nukes in Cuba (or Germany)! So, per Obama, are you better off now than you were forty years ago? 

And please - don't ask whether we seem safer now than we were three years ago, when Obama claimed "we’re leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq", or six - the world has always been messy. Russia invading a neighbor that borders NATO? Been there! An Islamic terror state in the heart of the Middle East? Done that! There is nothing that Barry hasn't seen before, so chillax. Like him. 

And did I hear a question about ISIS? Don't ask. In Britain they are raising the terror alert level because so many ISIS members have British passports, but not over here:

The alarm in Britain contrasted with reassurances in the United States, where Mr. Obama told supporters at a fund-raiser in Newport, R.I., that the tumult in the Middle East did not “immediately threaten the homeland” and added that the country had hardened its defenses since Sept. 11, 2001, so that it is “pretty safe.”

We're "pretty safe"! Well, Obama certainly is - he has the Secret Service and I guess there is no intel suggesting ISIS has managed to plant IEDs on golf carts. Send in the clowns? We have to wake them up first.

The WaPo editors are exhorting Obama to talk to his own team, including his Secretary of State and Attorney General:

Similarly, his senior advisers uniformly have warned of the unprecedented threat to America and Americans represented by Islamic extremists in Syria and Iraq. But Mr. Obama didn’t seem to agree. “Now, ISIL [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] poses an immediate threat to the people of Iraq and to people throughout the region,” he said. “My priority at this point is to make sure that the gains that ISIL made in Iraq are rolled back.” Contrast that ambition with this vow from Secretary of State John F. Kerry: “And make no mistake: We will continue to confront ISIL wherever it tries to spread its despicable hatred. The world must know that the United States of America will never back down in the face of such evil.”

The discrepancies raise the question of whether Mr. Obama controls his own administration, but that’s not the most disturbing element. His advisers are only stating the obvious: Russia has invaded Ukraine. The Islamic State and the Americans it is training are a danger to the United States. When Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. says the threat they pose is “in some ways . . . more frightening than anything I think I’ve seen as attorney general,” it’s not because he is a warmonger or an alarmist. He’s describing the world as he sees it. When Mr. Obama refuses to acknowledge the reality, allies naturally wonder whether he will also refuse to respond to it.

Well, that is just more media noise, and why Holder and Kerry are contributing to it I don't know. And for whatever reaason, Kerry takes up space in the NY Times (on the Saturday of a holiday weekend) to spread a message of fear:

IN a polarized region and a complicated world, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria presents a unifying threat to a broad array of countries, including the United States. What’s needed to confront its nihilistic vision and genocidal agenda is a global coalition using political, humanitarian, economic, law enforcement and intelligence tools to support military force.

In addition to its beheadings, crucifixions and other acts of sheer evil, which have killed thousands of innocents in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, including Sunni Muslims whose faith it purports to represent, ISIS (which the United States government calls ISIL, or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) poses a threat well beyond the region.

He leaves us laughing:

Coalition building is hard work, but it is the best way to tackle a common enemy. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, the first President George Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker III did not act alone or in haste. They methodically assembled a coalition of countries whose concerted action brought a quick victory.

Extremists are defeated only when responsible nations and their peoples unite to oppose them.

Bush, Baker and Thatcher - do we see their like today? And if memory serves (and I know it does!), Kerry felt obliged to vote for the war in Iraq in 2003 because he voted against the Bush coalition in 1990. Say it with me - he was against the Bush Middle East coalition beofe he was for it.

MORE HERE: A partial transcript of Obama's remarks includes this Freudian slip relating to the idea that we are safer (my emphasis):

"But -- and here’s the main message I have for you -- the truth of the matter is, is that American military superiority has never been greater compared to other countries. Our men and women in uniform are more effective, better trained, better equipped than they have ever been. We have, since 9/11, built up the capacity to defend ourselves from terrorist attacks. It doesn’t mean the threat isn’t there and we can’t be -- we don’t have to be vigilant, but it means that we are much less vulnerable than we were 10 or 12 or 15 years ago. 

The full transcript is at WhiteHouse.gov. and includes the same admonition against vigilance.

Comments

[Jeff Dobbs]

Good morning.

[henry]

The Buck stops over there.*

*things Truman never considered saying.

[Stephanie so OT Im on Kindle Fire]

Morning. It's rather discombobulating to awaken to a football game in progress from Dublin, Ireland.

What's the good word? TohellwithGeorgia!

[Comanche Voter]

Well it seems like his entire administration has gotten into clown cars (or maybe all jumped into different "bumper cars'). Whatever they are driving, they're not going in the same direction. It almost looks like "every moron for himself" (or herself in the case of Samantha Powers or the two female spokesholes for the State Department). That's what happens when nobody wants to be in charge at the top.

[narciso]

Good News, everybody:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/anne-applebaum-war-in-europe-is-not-a-hysterical-idea/2014/08/29/815f29d4-2f93-11e4-bb9b-997ae96fad33_story.html

Has Mdme Sikorski reconsidered her opinion from 2008

[It's getting clinical.]

This bit about the world seeming to be a worse mess only because of greater awareness of it is one of the most amazing things I've read lately.

Consider: Does he believe that? Delusional enough to be dangerous to himself and others. Impeachment would be a mercy.

Does he not believe that? Well, that would make him a liar. I'd have never thought of that.

Worse, he's asked us to ignore trouble.

[BR]

Comanche Voter, clowns in bumper cars, too funny!!!!

[Any guesses why?]

Now John, it seems to require a Bush to attract a coalition of the functioning democracies. You and your President repel them.

[Ignatz]

We're witnessing the effects of the skin deep surface knowledge a narcissist acquires to fool the world colliding with the deep intractable problems of human nature and behavior which utterly baffle narcissists.

[Centralcal on iPad]

Cross posting, because it seems to fit both new threads:

@iowahawkblog: Kerry 2003: Bush formed "a coalition of the bribed, the coerced, the bought, and the extorted."
Kerry today: we need a Iraq coalition.

[clarice]

Exactly, Iggy!

[Indiana Mike]

The media gave the same "false impression" in 1938, too. Did the World fall apart then? Well, did it?? UHH, nevermind.

[Miss Marple]

Another of the juicebox boys whines that covering the news ON TWITTER wasn't much fun this summer:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/29/summer-2014-was-the-worst-ever.html

Comments are almost uniform in trashing him. I enjoyed reading them.

[Dan K]

What's amazing is that so many "well heeled" donors are still giving this charlatan scads of money.

I can only believe they are buying access.

For whatever reason, it troubles me that so many rich people are still paying for failed Democrats.

[narciso]

So which one was the UK, Spain, Italy, Poland,
fracking jackalope,

[Paul L. Quandt]

It's a good thing he (that anti-American, communist a**hole ) doesn't play a string instrument or we would have to compare him to a certain Roman ruler.

Paul

[Stephanie so OT Im on Kindle Fire]

Why when Obama's lamenting the evils of social media and his lack of control of messaging via the old fashioned media organs of print and the nightly news do I get the mental image of the spread of the news about the trouble with the plane segment from "Airplane" where it devolves from nightly news to smoke signals to sticks and logs?

And they call republicans luddites? He's the one complaining about progress.

[www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawlrhHPJAJuLyFmi8y8k25qEPaB4jpPraFE]

I would love to sign a petition asking Obama for the good of the country to step down from the Presidency because of his ineptness and not knowing there are only 50 States in the Union. Anyone know where such a site might be. I would bet over 10 million would sign in a matter of weeks, maybe more.

[Miss Marple]

Not signing any petition nor going to a link from an anonymous source.

[narciso]

Yes, one gets that feeling.

re Yeakel's decision yesterday, she's like the 9th Circuit of Texas, so that's not going anywhere.

[Eric in Boise]

sign a petition asking Obama for the good of the country to step down

What makes you think he'd give a royal rat's rump?

[Miss Marple]

Those headless corpses have nothing to do with the abandoned boat. Heads were "eaten by fish." Un-huh.

Also, sidebar news: Russians in fights with transexuals, Oman tourist found dead in hotel, self-strangulation victim dies, and British tourist drowns after bar fight.

Pattaya, Thailand, your happening vacation spot.

http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/142351/new-developments-in-abandoned-boat-case-near-pattaya-island/

[narciso]

Good news everybody:

http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2014/08/30/saudi-king-jihadis-will-reach-the-u-s-within-the-next-few-months/

[Pagar a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

Happy Birthday, Elliott!

[Pagar a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

I can't get it to post but there is an article at
Examiner.com

That starts. "CIA now admits"

Every American who cares about America needs to read that article NOW.

[henry]

HB Elliott! Score like Obama today and shoot -3 (total strokes, not below par) for 18 holes. ; )

[henry]

Pagar, this one.?

[Pagar a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

By Jove, Henry, it looks like you got it!

[Exasperated]

So which one was the UK, Spain, Italy, Poland, fracking jackalope,
Posted by: narciso | August 30, 2014 at 11:47 AM

Or for which one dis Danube wear a uniform in service of his country?

[Keep it up.]

Exaspo, you are neither funny, bright, aware, or nice.

[maryrose]

henry:
Say it ain't so that the Wisconsin Governor race is tied.

[Stephanie a proud athletic supporter...wut?]

Georgia Southern is beating NC State..

Majored in partying at GSU. Aced the curriculum and still flunked out. How does that happen? ;)

[henry]

Probably is tied right now. Each side has about 47% locked in, with few persuadables. This has been true since 2010. Thus it's all about turnout, which is why several things are going on.

1. Obama to rile up unions at LaborFest on Monday.

2. Burke to hide from Obama at LaborFest on Monday, but kiss union ass anyway.

3. MSM trolling for headlines from John Doe document dumps (especially juicy stuff made public by accident). Another batch comes out soon. Note the headlines are not supported by the documents released by the 7th Circuit.

4. 10 to 12 phone calls per day asking for money, push polling, etc.

5. Slime wars on TV. Burke has yet to air an ad that is not rated "pants on fire" by the lefty politifact people, but MSM is silent about it. Club for Growth et al are hampered by the John Doe carp, they do the best ads for conservative ideas.

6. Voter ID tied up in the 7th Circuit, arguments next week.

If anything, this is a tougher environment than the recalls.

[maryrose]

henry:
Got to have voter ID otherwise the busses from Chicago will be let loose. Do you still have same day voting registration? Just make sure no one rips the tires off the busses the repubs want to use to get older voters to the polls. The son of a Democrat principle worker did this trick back in 2004 and other shenanigans in 2008. A wrist -slap was administered for that crime.

[Exasperated]

Exaspo, you are neither funny, bright, aware, or nice.

Posted by: Keep it up. | August 30, 2014 at 01:22 PM

But then,, you are a compulsive liar, Henry. So how do we know you didn't just make that up to get on my good side?

[henry]

Yes, same day registration and voting. More rules on the ID used now, but the Chavez Center et al never follow rules anyway. Also The cities are restricted from using weekend early voting hours, as well as early voting hours per day -- now uniform across the state. Dems complained a lot when that law passed, but not clear what the impact will be. BTW, that was Congresspersonofcolor Gwen Moore's son, last seen mixed up in the theft of a Stradivarius.

[maryrose]

henry: I will be working the polls on election day but will hope to tune into this blog for your up to date analysis of this race. You did such a great job during the recall and during the Capitol invasion.

[Funny, bright, aware and nice are all in there struggling to get out.]

Heh, Exaspo sees 'Keep it up' and reads 'henry'. I'm beginning to understand.

[Exasperated]

Iraqi troops break ISS siege on Amirli.