Instapunk on 0bama's Foreign Policy Incompetence

Say what you will about Bush's foreign policy. He had his victories and defeats. But comparing Bush with 0bama is like comparing an expert diplomat with a rank amateur. 0bama's view of the world may give him and fellow leftists much comfort. But when it comes to actually conducting the foreign policy of the world's most powerful democracy, it offers little or no guidance. Instapunk has some interesting thoughts on the subject.

In computer terms, the blinking cursor is a passive non-response to an instruction the CPU, for whatever reason, can't comprehend or process. I'm thinking this is pretty close to an accurate description of what's happening in Obama's head when events defy his own intentions, plans, and worldview. The Iranian people got in the way of his plan to negotiate with Ahmadinejad. The reality did not compute and he was unable to process it. The Honduran semi-coup does not compute with his plans to charm the world by negotiating equably with Chavez and the Castro brothers. Does not compute.

But it better compute. This is a world in which serious and unexpected events happen all the time. Like an airline pilot who is paid not for all the routine flights but for the moments of sheer terror that require instant action, the President of the United States is paid at least as much for his responses to catastrophe as he is for the policies he soberly noodles out with his experts.

If Obama can't make decisions when things go differently than he expects, we're all in a ton of trouble. Republicans and Democrats alike.

If a serious foreign policy challenge comes about during 0bama's term, we are in trouble. The belief that the USA and capitalism are responsible for all the world's problems will not serve him well when he is trying to administer the USA's foreign policy.