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The Obama Watch
So Much for Obama’s New Era of Responsibility
It can’t begin so long as he’s in office.
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.
-- President Barack Obama
Inaugural Address
January 20, 2009Oh I think that, you know, as president I bear responsibility for everything — to some degree.
— President Obama
Interview with Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes
September 23, 2012I take responsibility. I’m in charge of the State Department’s 60,000-plus people all over the world, 275 posts. The president and the vice president wouldn’t be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals. They’re the ones who weigh all of the threats and the risks and the needs and make a considered decision.
— Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Interview with CNN while in Lima, Peru
October 15, 2012
In the 1,374 days Barack Obama has held the office of President of the United States it is clear that he has not gladly seized his duties let alone grudgingly accepted them. In that time, Obama has instead provided a litany of excuses as to why he has not succeeded in bringing about hope and change. He has at various points blamed ATMs, the Arab Spring, and the Japanese tsunami for his shortcomings.
Obama, of course, reserved most of the blame for his predecessor, George W. Bush. To this day, Obama speaks of the mess he inherited from Bush while ignoring the mess of his own making. Should Mitt Romney be elected he will inherit an even bigger mess. But you won’t see Romney spending the next four years blaming Obama for it.
OK, so Obama bears responsibility for everything — to some degree. Well, now we know it means that when President Obama gets that 3 a.m. call, it is forwarded to Secretary Clinton. Now there is no question that Hillary bears some responsibility for what happened in Benghazi on September 11, 2012. Casting blame on a cheaply made Internet video rather than calling it a well-planned terrorist attack carried out on the 11th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001 by acolytes of al Qaeda is just plain inexcusable. Indeed, there is an argument that she ought to resign her office as has been suggested by our own Ben Stein (among others).
But let us never forget that Secretary Clinton serves at the pleasure of President Obama. If Hillary is telling the world that neither President Obama nor Vice President Biden are knowledgeable about “specific decisions that are made by security professionals” surely that doesn’t inspire confidence.
Now I understand that President Obama is too busy to attend his security briefings and has more pressing matters to attend such as the civil war betweens divas Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. No doubt he will appoint Stevie Wonder as a special envoy if they can’t sort it out. As for Vice President Biden, his lack of knowledge on security matters didn’t stop him during his debate with Paul Ryan last week from telling the world that there were no requests for additional security in Benghazi.
But given that President Obama “led from behind” to remove Colonel Qaddafi from power, I would like to think that he would be on top of the security situation in a country where there is precious little of it and partially of his own making. Yet that would require Obama to be diligent, dedicated, and to possess a sense of duty to something other than his own prestige. If the mission to kill Osama bin Laden had ended in failure, does anyone honestly think that President Obama would have accepted full responsibility? We probably would have been treated to the sight of then-CIA director Leon Panetta going on TV and telling the world, “I take responsibility for the failure to kill Osama bin Laden. I take full responsibility for the loss of Navy SEAL Team Six.”
So long as President Obama remains in office, the era of responsibility will never begin.
About the Author
Aaron Goldstein writes from Boston, Massachusetts.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (12) | Leave a comment
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Appleby| 10.17.12 @ 7:28AM
When Obama leaves town, let us pray he takes the Sixties with him.
Alan Obama Fan Brooks | 10.17.12 @ 4:54PM
the Postwar GOP has done foreign affairs better than Dems: Ike, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush 41.
Yet just you watch, Romney will screw up domestic affairs as Nixon and Dubya did.
Nancy in NC| 10.17.12 @ 8:35AM
Obama takes responsibility for exactly zero.
What did Hillary receive as a payoff?
TLP| 10.17.12 @ 12:59PM
In answer to your question - She's getting her Campaign Debt paid off.
I can just see the Two Gun Runners - The Muslim, and his Effeminate A.G. - watching Hillary after being walked thrown under a Double Decker Bus, saying: "Ya know. Not so long ago we woulda been fetching her a Coffee".
Let's have a Mini-Contest.
Who can name the most Fall Guys that have taken it Alan Brooks Style from vtwin's "Nigga". (His words, not mine) as well as those who've been thrown under the Back of the Bus, involuntarily. Also, Alan Brooks Style.
Let's see.
GWB of course. (And, no, that doesn't stand for George Washington Bridge.)
The Stupid Police, in Cambridge.
Racists, of course.
The Republicans, who blocked him at every turn when he had Super Majorities in Both Houses.
Fox News, ATM Machines, and Jim Lerher.
Tsunamis, not enough Commies, and those people who like Pastrami.
Kiosks, Hurricanes, and Earthquakes.
It's too Hot, too Cold, and too many people who expect him to actually DO SOMETHING that doesn't add another Trillion to the Debt.
Romney, Ryan, and everyone who knows that he's Lying.
Beat that.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.17.12 @ 9:07AM
"As for Vice President Biden, his lack of knowledge on security matters didn't stop him during his debate with Paul Ryan last week from telling the world that there were no requests for additional security in Benghazi."
Joe Biden's lack of knowledge has never stopped him from commenting on an issue, but I'm not sure that this passage reflects what the VPOTUS said in last week's debate. My recollection was with respect to the requests for additional security at the Benghazi Consulate, Biden said "We didn't know", not implying that they weren't made, but that they didn't get to him and Barack (who I am certain would be standing back to back shifts there to keep RPG bearing spontaneous protest mobs at bay, if only they did know).
While I can't think of anyone who has held as negative a view of Biden for as long as I have, I've always based it on what he actually said or did, as opposed to having to stretch or misconstrue something.
That being said, that they didn't know was not an acceptable answer.
Von Mises Jr| 10.17.12 @ 9:19AM
Greg Gutfeld on "The Five" has been asking the BIG question for three weeks: "Where did the story come from that it was a protest caused by an internet video." Mitt asked this last night and he needs to keep asking it over and over.
This is the real problem Obama, Biden, Hillary, Rice and Carney have. First it is clear that they knew as it was happening, but certainly on September 12th they knew it was a terrorist attack. But they persisted for 9 days that it was the video, and then only admitted the truth at times while feeding the MSM dimwits the Coptic Christian video story.
Rush figured out immediately that they wanted to blame the Christians. It was concocted that a right-wing religious nut was to blame. If the Intelligence Community did not make this claim that seems obvious, then who made it up???
djn1313| 10.17.12 @ 10:30AM
obama is the muslim brotherhood terrorists most dangerous weapon against us.
Anthony| 10.17.12 @ 10:46AM
"Hey you, Goldstein, when I took this gig, I was told I could continue to put my feet up on the desk in the Oval Office, talk a lot of shit, shoot some hoop, get in a lot of golf, and make the women do all the work.
And when the shit hits the fan, these hos are supposed to take one for me, "The One".
So what's up with you talking shit bout me not tak'n responsibility?
So Goldstein, you gotta problem with me blam'n Rice, n' ole wide load Hillary, and hav'n my girl Candy do a sumo on that rich white guy, Romney?
Damn, didn't you Jews get the memo, there's a new Muslim in town and the buck stops with....... hey Alelrod, who's the next bitch in line anyway"?
Who Knows?| 10.17.12 @ 11:33AM
Truman---The buck stops here.
Clinton---The fuck starts here.
Obama—The luck endures here.
Mars the Avenger| 10.17.12 @ 1:09PM
Amen!!
Hardcard| 10.17.12 @ 4:49PM
when is the moslem going to join billary in Peru? Now they can both B/S eachother without interruption or bumps in the road. Is there a cattle futures market or a mosque in Peru?
Jimbobogie| 10.18.12 @ 4:41PM
In all of the liberal and conservative excitement in criticizing the other side, there's one issue that I believe we're overlooking. We base our criticism on what we see and hear through the media and/or press conferences. I think that the real truth in what governs either Republican or Democratic Presidencies can only be found when the official Presidential Papers are released, usually years after the end of the administration. Public debates and even elections may really have little effect on what's really happening in the world. Once a new President steps into the Oval Office he, in effect BECOMES his predecessor, with only minor changes based on party label (insert "Obamacare" here). I welcome your thoughts-and I'm sure that a lot of those thoughts will be brief and angry-but I welcome them nonetheless.