NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC. "The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt

Why Leadership Counts

Is Obama the next Carter?

America came into existence with the greatest of blessings and has remained the beacon of hope for the people of the world. This was not by chance but by divine providence. Our values reflected our belief in the creator and was the basis for our government and it's laws. While not perfect, our republic has been forged by the trials of human frailty and the inherent sinful nature of man. This was quite evident when the Founders declared, "all men are created equal" and yet allowed the stain of slavery to continue. Yet the point is not our past sins but our ability to right what was wrong. It is the recognition that America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth not for the sake of our belief in nationalism but based on our adherence to the Constitution and its underpinnings. It requires presidential leadership within her  borders and on the world stage. Understanding the definition is rather simple, compare Ronald Reagan to Jimmy Carter. Where does our current President fall? 

Since assuming office 18 months ago, President Obama has apologized repeatedly for American's perceived flaws and is the first American President to bow to foreign leaders. He has embarked on a policy that is hostile to Israel and has embraced the idea of appeasing hard line Islamic states such as Iran. His overtures to Iran and North Korea have been met with rejection and have emboldened both nations to continue their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. He has backed down from installing anti-ballistic missiles in Europe over Russian threats and has been held hostage by China's threats of selling off U.S. backed securities. The President has stumbled over the definition of terrorism assuming that it is a simple violation of law rather then a war and went so far as to reject the use of the phrase "war on terror" as official government policy and instead use the term "Overseas Contingency Operation".  He has allowed Hugo Chavez to establish a foothold in South America to promote Marxism and has allowed our borders to be overrun by Mexican drug traffickers. As to Iraq, while opposing the Bush Administration policy as a candidate, he continued the policy with success. Afghanistan is still a question mark. His moral confusion in the arena of foreign policy is evident; he has supported the trial of Navy Seals for punching a terrorist on the battlefield but wants to give illegal enemy combatants civilian trials in the United States with constitutional protections and close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Even though the President's foreign policy is deeply troubling, its his radical domestic agenda which is driving his poll numbers down. People understand that out of control government spending will choke off our economy. With trillion dollar annual budget deficits, unemployment of almost 10% and a current national debt of 13 trillion projected to reach 19.6 trillion by 2015, people get it. The so called healthcare bill is unhealthy to the majority of Americans as more then 60% of Americans want it repealed. Add in the President's call for additional spending, cap and tax and other so called reforms, Americans are angry. Even so, it takes a catastrophic event that people can relate to in order to actually grasp the depth of the President's lack of  leadership. The event is the BP oil spill.

On April 20th, an explosion occurred on the deep water drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon killing 11 workers and injuring 17. The explosion was caused by methane gas and led to a fire which engulfed the rig causing it to ultimately sink. Within days, a large oil leak was found. For more then 50 days, the massive leak of over 10 million gallons of oil continues. BP tried to use a shut off value which failed then tired pumping mud and debris into the pipe which also failed. Their effort to place a containment dome over the pipe has been partially successful as large amounts of oil continue to leak into the ocean. The contamination has been substantial. More then four gulf state coasts have been hit with oil with devastating consequences to the environment, sea life, the fishing industry, tourism and personal property. While the Coast Guard was on the scene from day one, federal resources were lacking. The US military was dispatched to the scene 8 days later on April 28th. No equipment such as booms were available to soak up the oil, containment boons to burn the oil and ships that extract  oil from the ocean. When the state of Louisiana requested permission from the Army Corp of Engineers to build barrier islands to protect Louisiana's wetlands, approval was delayed. BP remains mostly in charge of the operation to contain the leak, why? The right course of action would be to place the US Navy in charge of the operation, activate a command center at the White House, bring all federal assets to bear at the spill site and assemble experts in the field to determine the most efficient operational strategy to plug the leak.

What was the President's response?  He took two vacations since the leak and talked about his daughter's concern whether the leak was plugged. Then seeking an opportunity not to let a crisis go to waste, he tried to push his stalled cap and tax plan which will place a tax on carbon emissions driving up the cost of energy. When that failed, he took Hollywood director Spike Lee advice to show some anger by saying he wanted to know "who's ass to kick" over the oil spill. While people can argue over who is to blame for the largest oil spill off America's coast, the ultimate responsibility falls upon the President to contain the leak. Americans want a leader. If the President's foreign and domestic policies have not made it clear, this oil spill has; leadership counts. Shall we say Barack H. O. Carter.