WarSclerotic

Obama’s credibility is gone, Israel Hayom, Richard Baehr, April 23, 2014

(Where, Oh Where, might it have gone? — DM)

A new Fox News poll suggests that 61 percent of Americans think their president is a liar. This poll test was not the kind of softer characterization of a politician in terms of whether he or she is honest and trustworthy. This large majority of voters thinks Barack Obama lies about significant things most of the time or some of the time. Perhaps the most astounding component of the survey results is that 38% of Democrats think Obama is a liar.

Two lies in particular have badly damaged Obama’s reputation and standing. What has been called “the lie of the year,” was the oft-repeated claim (repeated dozens of times over the past few years) that as a result of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”), “if you liked your health insurance plan, you could keep your health insurance plan,” “if you liked your doctor, you could keep your doctor,” and “if you liked your hospital, you could keep your hospital.”

After close to 6 million holders of individual health insurance plans had their plans terminated due to noncompliance with new Obamacare requirements for coverage, the administration tried to defend itself with a policy of misdirection, arguing that the existing plans were substandard or that what they had really meant to say was that you could keep your plan, your doctor and your hospital, but only if they met the new plan requirements.

This is what is called digging a deeper hole for yourself, and it is apparent from recent polls on the president’s approval rating, the public’s views on Obamacare, and various midterm election races, that real damage has been done to the president and his party.

There are still groups where majorities defend the president regardless of what he says or does (or does not do) — among them African-Americans, Hispanics, and women. And it is apparent that the campaign season for 2014 will feature naked appeals to these groups in attempts to create anger among them as victims of Republican machinations. Normally, in midterm elections, a much smaller percentage of eligible voters show up to vote than in presidential election years, and they skew older, whiter, and more Republican than in presidential election years, when the electorate is more favorable to Democrats. Obama and his allies now accuse Republicans of trying to suppress black voters by requiring voter ID cards, conducting a war on women, conducting a war on Hispanics by not agreeing to citizenship for 12 million illegal immigrants, and so on. Make people angry, and hope they show up at the polls to deal a blow to their enemies.

Of course, the stories being spread about the alleged crimes committed by Republicans against Democratic voting groups are as truthful as the lies about the impact of Obamacare on the individual health insurance market. They also suggest a basic disrespect for the intelligence of voters, though maybe Obama and the Democrats know something about their supporters.

The second big lie that has badly damaged the administration concerned the National Security Agency’s domestic spying activities and its collaboration in this effort with major technology companies. This lie has been particularly damaging among younger voters, who are more aware of privacy issues with social networks, and have some of the same fears of big government listening in on them as they do with Google or Facebook learning everything about them and their behavior patterns and using this information to sell more expensive targeted advertising on their sites.

The president and his team are primarily concerned with domestic policy, and doing what they can to take from the more successful and productive Americans in order to give to those who have been far less successful for whatever reason. If failure is a result of lack of effort, it is no different than if due to a lack of opportunity, discrimination, or lesser skills. There is a serious leveling process underway under the guise of fighting inequality. The administration’s favored economists now argue that accumulation of wealth is in and of itself problematic.

If the president has had a coherent foreign policy, it has been that “we are not like George W. Bush” and that the U.S. wants to show its respect for Islam and Islamic countries, rather than fight with them. On this second score, many Americans are also tired of overseas wars and commitments, and it is not at all clear whether the administration is leading or following the public on this. As for making nice with the Islamic world, it has never been clear whether this reflects the president’s upbringing in Indonesia, or is just him distancing himself from Bush.

In any case, when most Americans believe that Obama lies about the big things most of the time, what must the leaders of other nations think about the value of the president’s word? Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have concluded that whatever the president says, he carries asmall stick, not exactly what Teddy Roosevelt had in mind. So Putin will do as he chooses, taking actions that may not be in the long-term interests of his country but are done without fear of American intervention or serious effort to stop him. Obama will not be ordering any drone strikes against Russian forces in Crimea or eastern Ukraine as he does to destroy al-Qaida groups in Yemen or Pakistan. Putin has concluded that when it comes to Russia’s sphere of influence, America is in retreat, whatever the president may say.

Israel of course has to make a judgment about another Obama pledge or series of pledges — that Iran will not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, and that all options remain on the table to deal with Iran if it tries to break out to complete its nuclear program. There has been a noticeable softening of American concerns since negotiations have begun with the Iranians on their nuclear activities.

It may now be acceptable for Iran to have nuclear activities (continued enrichment), as long as we have no evidence it is making bombs. We will not push too hard to find evidence of any weaponization programs underway. We will respect Iran’s assurances that they have shown inspectors all the sites they need to see. Maybe it is acceptable that the Arak heavy-water reactor continues to function. And maybe it is safe to conclude a tentative deal with Iran that provides it with billions in cash that had been frozen in American accounts, significant relief from sanctions as far as oil sales and other export activities, and a chance for Iran to begin to promote itself to hungry western companies eager to invest in, buy from, or sell into Iran. Already the French and German industrial giants are lining up in Tehran. And finally, how much security do the Western nations need to create in terms of lengthening any breakout potential for Iran’s nuclear program to become a bomb making program? A few months? A year?

If Iran goes rogue after signing the supposed final nuclear deal with the P5+1, does a military option remain for Obama? It is hard to believe that Israeli leaders can convince themselves of that, given how markedly America has softened its stance the last year. There are plenty of articles now in influential journals for the foreign policy establishment that the best approach for dealing with an Iran with nuclear weapons is containment. After all, the mullahs are rational and would never get into a nuclear war with Israel, which supposedly has more bombs. So they might try to use their nukes for political leverage abroad, but at least there is no radioactive fallout from that. Somehow, if Iranian behavior becomes more malicious because they can threaten nations more effectively, this is not seen as a big problem, as long as they only threaten nations to get what they want.

Israel is aware that Iranian proxies have been trying to kill Israelis for years at a time when Iran was not a nuclear power, just as they have sponsored or carried out the killing of Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. Israel can not discount Iranian intentions on the potential use of nuclear weapons given past threats, and understands the added danger in the neighborhood once they get them, even if they do not use them. Iran clearly does not take Obama at his word, and has rolled the hapless John Kerry in the Geneva nuclear negotiations.

Americans understand that Obama lied on Benghazi, the Internal Revenue Service targeting, Obamacare and NSA spying. Abroad, our enemies — yes, we still have them — are already acting and will continue to act on their interpretation that the president is all talk. This of course, is a nicer way of saying that they too think he is a liar.

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