OPINION:
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Even in these corrosively partisan times there is one thing we can all agree upon: President Obama has managed to out-Jimmy Carter even Jimmy Carter himself.
It was some kind of low point the other day when Jimmah turned up to lecture Mr. Obama on global affairs.
After Mr. Obama expressed confusion over whether Egypt is a U.S. ally or not, Jimmah declared that, indeed, Egypt is a known ally. As he said this, Egyptians were storming the embassy in Cairo, desecrating the American flag and replacing it with the black banner of Islam.
In the same confused interview last week, Mr. Obama also seemed to channel Jimmah in defending himself and his policy of apology diplomacy against Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
“Gov. Romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later,” Mr. Obama said, all cutesy.
This reminded some of Jimmah’s attack on Ronald Reagan for wanting to “shoot first and ask questions later.” It is kind of a gas today to think back on those grim days when Jimmah lectured Reagan on foreign policy. All that ended in such crushing, sweet justice. Perhaps one day we will look back on these grim days with amusement, too.
Mr. Obama’s policy of apology diplomacy seems even scarier than Jimmah’s.
A posture of absolute, bowing, prostrate weakness, Mr. Obama believes in aiming very carefully, then shooting with blanks. Followed by another assault of apologies.
Can you imagine this guy at the gate of East Berlin demanding that Mikhail Gorbachev “tear down this wall?”
If Mr. Obama had the guts to even show up, he would have apologized for all the free travel among states in the U.S. He would have publicly condemned Americans back home who would “abuse” their free speech by “hurting the feelings” of the communists. Then the military and federal police would be sent to round up those critical of communism. The abusers would be interrogated and painted with a scarlet letter for the KGB to deal with later.
Because that is precisely what the Obama administration did last week,
In the face of an angry mob, the administration chose to denounce those who would “abuse” free speech and “hurt the feelings” of Muslims. That was a reference to the author of an obscure anti-Muslim film trailer that virtually no one — especially in the Middle East — had seen before the rioting and murder and pandemonium broke out.
Within hours, federal officials had fingered a Coptic Christian living in California as the abuser of free speech. Hiding behind anonymity in interviews with the Associated Press, the federal thugs outed the man publicly. They simply threw him to the wolves.
Then came news that the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. military called one of the film’s backers to urge him to stop his offensive free speech. Now we learn that the feds rounded up the Coptic Christian to interrogate him.
How is any of this possible in America? And where is the outrage from principled liberals? Where is the robust defense of free speech from the ACLU?
When this man is slaughtered by jihadists, will his family be allowed to sue the federal government for many billions of dollars for putting such a public bounty on his head?
Remember four years ago when Mr. Obama promised us a post-partisan world? A post-racial world?
We are still awaiting that. The only thing Mr. Obama has delivered us is a post-American world.
• Charles Hurt can be reached at charleshurt@live.com.
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