http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/26/editorial-the-liberation-of-president-obama/print/The liberation of President Obama
With the end of his term in sight, he’s trying to complete a transformation
By THE WASHINGTON TIMES - - Sunday, April 26, 2015
President Obama obviously feels liberated by the sight of his administration swiftly approaching the outer suburbs of oblivion. With no fear of red line or deadline, he has set about to use the time he has left in office to make the United States a nation that neither he nor Michelle would be ashamed to be proud of.
The man who arrived in Washington six years ago to "transform" the nation has already done considerable harm, and he still has more than 18 months to strip America of the values, traditions and character that made it "the exceptional nation." He has pulled the nation away from the embrace of its friends and allies to the astonishment of its enemies.
He has exploited the respect, prayers and good faith Americans are eager to accord their presidents, moving inexorably toward the goals he set for himself when he plotted his first campaign. A lot of people were not listening, but none can say he didn't know what the president wants to accomplish. In a recent interview with Tom Friedman of The New York Times, answering a question about the future of Israel, one of America's closest allies, Mr. Obama revealed how he regards the interests of the nation's friends, particularly in the Middle East, and the implications and consequences that should be plain for others.
Mr. Friedman asked whether he, looking at the troubled terrain of a region of the world that often looks so godforsaken, was worried about Israel, as many Americans are.
"It is amazing to see what Israel has become over the last several decades," the president said. "To have scratched out of rock this incredibly vibrant, incredibly successful, wealthy and powerful country is a testament to the ingenuity, energy and vision of the Jewish people. And because Israel is so capable militarily, I don't worry about Israel's survival ... . I think the question really is how ... how can you create a State of Israel that maintains its democratic and civic traditions? How can you preserve a Jewish state that is also reflective of the best values of those who founded Israel? And, in order to do that, it has consistently been my belief that you have to find a way to live side by side in peace with Palestinians. ... You have to recognize that they have legitimate claims, and this is their land and neighborhood as well."
Once more this president in unable to offer more than a left-handed compliment to Israel, and in this one he shows plainly the moral equivalence that ignores the reality of the genocidal ambitions of Hamas and the nuclear ambitions of Iran. When he denounced the unspeakable brutality of the Islamic State after it stormed into a Christian college in Kenya and massacred dozens, he could not bring himself to say the word "Christian," or denounce the evil done in the name of Islam that threatens to make killing fields of the Middle East. Israel is under siege by enemies on every border, vowing to destroy Israel and kill all the Jews, and Mr. Obama is determined to "help" by lecturing those under siege and threatened with a new holocaust.
The kindest thing to say about Mr. Obama and his administration is that he is befuddled, confused and frightened by having to deal with a world that he does not understand. He mistakes big talk for action, and pursues the mullahs in Iran like a small boy chasing after older children who won't let him play in their games. Every concession he makes is greeted with a demand for something more. America, and the West that depends on America, demand something more, too.
