American News Commentary

[2] The Position: This doesn't require much discussion; he is President

of the United States, with solid, unassailable support of both Houses of
Congress through the Democrat majorities, and an almost equally

unassailable support of the U.S. Supreme Court with a very likely 5-4

Liberal majority. And such control brings to mind the warning of

Founding Father, James Madison, in 1788:"The accumulation of all

power, legislative, executive, and judiciary in the same hands ... may

justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." And yet, as we

shall see, even tyranny does not always guarantee success as a leader.

[3] The Performance. Our opening quote from Ledru-Rollin portrays

the disconnect between the American people and the nation's elected

leader. One of the first major undertakings by President Obama was to

reshape the nation's health care system. A strong majority of American

voters opposed the proposed bill -- even though neither they nor their

elected members of the House and Senate had read it. After it had been

rammed through to passage by both houses and signed into law by the

president, calls for its repeal began to be voiced, and as of the latest

polls, just released this week, now a full 60% favor repeal, and already

several states are taking legal action to reject certain provisions in their

state. It is difficult to be a leader, when a major portion of your people

oppose what you are proposing.

Obama's other major performance was his $787 billion "stimulus" plan

which would bring stability to the economic deficits, and bolster the

employment situation, with a projected total unemployment rate of 8%.

For months now that figure has hovered closer to 10%, with at least 15

million unemployed while our future national indebtedness is at the $13

trillion level, large segments of the automobile and the financial service

industries are now owned by the federal government, and other further

spending bills in the multi-billion dollar range are becoming common.

And to add to the serious economic problems of health care, debt and

unemployment, there is the intense pro-Islamic, anti-American viewpoint

which Mr. Obama expresses at every opportunity. He had been president

for just three months when he undertook his "apologize for America" tour

and in major addresses in April, 2009, to Muslim audiences in Ankara,

Turkey and Cairo, Egypt, he said, "I've come here to seek a new

beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,

one based on mutual interest and mutual respect ... I consider it part

of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against

negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear... Although we have

a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a

Christian nation ... We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are

bound by ideals and a set of values."

It is obvious that at that time Obama thought that he could, by his own

personal charm and personal conviction, make Muslims like us and end

the conflicts in the middle-East. It is also obvious that he is now

beginning to discover that his desires are incompatible with reality, that

long-ingrained tribal animosities are more powerful than he at first

imagined them to be. That discovery will ultimately come to match the

existing reality when he faces failure, as have all others before him, to

reason successfully with unreasonable people.

[4] The Perception. This has frequently been called "The age of the

polls." Like it or not . . . agree with the results of the various polls or

not . . . polling does give us a quick snap-shot of how the American

people feel about any one subject at any one point in time. Thus after

slightly over 18 months in office, President Obama's approval ratings

have been on a steady down-hill slide. As of this week his overall

approval rating is at its lowest point -- just 43% approve of the way he

is fulfilling his responsibilities as president; 56% disapprove. On a daily

basis, the Rasmussen daily presidential tracking poll remains locked in

double digit negatives, just 3 points above its lowest rating ever.

But on one of the specific performances which Obama undertook, the

establishing of a new, friendly, cooperative relationship with the

Muslim nations, there is a very interesting new poll to note. In 2008, the

last year of the much maligned Bush presidency, a Zogby International

poll surveyed the 6 Arab countries of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco,

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The result? 83% viewed

the United States as "somewhat" or "very" unfavorably.

Now after 19 months of the Barack Hussein Obama presidency, under a

man with supposedly a keen understanding of the Muslim world, who

had promised to restore the American image by apologizing for our

mistakes, and by extending the hand of fellowship, respect and

understanding, Zogby has repeated the same poll among the same 6

nations -- and the result is that 85% now view the United States as

"somewhat" or "very" unfavorably -- 2 points higher than during the

last year of the George W. Bush presidency.

The result of this brief, 4-fold approach? The performance, to date, of

Barack Hussein Obama, as the leader of the United States of America,

has fallen short -- far short -- of what is expected of him as that leader.

A new headline this week: "Hamas and Obama Agree!" This has

been, and remains, a major news story, perplexing to the liberal,

pro-Obama media, and providing consternation, at best, to the

bewildered White House staff members. At the dinner event honoring

Ramadan on Friday of the first week of the holy month, Mr. Obama

interjected himself into the ongoing controversy over the proposed $100

million mosque and Islamic center to erected at Ground Zero. A very

logical comparison would have been for the Japanese to erect a Shinto

shrine at Pearl Harbor. Common sense and national respect would

eliminate such a proposal immediately, as unworthy of any discussion.

But at that dinner honoring the Islamic religion, President Barack Obama,

who refused to permit any White House recognition of the National Day

of Prayer (as previous presidents of both parties have done), gave his

apparent approval to the project, in these words, "Let me be clear: as a

citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right

to practice their religion as anyone else in this country.That includes

the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private