Thursday, September 24, 2009

Still Campaigning: Obama Preaches to the Choir

We used to think that Bill Clinton was a 'continuous campaigner.' Clinton was Cal Coolidge compared to "Mr. TV Speech" Obama.

Of course, Clinton wasn't campaigning for World Leader, either.

It’s always a bad sign when a US president gets several rounds of heavy applause at the UN General Assembly, as Barack Obama did this morning in New York

...Overall this was a staggeringly naïve speech by President Obama, with Woodstock-style utterances like “I will not waver in my pursuit of peace” or “the interests of peoples and nations are shared.” All that was missing was a conga of hippies dancing through the aisles with a rousing rendition of “Kumbaya”.

The big catchphrase of the morning was “new era of engagement”, with Obama outlining the four big international pillars of his presidency: ridding the world of nuclear weapons, the pursuit of peace, preserving the planet, and supporting “a global economy that advances opportunity for all people”.

The "seashells and balloons" part is coming next week.

What was missing?

...human rights issues were strikingly downplayed in Obama’s address, which is not surprising since they are rarely on the radar screen of this administration. Nor did the words liberty or freedom feature prominently. This was a speech designed to appease opinion in a world body in which full democracies make up only a minority of its members.

Obama has appointed the most extreme anti-life Administration in the history of the US. Ignoring human rights is perfectly consistent for him.

No surprise that he was applauded heavily by the Star Wars bar-crowd in NY. Most of them live in stark raving fear of their own domestic populations.

Kindred spirits.

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