I'm not much for conspiracies. I'm not a black helicopter guy. I don't believe that a shadowy military-industrial complex controls the government. I don't think the North American Free Trade Agreement was cover to merge Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In fact, I like NAFTA. I think all the hubbub about President Barack Obama's birth certificate is hooey. I'm sure Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK.
So, believe me when I say there is nothing conspiratorial about Obama's obvious desire to be seen as a world leader by every ideological bloc spanning the globe.
Obama wants to lead the Muslim bloc; he's made that tremendously clear with his Cairo speech, his pressure on Israel, and his pathetically tepid response to the ongoing Iranian debacle.
He wants to lead the European bloc; he's made that clear, too, with his apologies on behalf of America and his insistence that European politicians follow his economic lead.
He wants to lead the Far Eastern bloc; he's ensured the support of China by begging them to buy U.S. securities and allowing North Korea to proceed apace with its nuclear program.
This week, he made clear that he wants to lead a revitalized leftist South American bloc. How else to explain his dead wrong decision to reinstall would-be tin-pot dictator Manuel Zelaya in Honduras?
Here's the basic story: Zelaya was elected president of Honduras in 2006. He quickly allied himself with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, who in turn provided him with millions of dollars. Then Zelaya set about subverting the Honduran constitution, which allows presidents to serve only one term. When the Honduran Congress refused to authorize a referendum that would allow Zelaya to run for re-election, Zelaya attempted to force the referendum anyway. The Supreme Court ruled against Zelaya. So did the human rights ombudsman, as well as the attorney general. This ended his bid for re-election. Almost. Zelaya proceeded to order the military to distribute the referendum ballots anyway. When leaders of the military refused, Zelaya fired them, then led a mob to the ballot storage area and began handing them.
That's when the Honduran military, with the backing of both the Honduran Supreme Court and the Congress, heroically stepped in and exiled Zelaya.
Obama's reaction was to declare Honduras' Congress and Supreme Court out of line, and declare their actions a “coup.” Siding with renowned human rights violators Fidel Castro of Cuba, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, and Chavez, Obama called for Zelaya's reinstatement.
There's a reason for this: When Obama sees an enemy of American ideals, he immediately identifies them as a potential supporter. Obama views the world through the lens of his own leadership -- if he can simply co-opt the leadership of every ideological group on the map, then he can avoid all conflict.
How can he cultivate followers among America's enemies? By siding against America, of course. In his statement of support for Zelaya, Obama derided America's history in Central and South America: "The United States has not always stood as it should with some of these fledgling democracies." It's the same tactic he's used with the Muslim world and with Europe -- throw America's history and past under the bus in order to gain the approval of those who hate us. Agree with everyone, no matter how anti-American, and no one will disagree with you.
It's a worldview cultivated since his days in law school, when he gained the presidency of the Harvard Law Review by seeming to agree with everyone. "The editors of the review were constantly at each other's throats. And Barack tended to treat those disputes with a certain air of detachment and amusement. The feeling was almost, come on kids, can't we just behave here?" said Bradford A. Berenson, who served with Obama on the Harvard Law Review. "He was leading the discussion but he wasn't trying to impose his own perspective on it," explained Thomas J. Perrelli, a former classmate.
That may work with the Harvard Law Review, but it doesn't work when you're president of the United States. You may be liked and admired around the world, but if you're unwilling to impose an American perspective on problems, you're not doing your job. America's national interests must be protected and defended; so must her values. Certainly Obama can buy peace with his self-led one-world government concept. The only problem is the price: America's liberties, her power, and her values.
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