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OPINION

Obama the Problem Creator

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
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Only if we understand that Wednesday was "Opposite Day" can we comprehend President Obama's bizarre remarks in Texas concerning our border crisis.

He said he had asked Gov. Rick Perry, "Are (members of Congress) more interested in politics, or are they more interested in solving the problem? ... If the preference is for politics, then it won't be solved."

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Everything Obama does is about politics. If he weren't endlessly raising money for his hyper-partisan Democratic Party, he wouldn't have even bothered to fly to Texas in the first place. His entire approach to the immigration issue is to fast-track as many illegals as he can, with the long-term goal of turning the country permanently blue, which happens to be a political, not humanitarian, motivation. Obama is so thoroughly political that commentators can't even discuss Obama without focusing on the "optics." Would it be that hard for them to assess, just once, whether he's doing the right thing?

Obama said: "This isn't theater. This is a problem. I'm not interested in photo ops; I'm interested in solving a problem."

Oh? In 2004, as senator-elect, he said, "I'm so overexposed I'm making Paris Hilton look like a recluse." His name or face appeared on half of Time magazine covers in 2008. As of the August 2009 edition, he had appeared on seven Time covers since his election in November 2008. Newsweek featured Obama on 12 of its 2008 issues. Obama marked his first 100 days in office with 300 photos -- all of him. On Nov. 25, 2009, Drudge Report had a photo of him leaving the White House holding an issue of GQ magazine with his own picture on the cover. He appeared on "America's Most Wanted" to commemorate its 1,000th episode. He's appeared on ESPN, Leno, Letterman, "60 Minutes," Conan, Oprah and on and on.

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How about his claim that he just wants to solve a problem? As exhibits A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L and M, I offer Fast and Furious, Benghazi, the Internal Revenue Service scandal (the FBI hasn't even interviewed the IRS employees involved), the border invasion, the Department of Veterans Affairs scandal, Obamacare, Iraq, our Marine in Mexico, the deficit, the debt, entitlements, jobs and education. I could go on. This man is not about solving problems but about creating them -- unless you believe that America, as founded, is a problem.

Obama implied that if Congress had passed comprehensive immigration reform legislation, we wouldn't have a border problem.

Well, he's the one who unilaterally issued a lawless executive order in 2012 to end deportations of young illegal immigrants who entered the United States as children if they meet certain requirements. By taking this action, Obama sent a clear signal to would-be young illegal immigrants that if they come, he'll see to it that they eventually will receive amnesty. It is inconceivable that it's merely a coincidence that just a few years later, we are seeing an explosion of children storming over our border.

Moreover, why would sane Republicans sign on to Obama's comprehensive immigration reform proposal when it's anything but comprehensive? For decades, Democrats have promised they would take action to enforce the border if only Republicans would agree to amnesty for illegals already here, just as they've promised to impose spending cuts in exchange for tax hikes. And they've consistently reneged on all these promises.

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If Democrats respect this nation's sovereignty, why do Republicans need to use bargaining chips to get them to take action to enforce the border? Isn't that a no-brainer that all Americans should agree on?

Obama said, "One of the suggestions I had for Gov. Perry was that it would be useful for my Republican friends to rediscover the concept of negotiation and compromise." Practically in the same breath, he said that all the Republicans have to do to solve this problem is sign his proposed supplemental legislation -- precisely as he presented it. Astonishing.

Obama is not about negotiation and compromise. It's his way or the highway. Remember his refusal to compromise with Republicans on health care, when he said, "I'm the president," meaning, "I am king, and the legislature must bow to my dictates"? It has become a standard practice for him to castigate Republicans for not compromising and to simultaneously demand that they accept his proposals in toto.

It's happened on Obamacare, the budget battles, the stimulus, education, environmental policy, foreign policy, financial reform, taxes and other issues. And this is exactly what happened with this border issue. He said over and over that Republicans could solve this problem right now if they would just agree to his supplemental bill in its totality. That's negotiation? Compromise? He has recently said on a host of other issues, "If Republicans won't do as I say, I'll do it myself by executive order."

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How can a man who doesn't even pretend to respect the clear constitutional restraints on his own power lecture anyone about negotiation and compromise? No one in his right mind could believe that this inflexible ideologue has an ounce of sincerity in his bones when he pretends he is about compromise. And no one with an ounce of discernment can help but wonder whether Obama has any desire to solve the border crisis -- or many of the other nearly catastrophic issues plaguing the nation today under his watch -- as he hopscotches the country raising political money, plays golf and billiards, and willfully obstructs any and all truth-seeking investigations.

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