An Obama Agenda Emerges

For those of us wondering whether the President had any plans for a second term -- because certainly he's not sharing them -- now understand the reason for his silence. He's been studying Ronald Reagan's second term (where he cemented important parts of his legacy), and what he has in store should scare the life out of all of us.

Ryan Lizza writes in the New Yorker:

The President has said that the most important policy he could address in his second term is climate change . . .

Got that? In a country teetering on the brink of recession, the President's "big idea" is to impose environmental regulations that will (a) increase energy costs; (b) put added costs on business thereby further inhibiting prosperity and profitability; and (c) create more "clean energy" boondoggles like Solyndra. Remember Obama's 2008 promise to bankrupt any new coal plants? Well, if he is insulated from any electoral accountability, the sky will be the limit.

He also is concerned with containing nuclear proliferation. In April, 2009, in one of the most notable speeches of his Presidency, he said, in Prague, “I state clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.” He conceded that the goal might not be achieved in his lifetime but promised to take “concrete steps,” including a new treaty with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons and ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.

Now we know why he was whispering with Medvedev about having more "flexibility" after the election. He's got big plans for America's missile defense and nuclear arsenal. The problem for the rest of us is that when it comes to dealing with the Russians (and in every other way), Barack Obama is the antithesis of Ronald Reagan.