La Salle Debain

I haven't written about politics since the election for several reasons. First and foremost, Obama won fair and square. While I might wish the other guy had won, I can't whine and pout or threaten to move to Canada like some people. The vox populi chose and that choice has to be respected.

Secondly, one of the worst aspects of the current American political scene is the paranoid obsession with personalities in which the president is not just an implementor of policies good or bad, but personally responsible for the entire state of the cosmos. It started with Nixon, started getting alarming with Clinton and reached batshit levels of insanity with George W. Bush. But just because the left does it it, doesn't mean we have to follow suit. Although I figured Obamas policies would end up a trainwreck, I wanted to see what he actually did before calling him on it.

The Nobel comittee isn't hoping and changing with me. In a decison that is bizarre even by the lax standards of a prize that long since jumped the shark, the President is to receive the Nobel Peace prize for...not being George Bush? It's difficult to see what substantive reasons they could have for their choice. But apparently one of these days he is going to make “ extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples...democracy and human rights are to be strengthened. ”

Well let's see now:

• There was the ridiculous episode with Russia and the reset button.
• From India to Israel to Poland and the Czech Republic Obama has antagonized allies and lowered the goodwill built up by Bush (ya rly).
• The Obama Administration did nothing to support Iranian protesters rising up against blatant election-stealing by their theocratic oppressors. Neither was there so much as a squeak when the protests were brutally put down. This by the way is the same Iran with which the administration continued sham negotiations even after they knew it was pursuing nuclear weapons. (Hey guys! Remember when nuclear non-proliferation was a goal of "multilateral diplomacy"?)
• Oh but wait, there is one errant country whose villany will not be allowed to go unchecked by US might: Honduras, where the countries constitutional court and parliament (or was it teh J00z?) acting to stop a Chavez style demagogue from stealing himself another term kicked him out. Instead of supporting this attempt at preserving the rule of law in a fragile corner of the world, the US inexplicably bought into the propoganda that it was a coup despite the Congressional Research Service saying that it wasn't. Luckily Honduras is treating Obama diplomacy as all other countries do and ignoring it.
• Obama is the first president since 1991 to refuse to meet with old and busted Peace Prize winner the Dalai Lama

Perhaps I am being a little unfair in not taking into consideration all the great things the president is going to do real soon now. It's just that I'm worried that this might be an attempt to sway him in the task of winning the war in Afghanistan (and more likely than not carrying it into Iran and Pakistan.) I take solace in the knowledge that heretofore Obama has shown a refreshing inclination to throw people under the bus when they are no longer convenient. If he can do that to the guy who says he wrote his book than some silly Norwegians won't be a problem.