Funny how one week can change the dynamics of an election. A mere seven days ago at the DNC Barack Obama* was slyly opining to chortles from the crowd, “My opponent and his running mate are…new…to foreign policy, but from all that we’ve seen and heard, they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost America so dearly.” Doesn’t seem so laugh worthy now, does it?
It’s not like there was any blustering over the death of Osama bin Laden the week of the DNC. Osama bin Laden is dead and GM is alive. Obviously, a Democrat spiking the football over the killing of that well-thought-of-in-the-muslim-world guy isn’t the kind of bluster to which President TFG was referring. That’s not bluster. That’s ensuring the American people are aware President TFG deserves full, unadulterated credit for killing the world’s best loved known terrorist.
Bluster is declaring you’re with us or against us in the war on terror. Which brings us to blundering, and it appears President TFG has now got a fozzy of a bear of a problem.
By all appearances “probably the smartest guy ever to become president” and the “smartest woman of the decade” somehow failed to understand that September 11th is viewed far differently in the Middle East than it is in New York and Washington DC. You know, basically the same way Alabama fans view LSU fans after triumphing in a national championship game.
Unexpectedly, not-all-Muslims turned out en masse on 9/11 at American embassies in both countries where President TFG supplanted the loathsome strongmen running the shitholes – which then selected overtly Islamist governments – to remind us that they, too, will never forget. The resulting footage of American flags burning, al Qaeda flags flying above our embassy, and the corpses of four American diplomats being dragged through the streets of Libya are not the sort of thing most Americans enjoy watching. I can’t speak for everyone, but whatever feelings of solemn remembrance were rather quickly replaced by anger.
That anger turned to spite and disgust once President TFG jetted off to Vegas for a fundraiser and campaign rally in the immediate aftermath. Knowing there were warning flags present yet US soil was left under-defended by allegedly unarmed Marines helped that spite and disgust metamorphosize into outright contempt.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last three plus years it’s that TFG will never admit to making a mistake. He’s not going to go on TV and admit he failed to recognize the risk and fumbled the ball regarding appropriate preparations. Especially in late September of an election year. He can’t blame this on Bush. He and his media slatterns have settled a heretofore unknown youtube clip as the scapegoat.
A film which the Muslim street just so happened to protest on September 11. Well if that don’t put the dink in coinkidink.
Again, I can’t speak for everyone out there but following a screw up of this magnitude heads need to (metaphorically, of course) roll. TFG isn’t going to accept the blame. No, some other loyal and preferably high-ranking soldier’s going to be called upon to fall on their sword. The logical choice would be the Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton runs the State Department and is ultimately the person in charge of ensuring the safety of its deployed ambassadors and support staff.
Gee, I wonder what the odds of that happening are…
Not that there would be howls of outrage if a Republican president censored a movie maker and tried him for blasphemy because the artist’s ham-handed film endangered the president’s chances at re-election. No, the true scandal would be any attempt by his Democrat challenger to point out how that sitting Republican president’s misguided and bungling foreign policy was directly responsible for the death of a US ambassador and the consulate staff in Libya.
Why do I get the feeling the next scapegoat will be the murdered ambassador? The president was on top of this even before hints showed up in those useless intelligence briefings. Ambassador Stevens assured him there was no reason to worry. The president implored him to increase security but Stevens ignored his pleas. The president had just informed Hillary Clinton to override Ambassador Stevens’ foolish bravado and increase embassy security on her own authority when Mitt Romney scotched the deal by opening his big mouth.
Don’t cry for President TFG. He’s still got an ace up his sleeve and it hasn’t failed him yet. Stonewalling. The State Department is now refusing to comment under auspices it would compromise the hastily-launched FBI investigation that will surely get to the bottom of this outrage. Placated, the media will now respectfully acquiesce and allow this administration to quietly resolve this matter internally outside the light of day. Because honestly, outside of Mitt Romney’s outrageous comments this whole affair has been much ado about nothing.
Events have thrust this administration into a hole from which it will not easily be able to extract itself. Its bluster, blundering, and staggering incompetence are now on full display to the American people. Weary as we may be of the war on terror seeing our flag burning across the Middle East and our citizens’ corpses dragged through the streets by an Islamist mob on September 11 is infuriating. This administration ignored warnings beforehand, glibly went about campaigning as the crisis deepened, and now finds itself unable to present a ceremonial scalp of contrition due to political concerns.
President TFG’s ego will not permit him to accept even the slightest shred of responsibility. TFG can’t risk having President Bill Clinton turn on him by pushing Hillary to step down. All he can hope to do is sweep it under the rug until after November 6 at which point – assuming he remains in office – he will be free to wage a scorched earth campaign against Hillary. Bill’s probably smart enough to realize she’s a goner. How he reacts moving forward is anybody’s guess. I won’t be surprised if ol’ Slick Willie “accidentally” drops a few “gaffes” over the next few weeks implicating TFG.
* Stylistic note – in light of his staggeringly offensive focus on re-election as events unfolded, this is the last time I will use the president’s actual name. Moving forward he shall be referred to as This F’ing Guy (TFG). I know I’ve mocked him in the past and had some fun with different ways to refer to him depending on the specific circumstances, but I’ve tried for almost four years to avoid the kind of animosity and personal hatred I witnessed for eight years as President Bush was referred to as “Shrub” or “The Smirking Chimp” etc. I just can’t do it anymore. TFG is an incompetent, immoral, disgusting cretin only concerned with his own image and re-election. Piss on him and piss on anyone who thinks this dimwitted boob belongs anywhere near a position of responsibility.
