Bully For Obama?

Teddy Roosevelt’s favorite aphorism was arguably, “speak softly and carry a big stick.” He used the phrase to describe his bullying at the hands of NY state party bosses while he served as Governor. Adhering to that philosophy, he won that particular battle through courage and perseverance.

Comes now Barack Hussein Obama, teleprompter reader to the world, to deal with one of the most vital matters facing the republic and the international community: Bullying. That’s right, bullying. The President of the United States, facing crises in Libya, throughout the rest of the Arab world, Japan, North and South Korea, Iran, an economy speeding toward the edge of a bottomless abyss and an existential threat from Islamic lunatics lead by Iran, who seek the destruction of western civilization, and Mr. Obama devotes a recent address to the nation on bullying, a annoyance that has traditionally been handled on the local level, often with a retaliatory punch to the bully’s nose by a former victim.

Many members of the Clinton Administration--Janet Reno comes to mind--were often criticized for their inability to focus on issues on the national and world stages. They ran their agencies as though they were still responsible for local, or at the most, state-wide jurisdictions, leading to insane micro-management in domestic affairs, and absolute neglect of international issues. Mr. Obama threatens to make them look like omniscient titans on the world stage. Do visit here and here for additional information on this post.

From Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, we discover that in furtherance of the federalization of every aspect of American life, Rep. Jackie Speier (D, CA),

“will introduce a bill that would require schools to report incidents of bullying against children diagnosed with conditions like Down syndrome and Aspergers to the federal government. It would also mandate that any federal dollars that promote anti-bullying programs focus partially on that group.

‘There is [currently] no requirement that as part of the anti-bullying curriculum, that there be made specific reference to children with special needs. That’s particularly dumb,” Speier said during a briefing on school bullying on Capitol Hill Wednesday. ‘What I want to do is create an environment where there is zero tolerance. I think that starts first with education and awareness. Then, when behavior is egregious, then people have to be called out on that.’"

There is, of course, no area of American thought and life that Obamites consider out of bounds to federal intervention and control. Even passing the legislation Speier favors would require the establishment of an entirely new federal bureaucracy to oversee data collection, which would inevitably lead to another bureau (unionized, of course) to enforce the ever-expanding anti-bullying laws, which would inevitably lead to federal anti-bullying agents dragging that rotten little Smith kid down the block off to a federal lock up. This would admittedly handle an annoying problem for that particular neighborhood, unless of course that rotten little Smith kid was a member of a favored racial or ethic victim group, in which case the feds would subsidize his bullying and obtain federal court orders enjoining his victims and local authorities from restraining such a priceless national treasure.

And in the meantime, at the Washington Post, David Agnatius informs us that Mr. Obama plans to roll out his most fearsome weapon: Rhetoric. Mr. Obama is planning on talking to--wait for it--the Taliban and Hezbollah! Barack Obama is considering chatting with two groups of the most genocidal, unhinged, homicidal, barbaric bullies extant. Ignatius writes:

“One model for the administration, as it thinks about engagement of enemies, is the British process of dialogue during the 1990s with Sinn Fein, the legal political wing of the terrorist Irish Republican Army. That outreach led to breakthrough peace talks and settlement of a conflict that had been raging for more than a century.”

Hmm. Could there be any differences between that situation and the current situation? The IRA had political issues with the British Government, yet shared a common history, culture and religious beliefs. The Taliban and Hezbollah are Islamist murderers who share no historical, cultural or religious background with western civilization. In fact, they believe that Allah has put them on Earth to destroy all non-Muslims--particularly those pesky Jews (and we’re next on their list)-- and to subjugate the planet in the name of Allah. In fact, their faith teaches them to lie and dissemble in negotiations, the better to achieve their ultimate goal. There doesn’t seem to be a great deal to talk about, does there? What do we negotiate? Whether they’ll use sharp or dull knifes to saw off our heads for later video posting on You Tube?

What does this have to do with Mr. Obama’s apparent fixation on bullying, you ask? We have in the Oval Office a man who is unable to face reality. Like a child, he ignores problems that are too difficult for him to handle, preferring instead those that require only a bit of soaring rhetoric. Thus does Mr. Obama wish to throw the full might of the federal government at that rotten little Smith kid down the block, while the homicidal hordes of the Middle East plot our destruction. He thinks he can talk them into working and playing well with others. Who, after all, can stand against the persuasive rhetoric of Barack Obama? Who can fail to be awed by his teleprompter technology?

But perhaps the Feds can do something worthwhile after all. Maybe we can send all those rotten little Smith kids to the Middle East?