Soap Box

I just saw a tease on a news site that said Obama didn't know the extent of the NSA surveillance.

It seems that he also didn't know about our nation spying on the German Chancellor, didn't know the Obamacare website was nowhere close to being ready to roll out, didn't know about the IRS targeting conservative groups, didn't know about the Petraeus investigation, didn't know about the Department of Justice seizing the AP's phone records, had no knowledge of Fast and Furious and doesn't remember a thing about what he was doing the night four Americans were slaughtered in Benghazi Libya.

There are several possibilities, Obama is either surrounded with frighteningly incompetent megalomaniacs, he has terrible judgment in choosing people to fill sensitive positions, he has a very bad memory, he is an out and out liar, or perhaps a combination of all the above.

Obama seems to have redefined the presidential job description. The buck has never stopped, actually never even slowed down at his desk, but is shuffled off to some lesser destination to be handled by one of the people who, evidently, never tell the president anything.

Obama pushes Jay Carney forward to befuddle the media with half answers and inane scraps of information, trying to answer questions only Obama should answer while the chief executive has some important round of golf to play.

And no, I have nothing against presidents taking vacations but there are no absence of cameras and microphones at his vacation destinations and when something as important as Benghazi or Fast and Furious is on the table the people need to hear some assurance that the problem will be dealt with, and from the president who has the power to deal with it, not a preppy, terrified looking press secretary, who does not instill a lot of confidence in We The People. 

When there's a storm at sea, a good captain is always on the bridge, in control of the ship, making decisions, right or wrong, accepting responsibility for the wellbeing of the passengers and crew.

When there is an outbreak of contagious disease, the good doctors and scientists head right into the teeth of the battle to direct the fight, hands on and let the public know what is being done.

Anyone who puts themselves forth to be a leader, especially a president owes the people who elected him leadership, comfort, inspiration and deliverance from fear of the unknown, part general, part father figure, able to unite the nation in times of stress.

In 1941 when President Roosevelt made his famous, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" speech he rallied and reassured the nation that we were capable of turning back the tide of fascism and imperialism, that we'd raise whatever army it required, build whatever we needed and meet and defeat the enemy.

Young men enlisted in droves, munitions factories and shipyards went immediately into construction, America sacrificed, prayed and won and all the time FDR was on the radio and in the newsreels encouraging Americans to buy war bonds, collect scrap metal and work hard in the defense industries to win the war.

America's attention and energy had one focal point, defeat the Germans and the Japanese. There was no political correctness, no fear of stepping on ethnic toes and yes, a gross injustice was done to Japanese Americans who were herded into internment camps for the duration of the war, but judging it in retrospect instead of actually being there are two totally different things.

In 1963 when Russia attempted to place missiles in Cuba John F. Kennedy was on television constantly letting America know the status of negotiations with the Soviets and letting the world know that Russian missiles 90 miles away from America would not be tolerated.

You have to admit that seeing an American president bow to the king of a Muslim country and hearing him criticize the land that we love is not in the least comforting and to imagine how little he claims to know about the day to day running of the country is frightening to say the least.

Hope somebody on his staff doesn't start a war and not mention it to him.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem. 

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels​