Real World Gives Barry A Reality Check

Many of President Obama's fans think that he was so mystical during his trip abroad last week, so magical, dynamic, persuasive and charming, so George Clooney-seductive, that world opinion of the United States has now changed. Our friends now have warmer and fuzzier feelings for us, and our enemies will soon put down their guns, swords, and nukes, and rush to embrace us like a long-lost lover leaping over fields of grain to fall into our arms.
A cursory glance at today's headlines shows how these assumptions are really panning out:
Russia is strongly opposing U.N. sanctions on North Korea after its long-range ballistic missile launch this week.
Iran says it's in the final stage of uranium enrichment.
Russia and China have penetrated our electrical grid and have left behind software that could disrupt our electrical systems.
Turkey is making fun of The Bama on state television.
The Castro brothers are playing Congressional liberals like a Stradivarius.
Hugo Chavez is in China, forming a newly close alliance with Beijing.
The Pakistanis blew off The Bama's special envoy, Richard Holbrooke, telling him there is no longer any "trust" between the two nations.
The Europeans told The Bama that as much as they'd love to help out more on Afghanistan, they just, you know, can't.
And twenty Americans were taken captive by Somali pirates.
None of this is a coincidence. Our enemies smell weakness in the president. They know he disdains the use of force, even when necessary. His utter lack of response to the North Korean missile launch reinforced to all of our enemies that when pressed, The Bama will do nothing.
The U.S. crew retook the ship from the pirates, although the last report indicated that the pirates still hold the captain hostage. The crew knew that if they waited for The Bama to go through his Hamlet-like deliberations, they'd end up as skeletons. So the crew took matters into their own hands and took control of the situation: something that The Bama might want to take note of.
He might also want to review early American history: our first international war after gaining independence was against the Pasha of Tripoli. The Barbary pirates were hijacking and harassing U.S. merchant ships, and President Thomas Jefferson had had enough. He took us to war, and we crushed them.
Our enemies tested Jefferson, and he passed. So many presidents who came after Jefferson were tested and passed. Some failed. And so far, The Bama looks like he belongs in the latter group.