A 28 foot-boat bobs serenely in the Indian Ocean, carrying 4 armed Somali pirates and an American merchant ship's Captain. With the arsenal of democracy at his fingertips, the President of the United States has acted exactly as we might have predicted: he's talking to them. The United States of America, the world's lone superpower, is negotiating with pirates; pirates who had earlier hijacked a ship flying the flag of the United States, and pirates who would still have that ship today if the American crew had not retaken it - a band of a few men with more raw courage than exists in this entire amateur endeavor we call an "Administration." America the weak sister: this is change we can believe in?
This humiliating standoff comes on the heels of a hectic week of bowing and scraping for our President, taking time out to flex his muscles on the international stage: Obama practically dared North Korea to launch a missile in defiance of United Nation Charter Chapter 7, which prohibits such an action.
Of course, in the face of this paper tiger, North Korea launched. Obama sprang into action. "Rules must be binding," he said. "Violations must be punished. Words must mean something. The world must stand together to prevent the spread of these weapons. Now is the time for a strong international response."
Was the violation punished? No. Did we prepare a strong international response? Umm, no, in fact, we could not even get a Security Council condemnation, what with the Russians and Chinese blocking even the most modest statement of disapproval.
So, since words must mean something, and the hoax known as the international community refused to act, President Obama boldly and unilaterally took action the day after the launch: he had his defense secretary announce draconian cuts to the defense budget. He discontinued deployment of the very interceptors which were designed to shoot down North Korean missiles.
Quite a week, Mr. President. Apologize for and denigrate the actions of your own country. Show the world continued weakness. Joe Biden was right when he predicted that the new President - and by extension, the American public - would be tested early and often. What he did not predict was the way our President would abjectly fail those tests.
