Unless the electoral picture changes, I see myself doing something next year that I have never done before – sitting out a presidential election. The Republicans have no candidate emerging who is anything more than a cartoon, and Democrats have decided that Obama is their default choice.
And there are things to like about Obama, but I find his approach to the Middle East is simply too repugnant for me to vote for him. Not to mention his views on civil liberties which, in my view, emerge from his perceptions of the threat posed by small factions based in the Middle East; a threat which, in terms of true national security, is actually non-existent.
Syria looked to Iran for assistance in putting down the popular uprising in that country, while Bahrain looked to Saudi Arabia for precisely the same kind of assistance. But Obama said in his Middle East policy speech that “Syria has followed its Iranian ally, seeking assistance from Tehran in the tactics of suppression,” while of the country which houses our naval base he said only that, “the Bahraini government has a legitimate interest in the rule of law.”
How can I vote for the reelection of a President who condemns one tyrannical government and in almost the same breath supports an all but identical government based purely on American military interests? Is the public in this country paying attention? That duplicity has aroused absolutely no commentary, so I suspect it is not. But I am paying attention.
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