Tone Deaf Again

I increasingly wonder if Obama reads his speeches before he gives them, and if he ever hears what he is saying while he is saying it. I wonder if he ever realizes that he sometimes sounds like a complete idiot.

Yesterday he was standing at a podium at Martha’s Vineyard declaiming about how Muammar Gaddafi was a thug, a sponsor of terrorism and a murderer, reminding us that he arranged to have Pan Am 103 blown up and in the process killed 189 Americans. He went on with some sentiment about, “today we stand united with the families who lost loved ones” on that date, presumably as a result of the fall of the Gaddafi regime.

The incident which he described occurred in 1988, and a lot of water has flowed under a lot of bridges since then. Some of that flow and some of those bridges have involved Muammar Gaddafi.

For instance Gaddafi’s very friendly meetings with President Obama and Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman in 2009, after which McCain described Gaddafi as a great friend to America, as a statesman, and as a great Arab leader. Rather odd treatment for a man we are denouncing as a thug, a sponsor of terrorism and a murderer just two years later.

There is also Gaddafi taking part in the G8 summit in 2010, during which a handshake between him and Barack Obama marked the first time Gaddafi had been greeted by a serving US president. He was also seated at dinner just two places away from our president, with Obama seated on Berlusconi's right-hand and Gaddafi on the summit leader’s left side. Almost exactly a year later Obama is denouncing Gaddafi and reminding us that he “murdered American citizens” 22 years prior to the time that Obama was shaking his hand on the world stage and dining with him.

So, what changed Gaddafi from a “statesman” and “great Arab leader” last year to a “sponsor of terrorism” and a “murderer” this year? In terms of his interaction with this nation, nothing happened. His people saw the people of neighboring nations rebelling against their despotic leaders and decided to join the movement, and this is our reaction to that. If it doesn’t make much sense to you, join the club. I’m already a member.