He's No Roosevelt

            It is often said that history repeats itself. If this old saw is true, we should search the past for the wisdom necessary to deal with perilous times such as these.

            I have long been an admirer of Winston Churchill, who led the British effort to resist and eventually to defeat Hitler. One of his greatest achievements was to persuade Franklin
Delano Roosevelt to join him in that effort. It is not an exaggeration to say that these two men saved the world.
            A study of the cooperation between these two giants to defeat Nazism can provide useful lessons for us today. The circumstances parallel those of today in a striking yet alarming way.
            In 1940 Britain stood alone among Western European powers against a Germany that had swept all military resistance off the map. In fact, Britain faced imminent invasion itself. But Hitler chose to invade Russia instead. This gave Churchill the time he needed to look to America for the arms and supplies he needed to build up Britain's defenses. FDR found a way to do it, first with the Lend-Lease program and then with a full conversion of America's manufacturing might to the production of weapons of war. Together, Churchill and Roosevelt prevailed.
            Today, Israel is surrounded by Islamists who seek its annihilation. It desperately needs the backing of the United States to fend off Iran and the fanatic Islamists rising to power on all sides. But can Israel count on us?  
            It is clear to me that President Obama, unlike Roosevelt, is not willing to give Israel America's full support. Should regional conflicts erupt into all-out war, I doubt that Obama will deploy America's arsenal in defense of Israel. The signs are all there.
            In the four years of his presidency, Obama has cultivated a friendship with Islam, but not with Israel. He traveled extensively throughout the Middle East on his apology tour during which he praised Islam, signaled his support for Muslim causes, and bowed to the Saudi king. But, during his entire presidency he has not visited Israel,  his number one ally. Not even once. Further, every meeting with Premier Netanyahu had been contentious and frosty, to say the least. When Netanyahu requested a face to face meeting with Obama when he came to the United Nations in late September, Obama told him he was too busy. Not too busy, of course, for fundraisers and for appearances on David Letterman and The View. This has not escaped the notice of Islamists.           
            If anything, Obama's policies of leading from behind in Libya and non-intervention in Syria have emboldened jihadists and America haters everywhere, as we have seen on the anniversary of 9/11. Our enemies know they have nothing to fear from a weak America. Meanwhile, this administration if falling all over itself to apologize for hurting Islam's feelings. As the caskets of four dead Americans slain in Benghazi are laid to rest, and American flags are being burned across the Muslim world, Obama minimizes these events as "bumps in the road."
            How will our Islam-loving president characterize Iranian missiles raining down on Tel Aviv? More "bumps in the road"?
            A beleaguered Netanyahu may remind us of Churchill. But as Muslims around the world desecrate our flag, stone our embassies, and kill our representatives,  President Obama's weakness and lack of resolve tell us that he most certainly is no Roosevelt.          

Platform Follies

            Former President Bill Clinton gave a masterful speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on September 5th. Once again he showed that he has no equal in political oratory, although I couldn't help recalling that the finger he wagged at us throughout the speech was the same finger he wagged when he denied having sex with Monica Lewinsky. Be that as it may, his persuasive arguments in favor of President Obama's reelection made us believe that the President's multiple failures were actually successes. There was no fault to be found in a dismal economic record, intractable unemployment, and a $16 trillion debt.

            Clinton needed to revive the fractious atmosphere on the convention floor after the embarrassing vote on the Democratic platform. First, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa failed after three tries to secure a two-thirds voice vote to approve the platform. Then he brazenly lied and declared the vote passed, producing a chorus of boos from the delegates. That's when President Obama stepped in.
            The issues in contention were dual exclusions from the platform. The first was the absence of any mention of God, which was an affront to people of faith, especially black Baptist ministers. The second was failing to affirm Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which angered Jewish voters and other firm supporters of Israel.
            So what did Obama do? He forced the platform committee to put God and Jerusalem back into the party platform. His aides scurried to explain that Obama had been unaware of the original platform omissions, that they did not reflect Obama's real positions, and that they were the result of some kind of technical glitch. All lies.
            We know that Obama is not a religious person in the traditional sense. Oh, he has strong beliefs. He believes that government is the only god, the source of all goodness, and he is its anointed Messiah. People no longer need the God of religion... except maybe Allah, of course..
            On that score, we know that Obama is a Muslim. In spite of all his efforts to prevent the TV replay of speeches in which he professes his Muslim faith, he cannot prevent the Internet from doing so. We know of his support for a Palestinian state, for his coziness with the Muslim Brotherhood, and his weakness in support of Israel. I could go on.
            The point here is that President Obama's positions do not mirror those of the American people. He has taken minority positions on abortion, on same sex marriage, on religious freedom, on energy, on health care, on small businesses, on taxes, on job-destroying regulations, on government spending, on the Middle East, and on and on.
            When the platform committee came back with a revised proposal to include God and Jerusalem, it was greeted with boos from the anti-Semites and the secular wing of the party, thus showing that the President's policy of divisiveness is dividing his own party. 
            What does all this prove? Obama cannot pander to all minorities and win.             

"You didn't build that."

            Vice-President Biden may hold the record for the most verbal gaffes uttered during this electioneering season, but President Obama may have given us the one that will last forever.

            "You didn't build that." This putdown of entrepreneurs is etched in stone. In a country whose fabulous success derives principally from individuals who built their own businesses with their ideas and their sweat, Obama's insult reveals not only his lack of understanding of the free enterprise system, but also his socialist belief in government as the solution to our problems.
            Americans think otherwise. As Ronald Reagan put it, "Government is not the solution to our problems. Government IS the problem."
            Obama's failure  to appreciate  American determination and ingenuity reminds me of  foolish statements by other people who lacked the vision to see beyond their noses. Here are some of my favorites:

            "Man will never reach the moon, regardless of all future scientific advances." __ Dr. Lee DeForest, radio pioneer.

            "There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom." __ Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923.

            "The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication." __ Western Union memo, 1896

            "Heavier than air flying machines are impossible." __ Lord Kelvin, 1895.

            "Everything that can be invented has been invented." __ Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of Patents, 1899.

            "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." Ken Olsen, DEC Corp., 1977.

            "I don't know what use anyone could find for a machine that would make copies of documents. It certainly couldn't be a feasible business by itself." __ the head of IBM, rejecting the idea put forth by the founder of Xerox.

            "The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." __Yale University professor grading Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service (Smith went on to found Federal Express).

            "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." __ Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

            "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value." __ David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings to invest in the radio in the 1920s.

            "A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make." Response to Mrs. Fields' idea.

            Cookies, anyone?