Image by Muhammad غفّاري via FlickrFresh off of his speech declaring that we were watching "history unfold" in Egypt, and declaring that Hosni Mubarak was ready to step down and oversee a peaceful transition of power, Obama gets those words snapped off in him. "Mubarak was supposed to step down, dammit! Why wouldn't he? I'm Barack Hussein Obama, and I've been telling him to do it for over two weeks!"
Apparently, President Mubarak doesn't take kindly to others telling him what to do and how to do it. Especially not from some snot-nosed newbie to the world stage who is having problems of his own back home. I mean, he didn't get involved in the popular uprising in Iran, where Iranians were getting killed by government forces. He barely said a word. But when a so-called grassroots uprising happens in Egypt, which is looking more and more sophisticated and organized than initially thought, Obama is asking, no telling Mubarak to listen to the the people and do the right thing.
Hey, he knows of which he speaks. Remember last year when the Tea Party rose up all over the country, form small towns to large cities, demanding that our government listen to its people, kill ObamaCare and stop the out-of-control spending? Obama stepped right up and listened to the people, right? He told Congress to "Let my people go!" I can remember it like it was yesterday. Except that it was Reagan who freed the economic giant and removed many of the shackles of government from his people. I guess I was mixed up from all of the talk of how Obama has been so Reaganesque. No. what Obama did when the people rose up was, he gave them a big middle finger, and encouraged the then-Democrat controlled Congress to push through as much legislation as they could. Legislation the people were protesting against. Why would Hosni Mubarak want to listen to a man that is asking him to do what he would not do.
I am not defending Hosni Mubarak. He is, after all a dictator. However, he has been a stabilizing force in that area regarding Israel and keeping the Muslim Brotherhood in check. The Obama Administration's handling of this has been pathetic. They threw Mubarak under the bus before they, or anybody, knew what was actually happening on the ground. Is this going to be the template from this administration for how the U.S. treats its allies? The decisions made by this President in this situation are goingto reverberate around the world, to allies and enemies alike.
What will a post-Mubarak Egypt look like? Who will run it? Right now, nobody knows. To have our President tell another President, and a long time ally at that, not only to step down (it sounds like he's meddling in other peoples affairs), but to make sure that a group such as the Muslim Brotherhood has a seat at the table of the new government, is not only arrogant, but dangerously naive. To be visibly disappointed when it doesn't happen and to ask Egypts leaders to "explain" what this means comes across as an Administration that is incompetent and completely disengaged from what has been happening and is just now trying to play catch-up.
Losing patience, Obama challenges Egypt's leaders
By BEN FELLER, AP White House Correspondent Ben Feller, Ap White House Correspondent – Fri Feb 11, 6:21 am ET
WASHINGTON – Showing deepening dismay, President Barack Obama is questioning whether Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's promised transfer of power has any credibility or meaning. As a defiant Mubarak stayed in office, Obama challenged the autocratic Egyptian government to explain its path toward democracy to its people and the world.
Without naming Mubarak directly, Obama issued a written statement on Thursday night in which he criticized the leader for a lack of clarity and direction. That assessment came after Mubarak surprised those protesting in Egypt's streets by saying, in a broadly watched speech, that he would shift powers to his vice president but remain in charge of the country.
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