U.K. Telegraph's Nile Gardiner Says There's a Titanic-Like Feel to President Obama's Administration

Nile Gardiner says there's a Titanic-like feel to President Obama's administration, he fails to inspire the American people and he doesn't believe in America's greatness.

The U.K. Telegraph's Nile Gardiner is at it again. This time he has listed the 10 reasons why the Obama administration has failed. Though I find it absolutely laughable that Mr. Gardiner could criticize President Obama considering that the United Kingdom is having its share of economic woes. Britain's pound recently slipped after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King issued a somber outlook for the economy through 2012. According to Bloomberg, he said inflation will probably slow below the bank’s target in 2012 and growth will be weaker than previously forecast, signaling the U.K. economy may need more emergency stimulus.  He also added that the “persistence of tight credit conditions” and planned budget cuts were risks to growth.The U.K. Federal Reserve reversed plans to exit its own emergency monetary stimulus plan.That tells me that the economy is more fragile than people like Nile Gardiner would have you believe. So, it's a little hypocritical of him to criticize President Obama on most fronts. Life in the United Kingdom isn't a party for the working class and poor.

Further, investment bank Morgan Stanley fears that Great Britain could face a severe debt crisis in the near future if it continues down its current path. The bank's report states that it was caused by the failure of the government to put aside sufficient reserves when the economy was sound. At the peak of its boom, the U.K. still ran a budget deficit of 3% of GDP when other European countries were running surpluses exceeding 2%. Great Britain also implemented a massive fiscal stimulus package and forced the public to fund losses in the private sector. So, with all these issues confronting Great Britain, it is very hypocritical for Nile Gardiner to issue such a scathing rebuke of President Obama, particulary his reference to the American economy and the two wars.

I do agree that President Obama and some members of his administration seem like deer caught between headlights. I am particularly bothered by the fact that the elitist label has stuck, as evident from First Lady Michelle Obama's lavish and ill-conceived vacation in Spain, as we are in the throes of economic hardship. It is also evident that the Barack Obama we knew on the campaign trail is largely M.I.A. in the White House. He inspired us in 2008, but he has lost that "loving feeling;" It's painfully clear to me that he and his team are just winging it and the Democrats in Congress are like crabs in a barrel, with no viable solutions to help the people on Main Street. Here are a few of Nile Gardiner's 10 reasons why the Obama Administration will have a meltdown:

The Obama presidency is out of touch with the American people

In a previous post I noted how the Obama presidency increasingly resembles a modern-day Ancien Régime, extravagant, decaying and out of touch with ordinary Americans. The First Lady’s ill-conceived trip to Spain at a time of widespread economic hardship was symbolic of a White House that barely gives a second thought to public opinion on many issues, and frequently projects a distinctly elitist image. The “let them eat cake” approach didn’t play well over two centuries ago, and it won’t succeed today.

Most Americans don’t have confidence in the president’s leadership

This deficit of trust in Obama’s leadership is central to his decline. According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, “nearly six in ten voters say they lack faith in the president to make the right decisions for the country”, and two thirds “say they are disillusioned with or angry about the way the federal government is working.” The poll showed that a staggering 58 per cent of Americans say they do not have confidence in the president’s decision-making, with just 42 per cent saying they do.

Obama fails to inspire

In contrast to the soaring rhetoric of his 2004 Convention speech in Boston which succeeded in impressing millions of television viewers at the time, America is no longer inspired by Barack Obama’s flat, monotonous and often dull presidential speeches and statements delivered via teleprompter. From his extraordinarily uninspiring Afghanistan speech at West Point to his flat State of the Union address, President Obama has failed to touch the heart of America. Even Jimmy Carter was more moving.

US foreign policy is an embarrassing mess under the Obama administration

It is hard to think of a single foreign policy success for the Obama administration, but there have been plenty of missteps which have weakened American global power as well as the standing of the United States. The surrender to Moscow on Third Site missile defence, the failure to aggressively stand up to Iran’s nuclear programme, the decision to side with ousted Marxists in Honduras, the slap in the face for Great Britain over the Falklands, have all contributed to the image of a US administration completely out of its depth in international affairs. The Obama administration’s high risk strategy of appeasing America’s enemies while kicking traditional US allies has only succeeded in weakening the United States while strengthening her adversaries.

President Obama is muddled and confused on national security

From the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the War on Terror, President Obama’s leadership has often been muddled and confused. On Afghanistan he rightly sent tens of thousands of additional troops to the battlefield. At the same time however he bizarrely announced a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces beginning in July 2011, handing the initiative to the Taliban. On Iraq he has announced an end to combat operations and the withdrawal of all but 50,000 troops despite a recent upsurge in terrorist violence and political instability, and without the Iraqi military and police ready to take over. In addition he has ditched the concept of a War on Terror, replacing it with an Overseas Contingency Operation, hardly the right message to send in the midst of a long-war against Al-Qaeda.

Obama doesn’t believe in American greatness

Barack Obama has made it clear that he doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism, and has made apologising for his country into an art form. In a speech to the United Nations last September he stated that “no one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold.” It is difficult to see how a US president who holds these views and does not even accept America’s greatness in history can actually lead the world’s only superpower with force and conviction.

There is a distinctly Titanic-like feel to the Obama presidency and it’s not hard to see why. The most left-wing president in modern American history has tried to force a highly interventionist, government-driven agenda that runs counter to the principles of free enterprise, individual freedom, and limited government that have made the United States the greatest power in the world, and the freest nation on earth.

This, combined with weak leadership both at home and abroad against the backdrop of tremendous economic uncertainty in an increasingly dangerous world, has contributed to a spectacular political collapse for a president once thought to be invincible. America at its core remains a deeply conservative nation, which cherishes its traditions and founding principles. President Obama is increasingly out of step with the American people, by advancing policies that undermine the United States as a global power, while undercutting America’s deep-seated love for freedom.

At the same time, Nile Gardiner is criticizing President Obama for things that are beyond his control, such as the mess we have on our hands with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Er, President George W. Bush invaded Iraq on a lie and pulled other countries in with him too. As for Afghanistan, they dropped the ball when they invaded Iraq.  As for the debt, we inherited a lot of that from the previous administrations to thank for this mess, starting with former President Ronald Reagan, who many Republican presidential hopefuls want to emulate. It is safe to say the chickens have come home to roost with the massive spending the Bush Administration engaged in, all with the blessings of the Republicans in Congress.