|
He’s Willing to be Putin’s Pigeon
So He Can Go Body Surfing
On the day after Russia invaded Georgia, Barack Obama urged even-handed “restraint” on both sides without mentioning Russia by name or rebuking its aggression. Thus Obama proposed his “Rodney King Doctrine,” after the African-American taxi driver, beaten by Los Angeles policemen in 1991, who plaintively asked, “Can we all get along?” The acquittal of the police in 1992 triggered the LA riots.
The Russians took the Obama Doctrine as another green light—not just for their attack but also for extending their power in the foreseeable future under a potential Obama administration.
Having dealt with the pesky issue of war, Obama turned to the more pressing matter of his Hawaiian vacation. His statement about his day in paradise was more focused than his statement on the Russian invasion.
Here’s what was on Obama’s mind as the Russian army plunged deep into the heart of the Georgian democracy and bombed civilians:
“I’m going to get a plate lunch. I might go to Zippy’s. I might go to Rainbow Drive-In. I haven’t decided yet. Get some Zip Min. I’m going to go get some shave ice. I’m going to go body surfing at an undisclosed location. I’m going to see my tutu — my grandma — and I’m going to watch my girls play on the beach, and once in a while I might go into the water. But mostly I’m going to watch them.”
Then, the New Decider made a decision. He announced he was going “to go body surfing at some undisclosed location.”
That inspirational, transformational, post-partisan, post-racial statement had an inspirational effect on the Russians. They were further inspired to ramp up their military offensive and encouraged that “citizen of the world” Obama was just the man for Putin to man-handle in years to come.
|