Obama's theatrical mystery tour

A FoxNews.com headline read, "Obama Trip Could Push Rock-Star Persona to New Heights." Well, hell's-bells – isn't that just the quality we desire most in our potential next commander in chief.

Contributors to the above-referenced piece wrote, "[Obama's] trip to Europe and the Middle East has generated so much interest that all three TV network news anchors are planning to accompany the candidate."

Now, I understand that such a theatrical assault on foreign soil by the "Barack the 'magic negro' mystery tour" is the must-see-and-experience event of the season, but to that point, we do not need staged events with media, paparazzi, sound and light shows in the zeitgeist of today's complex and ever-changing international matrix – we need a leader capable of leading America through the myriad of complexities that confront her pursuant to same. And that won't happen because the Democrats' latest version of the "Ken doll" has nice teeth, reads well from a teleprompter and is said to be bright. Being a liberal's liberal is not synonymous with being a leader, but it is synonymous with exposing America to a plethora of international dangers – all of them worse than the first.

Obama may not be "trying to play the role of president," if we are to believe his advisers, but he is doggone sure going to try to be presidential – and specifically to that point, we should have more than photo-ops of him appearing to listen intently and/or smiling and shaking hands with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

His message to Abbas should be that America does believe the Holocaust took place and that the United States will accept nothing less than his full cooperation in keeping peace in that portion of the world. He should be told in no uncertain terms that America stands with Israel and supports her right to defend herself. A message like that isn't going to be made during a Polaroid moment.

He should reassure Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that America stands with Israel, and there should be no concern of our abandoning her side on his watch, should he be elected president. He might also consider the possibility of an even more comprehensive information exchange.

Obama should make it clear and unequivocal that America will protect herself, her allies and her interests. He should also make it known that, if elected president, he will expect Germany, France and Britain to pay their fair share of the cost of the war. He should be at the ready to discuss economic and international terrorism. The French should be made to understand that cutting backdoor deals with those who threaten our security will not be tolerated.

Obama isn't there to get Europe and our enemies to like us. He is there to make it clear that he is a man of principle, integrity and character, and while willing to work toward peace and goodwill, he is just as comfortable using a big stick to accomplish said objective. But we won't hold our collective breaths for that to happen. He will view his objective as being there to genuflect, curtsy and apologize for America being the greatest country in the world – while blaming her for the ills of the world.

The problem is, the central focus of the trip will be how Obama looked, stood, sat, shook hands, faced Mecca, played basketball and/or delivered a speech. "Recreating the kind of public whirlwind that he enjoyed at the height of the Democrat primary on a global scale," as FoxNews.com put it, should not be his reason for going. But be assured, that is exactly what the unprecedented media coverage is there to ensure happens.

As I pen this, there are over 4,000 articles suggesting the trip will bolster his foreign credentials and image as a statesman. Another 600-plus articles pose the question of whether the trip will boost his election chances, and another 2,500-plus stories trumpet his taking the trip. Google alone has nearly 2 million pieces of information pursuant to some aspect of the trip, present or past. Such a puerile, collegial understanding of foreign policy and governance is the way of thinking for classroom liberals who have no clue about the basics of real foreign policy.

While it is true that Obama shares things in common with Bill Clinton, unlike Clinton, he doesn't have the common sense to co-opt successful strategies and claim them as his own. Obama, like most less politically savvy liberals, just plows ahead with his condemnable agendas that ultimately undermine the social, economic and foreign policy fabric of our country – not unlike Jimmy Carter did.

Obama would do well to forget, for the moment, his contempt for America and her traditions, and realize that many in the Middle East hate America even more than he, his wife and his self-professed closest advisers do. And with said thought in mind, he should realize that when they come for us – they'll have his address in their Rolodex as well.