Editorial: Obama says nothing new in speech

Last week, two evil people killed 14 people and injured 21 others in San Bernardino, California.

The perpetrators of the horror were a man and his wife following radicalized tenets of Islam. The couple’s actions and Facebook activity link the couple to being followers of the Islamic State, or ISIS; and therefore the whole thing has been described as a terrorist attack on United States soil.

To that end, Barack Obama took to the airwaves Sunday evening to address the nation as all presidents do during times of crisis or national tragedy. In a rare move for this president, he delivered his remarks from the Oval Office, but he did it awkwardly from behind a podium instead of from sitting at his desk.

And then and there did B.O. proceed to further his reputation as out of touch, as self-absorbed, and as the owner of a failed foreign policy.

Given the timing of the speech, the day before Pearl Harbor Day, it was interesting to do some comparisons of what great presidents do and what this president does.

In his address after the Empire of Japan executed its sneak attack on the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to himself just five times and then he laid out the total victory the USA would pursue and his intention to ask Congress for a declaration of war.

In his address after the brutal attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush referred to himself five times, sought to reassure the nation while making it clear the US would pursue the terrorists as well as those who harbor them, and thanked the Congress for its condemnation of the attacks.

Sunday night, the sitting president referred to himself 20 times, labeled the San Bernardino tragedy as a “terrorist attack” but gave no indication that the US would do anything different than it’s been doing, and then took a political turn by calling for more gun control measures.

If indeed last week’s mass murder was a terrorist attack and not just some random act of senseless violence, then you would think that would call for a more direct manner of response. Some bombings or something. But instead, the American people got nothing but empty words and political B.S.

It is clear that this president does not know what to do about ISIS (or ISIL as he prefers to call the enemy). It’s not that Mr. Obama is evil or the son of the devil or a closet Muslim or anything of the sort. It’s that he’s impotent when it comes to the ability to wield or project American power abroad, and he’s incompetent in terms of crafting a foreign policy that makes others believe America is not to be messed with.

If last Wednesday’s attack was in fact a terrorist strike on American soil, as the president says it was, and ISIS was behind it, then the military response should have been swift, deadly, and overwhelming.

If the American intelligence network is worth anything, then US military commanders and their superiors must know or have some indication of where ISIS leaders and supporters are. If they know those locations, they should kill them and anyone nearby without warning and without mercy.

Once again, if this was a terrorist attack, as the president says, then America is going to have to get serious about going after these people. But this president doesn’t have that in him. He doesn’t know how to fight and doesn’t have the will to fight.

The unfortunate thing for America is that the current front-runners to be presidential nominees aren’t much better. The Democratic front-runner will be no better than the current office holder, and the Republican front-runner promises to take us down a road that will destroy the ideals of religious liberty.

Now more than ever, America needs a true leader to emerge. One who will stand up, speak the truth, and do what needs to be done to send ISIS – and every group like it – straight to hell.