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*Obama’s pathetic failure to transform … anything <http://nypost.com/2015/12/02/obamas-pathetic-failure-to-transform-anything/>* By Seth Mandel <http://nypost.com/author/seth-mandel/> December 2, 2015 | 10:01pm Modal Trigger <http://nypost.com/2015/12/02/obamas-pathetic-failure-to-transform-anything/> [image: Description: Obama’s pathetic failure to transform … anything] President Obama Photo: AP Poor President Obama. All he wanted was to be a transformational figure. Instead, he’ll be merely a transitional one. For all the talk about Obama’s grand ambitions to remake the country in his image, current events make it crystal clear his role is as a placeholder. Both Obama and first lady Michelle had set out to address their lukewarm feelings toward America-as-it-is by creating an America-as-it-ought-to-be. “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America,” then-Sen. Obama said in late October 2008. Earlier that year, Michelle caused a stir by insisting, “We’re going to have to change our traditions, our history. We’re going to have to move into a different place as a nation.” But events this week will likely cement the Obama presidency as one in which the leader of the Free World was barely able to tread water, let alone usher in dramatic change. Take the announcement that we’ll be sending a “specialized expeditionary targeting force” to Iraq to contain ISIS. It seems the days of even pretending we won’t put “boots on the ground” against the Islamic State are over. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said so unequivocally on Tuesday: “We’re doing a lot from the air, but there are, by the way, boots on the ground.” Yes, there are. And there will likely be a lot more. Hey, if that’s what Obama thinks is the right course of action, good for him for finally coming around and breaking his millionth promise. But it’s worth wondering what happened to the Obama who liked to say, “I was elected to end wars, not start them.” On that front, as Ed Koch might’ve said, how’s he doin’? Not great. Sending troops back into Iraq means he was unable to make good on the one vow that was most responsible for his national political career. He never ended the Iraq war, of course; he simply tried to end US involvement in it. And he failed. Meanwhile, the real focus of the West’s new war effort is Syria, where ISIS is strongest. Syria poses the greatest threat in terms of terrorist recruiting, training and planning. Whether you consider the Syria escalation to be a new theater in an old war or a new war itself, Obama’s decisions at every stage have ensured he won’t oversee the end of this one. Speaking of Obama’s new wars and of ISIS — how’s post-Khadafy Libya? In a word, terrible. And it’s not just about Benghazi. The resulting anarchy from the president’s half-hearted regime-decapitation there left Libya as a source of weapons for other conflicts, such as the one in Mali, and as a place to incubate a range of terrorists — including ISIS. “Even as foreign powers step up pressure against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the militant group has expanded in Libya and established a new base close to Europe where it can generate oil revenue and plot terror attacks,” The Wall Street Journal explained Sunday, in reference to the Mediterranean coast city of Sirte. That’s two strikes in one shot against Obama’s foreign policy: one for his attempt to contain ISIS, which has now expanded to Sirte, and another for his war in Libya. The Middle East, North Africa and even crucial parts of Central Asia are in turmoil. True, Obama might not have singlehandedly ignited the multi-continent dumpster fire that’s raging. But he certainly hasn’t put it out, either. That’ll be someone else’s job. And if these hotspots do ever cool, it won’t be because of Obama. Oh, and where was our commander in chief this week as the fire raged? In Paris, working to sign a climate-change deal that won’t change the trajectory of the climate one bit. He wants this to be his legacy, but anything the countries agree to won’t be revolutionary — or even enforceable. Even his biggest legacy item, ObamaCare, is less than meets the eye in terms of “transformation.” First of all, it’s sputtering toward a death spiral that virtually ensures the next president, regardless of party, will make changes — and treat the program as a work in progress, at best. And second, and more important, the growth in health insurance coverage in 2014 thanks to ObamaCare was mostly due to the expansion of Medicaid — an existing, and terrible, government program for the poor. So on both foreign and domestic policy, Obama either doubled down on his predecessors’ programs or mismanaged — and thus perpetuated — the status quo ante. Some transformation. __._,_.___ ------------------------------ Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected]> ------------------------------ Visit Your Group <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmajVydGZlBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0NDkxODE4MDI-> [image: Yahoo! Groups] <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZWNyYm40BF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTQ0OTE4MTgwMg--> • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • Unsubscribe <[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe> • Terms of Use <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> __,_._,___ -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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