Take 2: Is the Obama/Biden Ticket Dangerous for America?

The president of the United States of America is perceived by many as a position of responsible power and representative of democratic ideals. Thing is, during the past 8 years many people see the presidency of the US as autocratic and irresponsible, often times they quote the war on Iraq and global terror as the primary source of those claims. In light of Sen. Biden's recent comments Americans should feel concerned about what it would mean for all of us if Obama is elected. As Sen. Biden puts it:

"Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America.” he told a fundraising crowd in the Pacific Northwest on Sunday. “Remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy..."

In essence, Biden is predicting what is almost always true of every newly elected president, including incumbent ones. After all it is a very logical move by anyone who wishes to stress out and annoy the American public, especially during a time when interest in the news and international affairs is high. Sen. Biden may very well be correct in his prediction, history can attest to that, however the question should be raised not whether the new president, whomever he may be, is tested, but whether that president has the right experience to deal effectively with these "tests."

Unfortunately, Sen. Obama does not have the required experience to deal with our enemies, nor is he guaranteed to work well with our allies. On the other hand, Sen. McCain has the necessary, and in my opinion required, experience to deal with any "tests" our enemies or allies will pose. In itself an Obama presidency does not afford us a strong position on the war on terror. Even with the support of Gen. Powell behind him, Sen. Obama will not be able to compensate for the lack of experience. Executive experience counts, so does experience in the military or tenure in the Senate for that matter.

So, in all probability an Obama presidency, by his own VP-candidate's admission, will involve the country in an international confrontation. What about when McCain wins? Will our enemies, and our allies, try to test his mettle? No, John McCain is not a wild card, nor is he an unknown.

I was very disappointed that Gen. Powel endorsed Sen. Obama rather than John McCain. However, I understand why he did it, but I hope it doesn't backfire on him. I understand that the Bush administration set him up in effect by pushing him to publicly state to the UN that weapons of mass destruction were being stockpiled by Saddam Hussein. Whether there's any merit at all to this hypothesis is irrelevant because, even allowing for the fact that Gen. Powell is not bitter about being used by the Bush administration to start a war, it makes no sense to me why he would break from Republicans by supporting a very left-leaning candidate? I have no explanation for it, even if the Obama camp had been pressing him for his endorsement since 8 months ago. Besides, didn't Gen. Powell, and Secretary Rice, make history as the first African-Americans to hold the position of Secretary of State. Why is the presidency suddenly a milestone, and his own accomplishments are not? Whatever the reason behind his decision, I hold a deep admiration for Gen. Powell. I have never agreed with the Bush administration's decision to marginalize and eventually push Gen. Powell out of his position. It is my opinion that Gen. Powell represented us very well within the Bush administration, albeit he opposed many of the Bush decisions - at least from a personal level. Still, I am speechless about his decision. I think it is the wrong move, especially since the Democrats and the liberals who support them are liable to mess everything up and eventually allow for the Republicans and the conservatives to once again take the reins of this country.

Which leads me to this: Obama needs to be very careful about how he acts in the Oval Office. I am positing here that it will be very difficult for him to ignore the radical elements of the Democratic party, making it impossible for him to gravitate towards the center. Unfortunately he will be stuck in a catch 22 mode, unable to commit to any difficult decisions that just might break with the radical liberal elements. If he ignores, circumvents, or opposes these fragments of the Democratic party, they will make his life very difficult and will jeopardize his bid for a second term. No wonder Biden's second warning today included the call to the Obama supporters to brace for difficult decisions and try to influence whomever they can to support the Obama presidency as such.

Yes, it sounds ridiculous, but isn't this uncertainty in the capabilities, or the direction Obama will take us, dangerous for America? In the event that Obama gets elected we will have a lame duck president on our hands. How will our enemies, again, and our allies, perceive him? You poke enough at us and you're liable to find a weak point in our posture. Rather than discourage such potential behavior from our enemies by electing a strong president McCain, Americans are on the verge of doing just the opposite. And for what? The promise of the promised land of social equality (so unsuccessful in Europe and the rest of the world)?

I will laugh or cry on election day. We'll see which mood I'm in.