If the voting public was waiting to see Speaker Pelosi in action, their wait is over. Pelosi's Kissingerian shuttle diplomacy adroitly displayed
Pelosi's absolute naivete in diplomacy, foreign policy and statesmen, er, stateswomanship. In a week's time, Madame Speaker demonstrated to the
American public how shallow, uninformed and dangerous she is.
The Speaker's foibles didn't begin on this tour of nations debacle. Pelosi has been stumbling right out of the gate. Even before all the votes were counted after the November elections and it was apparent the Dems would take control of congress, Pelosi over-reached and tried to install her pal Murtha as majority leader. The House Dems quickly shot that down with their overwhelming support for Steny Hoyer Then after picking Alcee Hastings for the top spot on the Intelligence Committee, she reconsidered after pundits and pols reacted in horror at the thought of an impeached judge immersed in scandal heading up such a vital committee. She then nominated Silvestre Reyes, whose stupidity on all things terrorist was evidenced by an interview he granted Congressional Quarterly. Pelosi put herself in a lose/lose situation that pissed off the Congressional Black Caucus and newly elected moderate Democrats who must appear serious on the war on terror to the voters back home as well. Her four day "coronation" with its balls, galas and fundraisers capped off a truly inauspicious beginning to the first woman Speaker's term.
Now Pelosi and her compatriots in the Senate have put themselves in another impossible situation. The Iraq war funding bill with its cut and run provisions will be vetoed by the President. The clock is ticking in Iraq. News reports are surfacing begrudgingly about the successes of the surge. There are already stories about exactly when the failure to supply the President's request for funding will affect the troops in the field. President Bush has smartly given speeches about the consequences of failure to provide the funding necessary to equip, train and sustain our military. While the press and the Republicans make hay over this, Pelosi recesses the House and embarks on her greatest public debacle to date. The queen's tour of the Middle East.
If Pelosi's swearing in was a coronation, this was the crowning event of her reign to date. She couldn't have demonstrated her ineptness any better than if she had been trying. Despite, or in spite of, warnings from the White House saying, "It was a bad idea", the queen blundered ahead with her wrong headed trip. Despite Syria's involvement in terrorist sponsorship and complicity with Iran, she went. Despite the administrations attempts at isolating the Syrian regime, she went.
Once there Pelosi toured the Syrian capital amid all the pomp and circumstance befitting her royal highness. Donning muslim head garb, she visited mosques and chatted with the town's people. Nancy was portrayed as the good American. Not one of those nasty war mongers like Bush. Good tidings from America had arrived in the person of Madame Speaker.
President Assad was only too eager to meet with the queen and have their photos taken together. Assad, even though portrayed as a rube since assuming the mantle from his father, was not so stupid as to realize that Pelosi was handing him a propaganda bonanza. Here was the self proclaimed most powerful woman in the world, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives showing up on Assad's doorstep, all smiles and sweetness and light.
After some closed door meetings with the thug of Damascus, Pelosi emerged and proclaimed that peace was at hand. She had given Assad a message from Prime Minister Olmert of Israel, that Israel was ready to enter into direct peace negotiations with Syria. No strings attached. And President Assad had assured her highness that Syria was willing to return to the table as well. Despite the sabre rattling of the Bush administration towards Syria, Madame Speaker in one trip, utilizing her superior diplomatic skills, had accomplished a breakthrough in the quest for peace in the Middle East. Amazing.
There was just one problem. Mr. Olmert, upon hearing of this breakthrough while eating his dinner and causing him to choke on his bagel, made no such statements to Pelosi. Olmert's office quickly released a statement saying, "What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel". In other words, Pelosi just made it up. In her zeal to appear relevant on the world stage, the speaker just made an ass of herself. In the process of making an ass of herself, the speaker also undermined the Bush administrations policy towards Syria in contravention of the separation of powers as outlined in the constitution. Madame Speaker had egg on her face and appeared to all the world the simple minded, all flash and no substance, surgically enhanced moron that she is.
What does this tell the American people? It should inform them of the wisdom of the founders for investing foreign policy duties in the executive and not the legislature. Pelosi didn't run for president. She was elected by a small number of nutbags in the San Francisco area. She has no expertise in foreign policy. Hell, she can't even run the House with any competence. It should also tell the American people what would happen if they invest the Democrats with executive power in Washington. Their idealistic, pie in the sky view of the world is dangerous. There are wolves out there who will devour these naive bumpkins and all of us along with them. As a nation, we cannot afford to let despots such as Assad manipulate our political leaders. It makes us look weak and ineffectual. The bad actors are emboldened when our leaders legitimize their despotic actions by sitting down with them and "negotiating" with them while they continue to behave badly. This is what America should see, if they are paying attention.
The Speaker's foibles didn't begin on this tour of nations debacle. Pelosi has been stumbling right out of the gate. Even before all the votes were counted after the November elections and it was apparent the Dems would take control of congress, Pelosi over-reached and tried to install her pal Murtha as majority leader. The House Dems quickly shot that down with their overwhelming support for Steny Hoyer Then after picking Alcee Hastings for the top spot on the Intelligence Committee, she reconsidered after pundits and pols reacted in horror at the thought of an impeached judge immersed in scandal heading up such a vital committee. She then nominated Silvestre Reyes, whose stupidity on all things terrorist was evidenced by an interview he granted Congressional Quarterly. Pelosi put herself in a lose/lose situation that pissed off the Congressional Black Caucus and newly elected moderate Democrats who must appear serious on the war on terror to the voters back home as well. Her four day "coronation" with its balls, galas and fundraisers capped off a truly inauspicious beginning to the first woman Speaker's term.
Now Pelosi and her compatriots in the Senate have put themselves in another impossible situation. The Iraq war funding bill with its cut and run provisions will be vetoed by the President. The clock is ticking in Iraq. News reports are surfacing begrudgingly about the successes of the surge. There are already stories about exactly when the failure to supply the President's request for funding will affect the troops in the field. President Bush has smartly given speeches about the consequences of failure to provide the funding necessary to equip, train and sustain our military. While the press and the Republicans make hay over this, Pelosi recesses the House and embarks on her greatest public debacle to date. The queen's tour of the Middle East.
If Pelosi's swearing in was a coronation, this was the crowning event of her reign to date. She couldn't have demonstrated her ineptness any better than if she had been trying. Despite, or in spite of, warnings from the White House saying, "It was a bad idea", the queen blundered ahead with her wrong headed trip. Despite Syria's involvement in terrorist sponsorship and complicity with Iran, she went. Despite the administrations attempts at isolating the Syrian regime, she went.
Once there Pelosi toured the Syrian capital amid all the pomp and circumstance befitting her royal highness. Donning muslim head garb, she visited mosques and chatted with the town's people. Nancy was portrayed as the good American. Not one of those nasty war mongers like Bush. Good tidings from America had arrived in the person of Madame Speaker.
President Assad was only too eager to meet with the queen and have their photos taken together. Assad, even though portrayed as a rube since assuming the mantle from his father, was not so stupid as to realize that Pelosi was handing him a propaganda bonanza. Here was the self proclaimed most powerful woman in the world, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives showing up on Assad's doorstep, all smiles and sweetness and light.
After some closed door meetings with the thug of Damascus, Pelosi emerged and proclaimed that peace was at hand. She had given Assad a message from Prime Minister Olmert of Israel, that Israel was ready to enter into direct peace negotiations with Syria. No strings attached. And President Assad had assured her highness that Syria was willing to return to the table as well. Despite the sabre rattling of the Bush administration towards Syria, Madame Speaker in one trip, utilizing her superior diplomatic skills, had accomplished a breakthrough in the quest for peace in the Middle East. Amazing.
There was just one problem. Mr. Olmert, upon hearing of this breakthrough while eating his dinner and causing him to choke on his bagel, made no such statements to Pelosi. Olmert's office quickly released a statement saying, "What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel". In other words, Pelosi just made it up. In her zeal to appear relevant on the world stage, the speaker just made an ass of herself. In the process of making an ass of herself, the speaker also undermined the Bush administrations policy towards Syria in contravention of the separation of powers as outlined in the constitution. Madame Speaker had egg on her face and appeared to all the world the simple minded, all flash and no substance, surgically enhanced moron that she is.
What does this tell the American people? It should inform them of the wisdom of the founders for investing foreign policy duties in the executive and not the legislature. Pelosi didn't run for president. She was elected by a small number of nutbags in the San Francisco area. She has no expertise in foreign policy. Hell, she can't even run the House with any competence. It should also tell the American people what would happen if they invest the Democrats with executive power in Washington. Their idealistic, pie in the sky view of the world is dangerous. There are wolves out there who will devour these naive bumpkins and all of us along with them. As a nation, we cannot afford to let despots such as Assad manipulate our political leaders. It makes us look weak and ineffectual. The bad actors are emboldened when our leaders legitimize their despotic actions by sitting down with them and "negotiating" with them while they continue to behave badly. This is what America should see, if they are paying attention.
