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     I recently spent countless hours reading through a steady stream of editorials from a multitude of mainstream sources attempting to find one about government that struck a cord with me. Finally, I found one in the Washington Post by Mark Davis titled,  "Obama unable to muster foreign policy boldness.”   If there is one thing that does get my attention, is what I consider to be the non-stop blaming of president Obama for everything that is wrong in this country and the world, and it has nothing to do with supporting a democratic president.

     Mr. Davis states, “The short American attention span, coupled with false optimism over an “Arab spring,” has fed our tendency to focus inward and forget the rest of the world, even when it is filled with enemies we dare not ignore….those enemies are energized by American leadership that seems more interested in sugarcoating global risks and protecting its reputation than in speaking truth to evil.”  So I ask, in view of the internal mess our country is in, at what point do we start focusing our energies on our own backyard, instead of everyone else’s?  I’m not saying that the US and our president should turn a blind eye to the rest of the world and abandon foreign policies but I feel strongly that it is time to re-channel some of that energy into fixing our own problems.  In my opinion, we have spent so much time, energy, and money focusing on foreign issues, that we have neglected our country.  How can we try to fix other countries problems when we have so many of our own?  Doesn’t that damage our reputation and credibility even more?  If anything, our enemies, like the Taliban, are celebrating our domestic weaknesses and problems, and are hoping and waiting for us to self-destruct.

     Mr. Davis goes on to say, “ the Taliban are thoroughly enjoying the exit from Afghanistan that President Barack Obama proudly touts as a campaign promise fulfilled.”  Pardon me, but wasn’t the withdrawal timeline actually established by former President Bush?  Even he understood that the American people were not committed to an endless war. Have we forgotten how many US servicemen and women have given their lives in this war, and what about the billions of dollars that have gone into funding it?  What if we had spent even half of that money here at home?  Would our national debt be as large as it is today?  You don’t have to be a brain scientist to understand that we can’t spend what we don’t have.  There is no doubt that we could not continue to support the war for many reasons.  In my opinion, the Taliban are always going to be a threat that we have to take seriously but how do you fight your enemies if you have nothing to fight with?

     Mr. Davis goes even further when he claims, “ the monster Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will escape New York after his United Nations remarks” and that president Obama could care less, and is underestimating the seriousness of the nuclear threat Iran poses.  He also claims our president is too busy promoting himself on television to meet with world leaders.  Really?  Does he truly believe our president does not understand or underestimates the seriousness of this issue or what’s at stake for our country and the rest of the world?   We can’t just deal with a nuclear threat by going to war or dropping bombs.  We have to exhaust all diplomatic options available.  I have no doubt that our president and government is working feverishly behind the scenes to address this massive threat. If we have learned nothing else from our past conflicts, we have to be calm, methodical, and strategic in our actions which I think is exactly what President Obama is doing. 

     Mr. Davis and I did agree on one point, and that is a statement President Obama made when he addressed the United Nations this week, “We believe that freedom and self-determination are not unique to one culture. These are not simply American values or Western values, they are universal values...I am convinced that ultimately government of the people, by the people and for the people, is more likely to bring about the stability, prosperity and individual opportunity that serve as a basis for peace in our world.”  Our great country was built with hard work, great sacrifice, and diligence.  We did not have another country helping us fight our battles or fund our growth.  However, we have fought for other countries at great human and financial cost over the decades.  I feel if true democracy and freedom is to be won, the people who want it have to fight for it.  We can’t want it more than they do.  In my opinion, too many foreign governments have looked to us over time to have all the answers for many global issues instead of standing on their own two feet.  Now we are hurting and have our own big problems at home.  I don’t see anyone stepping up to help us out. 

     As a country, we have to take a collective responsibility for the mess we are in, stop pointing fingers at each other and playing the blame game. President Obama is not perfect but neither is either one of us.  He clearly stepped into his position at a very volatile time in our history.  The challenges have been endless, and overwhelming.  Mr. Davis, ending a war is not cowardly, and certainly doesn’t mean we have given up fighting for freedom and democracy in this world.  Strength comes from within and isn’t about physical force.  One of the best ways we can standup for our values and show how strong we are as a country is to address the many domestic issues crippling us as a nation.  Once we have our house in order, then and only then will we be in a position to earn respect and truly lead by example.