Excuses, Excuses-Grow Up, Barack!

The Iranian hostage crisis that came near the end of Jimmy Carter's presidency highlighted the consequences of Carter's weakness on foreign policy. In 1979, over 50 Americans were taken hostage at the American Embassy in Iran. Carter attempted negotiation and rescue operations, both of which failed. The hostages remained in Iranian captivity until only a few hours after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated. It is largely believed that the Iranians feared a confrontation with Reagan, who had pledged boldly to confront America's enemies at home and abroad. Then, in a move illustrating the new president's class, Reagan permitted Carter to go to West Germany to act as emissary in receiving the freed hostages on their trip home from the Middle East. Reagan's decision send a political adversary to take credit for his own success is striking. Far from uttering a word of critique against the foreign policy pursued by Carter, Reagan stepped humbly aside to let his predecessor conclude his presidency on a high note. Reagan's sacrificing an opportunity for political grandeur so early in his presidency so that the inept Carter could save face speaks volumes. What Reagan embodied was a political maturity and selflessness that is largely absent from Washington today. Like other great statesmen of the past, he recognized that leaders must at times step aside, giving others credit for long years of service to their country, even when such credit is undeserved. In contrast to the mature Reagan we have a childlike Barack Obama. Last February, only a month after taking office, Obama traveled to the military base at Camp Lejeune, to announce the withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq. He told the thousands of fully-dressed Marines present at the announcement, "I intend to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. We will complete this transition to Iraqi responsibility, and we will bring our troops home with the honor that they have earned." What Obama did not mention is that the honor that American forces earned by bringing freedom to Iraq was due in large part to the bold decision of George W. Bush to send more troops to Iraq in January 2007. It was only by enacting the "surge," a move that Obama and other Democrats opposed, that the tide in Iraq turned from war to stability. Even The New York Times could not help but recognize the irony: "The consensus behind Mr. Obama's plan [to withdraw from Iraq] may stem in part from the subsiding violence since Mr. Bush changed strategies and sent more troops…a shift that the new president, who opposed it, did not directly address in his speech." Instead of crediting Bush with success, Obama went so far as to criticize his predecessor during this same speech for the decision to invade Iraq in 2003. The president said that America must from here on go to war only "with clearly defined goals" and after weighing "the costs of action." This instance at the beginning of Obama's presidency fits in with the larger theme of his political childishness. Indeed, our "post-partisan" president has found himself unable to refrain from blaming George Bush for the problems that now plague his presidency. In Last August, for instance, Obama noted on the economy that, "I expect to be held responsible for these issues because I'm the president. But I don't want the folks who created the mess…to do a lot of talking. I want them just to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess." In contrast, George Bush never referenced Bill Clinton as responsible for the circumstances that led to 9/11. In blaming his predecessor, Obama excuses himself from the burdens of presidential responsibility. Again on the economy, Obama recently said, "I don't mind cleaning up the mess that some other folks made. That's what I signed up to do. But while I'm there mopping the floor, I don't want somebody standing there saying, 'You're not mopping fast enough.'" It would be unimaginable for Reagan - or even Bush - to make such a statement. William McGurn recently profiled these and other instances in The Wall Street Journal, calling Obama the first "post-gracious" president. That is, since the start of his term last January, Obama has kept Bush in the conversation to deflect blame from himself. McGurn notes that this common feature of Obama's speeches, "seem especially to pop up whenever Mr. Obama discovers some decision he must make is not as easy as he'd thought," i.e. Afghanistan, the economy, and shutting down Guantanamo Bay. Americans have now passed the era of political maturity in favor of excuse-making. Fundamentally, what is reflected by Obama's referencing George Bush at every turn is his misconception of the significance of the office. When Abraham Lincoln was immersed in the trials of the Civil War, without a friend in Washington, he wrote privately, "If there is a place worse than hell, then I am in it." The presidency can often be a lonely and burdensome job. The truly great leaders of the past could teach the current occupant of the White House a thing or two.