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2017-03-27 -Lurid Crime Tales-

Extended Holiday or Obama in Exile - March 21, 2011

[American Thinker] For centuries exile has been the most popular strategy for kings and dictators to escape hanging, whether it be Charles II, his brother James II, Idi Amin, Ferdinand Marcos or the Shah of Iran. Exile also has been a preferred choice for those seeking political asylum from persecution such as Albert Einstein and Bertolt Brecht fleeing the Nazis, or Salman Rushdie finding safe haven from the Ayatollah's fatwa death sentence.

No US president has ever been exiled. For high crimes and misdemeanors impeachment is our cure. For lesser sins, a second term denied is punishment enough. Until Barack Obama came along, a president imposing one's own exile would have been unthinkable.

Self-imposed -- or voluntary -- exile is a contradiction of course, a contorted pretzel twisting our sensibilities. Exile historically is an act of banishment and shunning; punishment by forcible removal from one's beloved homeland. I suppose there can be a form of self-imposed exile under duress, the fugitive on the run, like Whitey Bulger -- South Boston's notorious mobster on the lam for some fifteen years, unlikely to return to his old neighborhood except in handcuffs or a funeral procession.

Yet self-imposed exile is a safe, even respectable, haven for those escaping high taxes, disagreeable politics, writer's block and boredom. As long as one doesn't renounce his citizenship, of course.

James Joyce profited well enough by a self-imposed relocation from his dear Dublin to Paris and Zurich. George Santayana abandoned tenure as professor of philosophy at Harvard to take up residence in a convent in Rome to be reunited with his Continental Roman Catholic roots.

Other self-imposed exiles are simple acts of running away from duty. In the military, abandoning one's post or desertion is always met with court martial and sometimes death. In urban legend form, it is the Wall Street investment banker weary of the endless commutes from suburban Connecticut, a nervous wreck from making multi-million dollar bets, losing most but winning only a handful more, retreating into the Grand Central Station tunnels under Park Avenue joining the ranks of the homeless, never to return as a captain of industry.

How to reconcile the optics of president Obama on his latest trip to Brazil? Being feted on the tarmac in Rio De Janeiro and later joining the dignitaries reviewing a Brazilian military parade, all while a new war has been started in Libya, our Asian ally lies in ruins, and federal government insolvency threatens our republic. This juxtaposition can only be seen through the lens of a self-imposed exile.

Obama is being chased by his own incompetence, forced to face it, unable to stare it down. Privately he must admit he is over his head and no one -- not in the legislature, in the labor unions, in the deep pockets of George Soros nor the salons of liberal media apologists and sympathetic academics -- can save his doomed presidency.

Obama is in full retreat. Disengaged and decoupled. A pathetic creature, soon to be deserving of mercy rather than scorn, if only his hubris were in lockstep full retreat. Is he guilty of desertion or mere dereliction? Desertion would be a harsh claim, but dereliction not so far fetched.

A president who voluntary withdraws -- or at least sidesteps -- from the duties of the office, is derelict, period. Even his own party faithful anxiously look for any sign of leadership coming from Obama, only to be turned away empty handed, yet again. Bereft of personal responsibility towards his fellow Americans, Obama has neither resigned nor renounced his citizenship. Yet through his apology tours has made us wonder whether renouncing his affinity for America and the leadership imperatives due the office would only be a public formality.

Posted by Besoeker 2017-03-27 08:02|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top

#1 The details are six years old; the concept is current and relevant.

Posted by Bobby 2017-03-27 08:14|| 2017-03-27 08:14|| Front Page Top

#2 He will never accept responsibility for any mistakes. Always blaming someone else. He is the arrogant classroom smart ass. If charged with a crime, his response, "Not guilty."

He just got a cool $30 million to write a book. So with everything a mess he's still trying to figure out what to say and is likely still stuck on chapter 1. And if crap hits the fan here regarding him, do expect him to stay where he is for a while, until his base puts out the fire.

Posted by Nero White 3083 2017-03-27 08:34|| 2017-03-27 08:34|| Front Page Top

#3 Who knows for certain, but each passing day appears to bring new revelations of potential wrong-doing at the highest levels.

Posted by Besoeker 2017-03-27 08:35|| 2017-03-27 08:35|| Front Page Top

#4 Exile? More than likely he is taking advantage of a lack of extradition agreements between the U.S. and French Polynesia and scoping out the pool boys.

Posted by JohnQC 2017-03-27 09:51|| 2017-03-27 09:51|| Front Page Top

#5 and trying to wash off the Michelle.

Posted by Skidmark 2017-03-27 10:40|| 2017-03-27 10:40|| Front Page Top

#6 There really are an awful lot of islands out there. Some of them might require passports and visas but with enough money you could probably get some credible forgeries. You get a nice yacht with a discreet rogue of a captain and a suitcase full of cash and you could probably disappear for quite some time.

Posted by Abu Uluque 2017-03-27 11:49|| 2017-03-27 11:49|| Front Page Top

#7 I am grateful that Mr. Obama was one of our lazier presidents. He did quite enough temporary damage with his phone and his pen; he would have done much more, lasting much longer, had he instead exerted himself to get all those things passed into law.

On the other hand, that $30 million advance will evaporate quickly, given that the family are spending like that will be their regular income. But if he doesn't quickly start delivering real access to power, the way the Clintons did until dear Hillary lost her last election, the donations and speaking invitations will dry up. I don't see that he has any other cards to play, given that poor Michelle openly loathes politics and the people who engage in it, an opinion that seems shared by their daughters.

Posted by trailing wife 2017-03-27 14:11|| 2017-03-27 14:11|| Front Page Top

#8 She has a point you know.

Posted by Secret Master 2017-03-27 14:30|| 2017-03-27 14:30|| Front Page Top

#9 We knew that it shouldn't disturb us,
But some were a little bit nervous.
"Today?" shrieked the preacher.
"I'm off to the beach! Er...
I guess this'll be my last service."

Posted by Zenobia Floger6220 2017-03-27 16:35|| 2017-03-27 16:35|| Front Page Top

#10 Ref #7. I always suspected indolence was somehow a virtue.

Posted by Besoeker 2017-03-27 17:44|| 2017-03-27 17:44|| Front Page Top

#11 given that poor Michelle openly loathes politics and the people who engage in it, an opinion that seems shared by their daughters

TW, it is the first time I've agreed with much of what Mooch has said.

Posted by JohnQC 2017-03-27 17:54|| 2017-03-27 17:54|| Front Page Top

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