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Stephens: Anatomy of a Feckless Presidency
The Wall Street Journal ^ | March 3, 2014 | Brett Stephens

Posted on 03/04/2014 10:14:54 AM PST by Jarhead9297

"Vladimir Putin seized Ukraine's Crimean peninsula on Thursday, and Barack Obama delivered a short statement about it on Friday. The former tells us nothing we didn't know already about Russia's strongman. The latter tells us everything we need to know about a weak president's feckless foreign policy. Let's take a look at what Mr. Obama had to say:

"I also spoke several days ago with President Putin, and my administration has been in daily contact with Russian officials."

"OK, but why? What's the point of talking if you won't even make use of what's said? On Oct. 18, 1962, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko visited President Kennedy in the Oval Office and told him that the Soviet Union would never deploy offensive military capabilities in Cuba. This was a lie, as Kennedy already knew, and four days later he called Gromyko out on the lie in his famous "quarantine" speech, usefully embarrassing the Soviets and rallying U.S. public opinion at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis."

(Excerpt) Read more at m.us.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: neocon; obama; obamaukraine; putin; russia; ukraine; ukrainecrisis
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Good read and I cannot add anymore than what has already been said by this author.
1 posted on 03/04/2014 10:14:54 AM PST by Jarhead9297
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To: Jarhead9297

The word for the day seems to be “feckless”. I haven’t seen a word used in so many places at once since “gravitas” came into vogue. Well, except for “unexpected”.


2 posted on 03/04/2014 10:18:01 AM PST by Paine in the Neck (Socialism consumes EVERYTHING)
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To: Jarhead9297

its a pretty safe bet that most people probably have no clue what ‘feckless’ means.


3 posted on 03/04/2014 10:18:37 AM PST by kingattax (America needs more real Americans.)
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To: Jarhead9297

Why, it’s almost like Putin knows some big secret about Obama’s behavior as President. Like if Obama surrendered at Benghazi.


4 posted on 03/04/2014 10:20:25 AM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Jarhead9297

Well, usually, if you post this time of day (GMT +4, or thereabouts), you’re supposed to add that Stephens, the author, is a Soros stooge under the employ of Monsanto and in support of the Nazis.


5 posted on 03/04/2014 10:21:29 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: Jarhead9297

6 posted on 03/04/2014 10:23:57 AM PST by Diogenesis
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To: blueunicorn6

That’s because NSA gave dirt on obama to Putin. Putin has the ‘real’ Kenyan birth certificate and he isn’t afraid to use it.


7 posted on 03/04/2014 10:24:49 AM PST by Portcall24
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To: Paine in the Neck

Where do you get “feck”? Can you buy it, or must you develop it?


8 posted on 03/04/2014 10:25:19 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: Jarhead9297

This is how ‘President Cliff Notes’ handles the issues (life and death issues, in this case) that arise during his administration.

Did Americans at any time, actually believe or expect that “O” had the educational credentials, experience or strength of character to do otherwise than he is doing?

THIS American didn’t!


9 posted on 03/04/2014 10:27:14 AM PST by SMARTY ("When you blame others, you give up your power to change." Robert Anthony)
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To: Jarhead9297
The difference this time is an American president who registers no public complaint about being brazenly lied to by a Russian thug.

President Obama lies to us all the time -- lies are de rigueur in his world.

10 posted on 03/04/2014 10:31:40 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic
Where do you get “feck”? Can you buy it, or must you develop it?

The Obama Presidency is suffering from a feck shortage.

11 posted on 03/04/2014 10:32:31 AM PST by Alex Murphy ("the defacto Leader of the FR Calvinist Protestant Brigades")
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To: kingattax

it means that Obama doesn’t give a feck about the future of the USA


12 posted on 03/04/2014 10:36:03 AM PST by bigbob (The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly. Abraham Lincoln)
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To: kingattax
I decided to look it up (even though I already knew how to use the word) and this is what I found:
If a newspaper editorial describes a politician as feckless, you might wonder, "What is feck, and why doesn’t he have any?” In fact, the columnist is accusing the politician of being irresponsible and incompetent.

Did you know that most varieties of English are in fact “feck”-less? They don’t contain a word feck, only the negative counterpart feckless. The “feck” in feckless began as a short form of effect used in the Scots dialect. So feckless essentially means "ineffective," but is also used to describe someone who is irresponsible, incompetent, inept, or without purpose in life.

Interesting!
13 posted on 03/04/2014 10:36:42 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: blueunicorn6

He knows that in the final analysis Obama is one of them and not one of us. Marxist parents, Marxist tutors, Marxist associates throughout his school years, Marxist associates throughout his post college years and a Marxist pastor to sooth his fevered brow on weekends for 20 years. Unexpected? Hardly.


14 posted on 03/04/2014 10:37:19 AM PST by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: Jarhead9297

Stephens did not ask that Congress formally declare war. Is he feckless all of a sudden rather than his usual war mongering.


15 posted on 03/04/2014 10:39:27 AM PST by ex-snook (God is Love)
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To: Alex Murphy

no, they just don’t give a feck (stated in my best Irish accent).


16 posted on 03/04/2014 10:44:14 AM PST by jurroppi1
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To: Jarhead9297

Making the Russian language illegal, was a threat to the Russian speaking Ukrainians. Would it be okay for Kalifornia to make English illegal ?


17 posted on 03/04/2014 10:47:02 AM PST by justa-hairyape (The user name is sarcastic. Although at times it may not appear that way.)
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To: justa-hairyape

Would you insist that Californians be allowed to use Spanish in their official transactions?


18 posted on 03/04/2014 10:48:59 AM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: afraidfortherepublic

You must have less...to have feck.


19 posted on 03/04/2014 10:50:22 AM PST by Osage Orange (I have strong feelings about gun control. If there's a gun around, I want to be controlling it.)
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To: SMARTY

Simple answer to your question and excellent observations. ....no ;-)


20 posted on 03/04/2014 10:58:53 AM PST by Jarhead9297
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