President Obama Ignoring America to Save Face Abroad (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Over the last few weeks, President Barack Obama has toured Australia and many Asian countries. At the same time, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reductions is nearing the deficit Armageddon date without a plan. Occupy protests are becoming more violent. The investigations into Solyndra, Fast and Furious and ECSI allegations are heating up. Is the president ignoring his responsibilities at home to try to promote himself as a strong world leader?

With less than a year until the 2012 election, President Obama needs to promote himself as a well-rounded leader. The president has been critiqued for being soft on foreign policy so he needs to do extra work to win over the opposition. Of course, there is a right time and a wrong time to do anything.

We hear about revolt in Syria and Egypt. The world is paying attention to what is going on between Israel and Iran. At the same time, though, our own country is spiraling out of control. People do not have money to put on the table and are clamoring in the streets in protests. The supercommittee cannot figure out to balance the budget and the fears about what might happen outweigh what is currently happening.

As a former political consultant, I know that there are times in which leaders have to push off their current schedule to deal with the problems at home. Knowing when to go and when to stay home is the mark of a strong leader. Note that if Syria's President Bashar Assad were to go on a world tour right now, the entire world would cry out about how he was ignoring the tensions at home to save face with the rest of the world.

I have stated before that President Obama should be working to calm the frustration of the Occupy Movement. He was so eager to get involved with the violence that was breaking out in Egypt but now turns a blind eye to the violence in our own streets. He has spoken with world leaders about the world's economic crisis, but has not sat down with the Super Committee to help them to work out a plan. The primary job of the president is to lead the American people. Why can't he understand this in a great time of need? Why can't he stop his campaign for a few weeks to do his job?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111120/us_ac/10485293_president_obama_ignoring_america_to_save_face_abroad

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