• Failure to revive the U.S. economy;
• Escalation of the war in Afghanistan;
• Enactment of a health care plan opposed by a majority of Americans;
• Indifference to a major ecological disaster;
• Alienation of U.S. allies around the globe;
• Creation of a Middle East power vacuum threatening world peace;
• Repudiation of campaign promises, e.g., recognition of Armenian Genocide by the Turks;
• Estrangement of supporters, i.e. gays and Hispanics;
• Avoidance of news conferences and unscripted Q&A.
Had you asked me yesterday morning concerning Obama's chances to top the list of all-time worst American presidents, I would have told you that notwithstanding this impressive list of credentials, he is not even midway through his first, and presumably last, term of office, and a final determination must wait.
Yesterday evening, however, Obama placed himself at the top of the chart, when, at a White House dinner celebrating Ramadan, he used the occasion to declare his support for the construction of a 13-story, $100 million mosque and Muslim community center at Ground Zero.
Obviously, if this issue were to go the Supreme Court, there is nothing to prevent the erection of the complex, notwithstanding the fact that it amounts to a thumb in the eye for families of 9/11 victims. Moreover, New York Mayor Bloomberg has also already voiced support for the mosque, so why should Obama's advocacy for the project propel him to the top of the worst presidents list?
Answer: Still shackled with his inane decision to expand involvement in Afghanistan and desperately struggling to win the hearts and minds of its hostile civilian population, Obama could not have concluded otherwise. In addition, Obama continues to seek rapprochement with the Muslim world, and his declaration is entirely in keeping with his foreign affairs policy. But instead of making this pronouncement at a White House iftar dinner before a friendly group of Muslim invitees, Obama should have first sought to explain himself to the families of those who lost loved ones at the World Trade Center.
Cowardice on Obama's part? Stupidity? Certainly an absence of leadership, which has become the hallmark of his administration.
