Do you remember, back in 2004, a British newspaper urged its citizens to write letters to Americans living in Clark County, Ohio, begging them not to vote for George Bush?
Talk about backfire. On Election Day 2012, Clark was the only one of Ohio's 88 counties to go from blue to red in a state Bush narrowly won.
Folks just don't like foreigners butting into their affairs, especially when it come to the political process. No doubt Barack Obama doesn't believe this ironclad law of human nature applies to him - after all, he is The One.
Alas for Narcissus, his inflated ego and unforgivable ignorance rule his day, and oft lead him astray. As it did again yesterday in Great Britain, where he virtually demanded that the Brits sit tight within the EU and relinquish their democracy with that stiff upper lip they are so famous for.
The New York Times:
The United States entered Britain’s debate over its relationship with the European Union on Wednesday, when a senior diplomat implicitly warned the British government not to do anything that might endanger its membership in the 27-nation union.
The timing of the rare public intervention is also significant, coming shortly before a long-awaited speech by Prime Minister David Cameron in which he intends to lay out plans for a redefinition of Britain’s relationship with the European Union...
In London, Mr. Gordon indicated that any British withdrawal from the union would be unwelcome and said that referendums held by other nations on European Union agreements “have sometimes turned countries inward.”
At Commentary, much mockery of the president and his intelligence:
There is a fair amount of chutzpah in the administration’s request....
Having insulted Britain’s government repeatedly, he is low on credibility; incompetence has its consequences....The speech Cameron is expected to give likely will include a proposal for a “looser” arrangement between the EU and Britain. Cameron may even promise to hold a public referendum on the changes. This–the practice known as “democracy”–seems to be what the State Department official Gordon feared most,
This is an implicit acknowledgement that the people don’t much like the EU. The Obama administration is thus worried that the people will have a say in the affairs of their country, and that the people of Britain will express an opinion at odds with what Barack Obama thinks they should think (imagine that). Is the United States now in the business of explicitly warning Western Europe not to practice democracy? Has the Obama administration given much thought to the great many ways this could backfire?
Short answer: No.
But to me, the timing of Obama idiocy is heaven-sent. The EU is a corrupt organization that is disenfranchising the voters of Europe, after two bloody wars fought to preserve it. Whereas the British were not positively predisposed to the entire project to begin with, is is likely that they would have gone along with the mere cosmetic changes Cameron will no doubt offer.
But now? It is not as if Obama is popular with the Brits. How hard will this backfire upon him, Cameron, and the EU in general?
Oh, we are gonna find out. Pour a drink for this one, it's gonna be special.
And where is Niles Farage, the fearless leader of UKIP - Britain's devotedly anti-EU party? I can't imagine he'll stay silent for long....
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