Obama is AWOL, At Home and Abroad

Mike Brownfield / June 03, 2011

Consider it a pattern — President Obama speaking to a friendly crowd, papering over his failures of leadership while patting himself on the back for a job well done.

He did that today in Toledo, Ohio, where he touted his auto industry bailout to United Auto Workers at a Chrysler plant, without directly addressing the morning’s news that unemployment went up to 9.1 percent in May as the economy hit a near standstill. Obama’s explanation about the slow-mo economy? “There are always going to be bumps on the road to recovery. We’re going to pass through some rough terrain that even a Wrangler would have a hard time with.” How’s that for leadership in tough times?

Last week saw the same story, different country, as Heritage’s Nile Gardiner explains in the Washington Times. President Obama took his road show to Europe where “he was feted by large crowds and fawned over by European political elites” even though his policies haven’t served U.S. allies. (more…)