World financial markets are imploding, unemployment is at depression levels, the economy is slipping into recession and the world banking system is beginning to collapse.  Who in the world would want to tackle this mess instead of going on vacation?

Obama playing golf with wealthy pals in Martha’s Vineyard while the country is spiraling down the drain has provided critics with a big fat target and they are zeroing in.

The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan had some harsh words for the poor timing and ironic symbolism of the Presidential vacation.   Obama’s retreat to his summer island while the country falls apart leads Noonan to argue that nothing has worked for Obama and he is basically giving up.

He has made big mistakes since the beginning of his presidency and has been pounded since the beginning of his presidency. He’s got to be full of doubts at this point about what to do. His baseline political assumptions have proved incorrect, his calculations have turned out to be erroneous, his big decisions have turned to dust. He thought they’d love him for health care, that it was a down payment on greatness…He thought the stimulus would turn the economy around. It didn’t. He thought there would be a natural bounce-back a year ago, with “Recovery Summer.” There wasn’t. He thought a toe-to-toe, eyeball-to-eyeball struggle over the debt ceiling would enhance his reputation. The public would see through to the dark heart of Republican hackery and come to recognize the higher wisdom of his approach. That didn’t happen either.

Nothing worked! And nothing’s going to work.

Mr. Obama shouldn’t be faulted for wanting to rest, relax and spend whole days with his family. But the timing of this vacation is incongruent, and so is the location.

On the timing, there’s an air of economic crisis hanging over everything, a sense that other shoes may drop. Actually it’s a sense of something impending, with unemployment high, Europe broke and the Mideast reaching full boil. A politician who wanted to impart a sense of leadership in crisis, who passionately wanted to keep the presidency, and who was prudently anxious about his prospects just might let such a moment change his plans.

Noonan might have added that taking a vacation while the country is falling apart shows a horrific lack of common sense and concern.  I can see the campaign ads already - Obama teeing off while a split screen shows a graph of collapsing financial markets and soaring unemployment.  This vacation could become symbolic of Obama’s entire presidency.

courtesy politco.com

courtesy - apocepoch.blogspot.com

While Obama continues to blame everyone and everything for the country’s economic ruin, people wonder what happened to Obama.   The answer, according to Norman Podhoretz is “absolutely nothing.”

In short, the spell that Mr. Obama once cast—a spell so powerful that instead of ridiculing him when he boasted that he would cause “the oceans to stop rising and the planet to heal,” all of liberaldom fell into a delirious swoon—has now been broken by its traumatic realization that he is neither the “god” Newsweek in all seriousness declared him to be nor even a messianic deliverer.

Hence the question on every lip is—as the title of a much quoted article in the New York Times by Drew Westen of Emory University puts it— “What Happened to Obama?”

To be sure, no white candidate who had close associations with an outspoken hater of America like Jeremiah Wright and an unrepentant terrorist like Bill Ayers would have lasted a single day. But because Mr. Obama was black, and therefore entitled in the eyes of liberaldom to have hung out with protesters against various American injustices, even if they were a bit extreme, he was given a pass. And in any case, what did such ancient history matter when he was also articulate and elegant and (as he himself had said) “non-threatening,” all of which gave him a fighting chance to become the first black president and thereby to lay the curse of racism to rest?

And so it came about that a faithful scion of the political culture of the ’60s left is now sitting in the White House and doing everything in his power to effect the fundamental transformation of America to which that culture was dedicated and to which he has pledged his own personal allegiance.

I disagree with those of my fellow conservatives who maintain that Mr. Obama is indifferent to “the best interests of the United States” (Thomas Sowell) and is “purposely” out to harm America (Rush Limbaugh). In my opinion, he imagines that he is helping America to repent of its many sins and to become a different and better country.

But I emphatically agree with Messrs. Limbaugh and Sowell about this president’s attitude toward America as it exists and as the Founding Fathers intended it. That is why my own answer to the question, “What Happened to Obama?” is that nothing happened to him. He is still the same anti-American leftist he was before becoming our president, and it is this rather than inexperience or incompetence or weakness or stupidity that accounts for the richly deserved failure both at home and abroad of the policies stemming from that reprehensible cast of mind.

Let hapless Obama and a destructive Congress take their vacations without criticism.   Americans will enjoy a well deserved vacation from their imperial rulers.  After spending us into oblivion and passing enough regulations to permanent choke the economy, America needs a break from both Congress and the president.  Give them double their pay if necessary and put them on permanent vacation.  The country, freed of President and Congress, will eventually heal itself.

Howard Schultz, President and CEO of Starbucks, joins the tidal wave of Americans fed up with the destructive and self dealing behavior in Washington.

Reportedly, Schultz sent an email to Starbucks employees asking them to refrain from sending campaign contributions to politicians as a way of sending a message that we want responsible government.  Schultz’s email deplored the “lack of cooperation and irresponsibility among elected officials as they have put partisan agendas before the people’s agenda.”

The fact that Schultz would use such strongly worded language reflects the deep concerns of Americans about our country’s rulers and our future.  The large majority of Americans no longer believe that “Congress rules with the consent of the governed“, the very reason why we had a war of independence.

Schultz’s characterization of Congress is right on target but what he should have called for is the elimination of lobbying by special interest groups.  The endless money bribes from lobbyists to politicians have corrupted the American government beyond the point of redemption.  The small $5 and $10 contributions to politicians from individual Americans is more show than substance - the real campaign contributions to politicians come from special interest money groups looking to advance their own agendas.

Even worse, it doesn’t seem to matter who gets elected or what they promise.  The politicians we believe will make a “real change” wind up becoming a part of the system that has put our nation half way down the path of self destruction.

Americans are fed up and the polls prove it.  The latest Gallup poll shows that a massive 89% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States.

How are things going - courtesy gallup.com

Americans have ample reason to be worried about the future as incomes stagnate, taxes increase and huge levels of debt threaten our financial system.  Let’s pray that in the next election for President, America will find the right man to restore confidence and regain the trust of the American people.

Crippling debt and deficits have lead the global economy to the precipice.  Finances of world governments since the financial crisis have dramatically deteriorated and confidence in paper money has reached a new low.  Equity markets are crashing while gold (the barometer of trust in paper money) soars.

As we stare into the abyss, President Obama stands ready to address the nation.  His speech is likely to extinguish the last vestiges of confidence in a US economic recovery.

What will he say?

Based on prior speeches, Obama will reach low and use the standard class warfare blame game strategy.  Rather than accepting the warning from S&P that the US is spending itself into bankruptcy, he will shoot the messenger.

Highlights of the speech will feature the following:

• Blame Standard & Poors
• Blame Congress
• Blame China
• Blame Republicans
• Blame (insert name of anyone except Obama)

The trillions of new debt taken on since the 2008 financial crisis have done nothing except push the US closer to insolvency.   The trillions of dollars spent on bailouts, stimulus and support for deadbeat homeowners has simply put another burden on an already weak economy.  Will Obama talk reality and propose constructive programs to put our free enterprise economy back on track?  Or will he simply propose more of the same - tax “millionaires and billionaires”, spend more, borrow more and hope that things get better?

Based on Obama’s disdain for the free enterprise system and businessmen in general, his remarks could easily result in a total vaporization of confidence in the government’s ability to contain the debt crisis.  Obama’s speech could easily turn the contained depression which started in 2008 into an all out economic collapse.

It’s a routine event to be excoriated by your enemies - you laugh it off and consider the source.  When harsh criticism comes from your friends, however, it should be a wake up call to reassess positions.

Barrick Obama’s wake up call came when Steve Wynn, CEO of Wynn Resorts recently let loose some very harsh criticism on Obama’s job performance and “weird political philosophy”.  Steve Wynn is a giant business presence in Las Vegas and has built and run a large number of casinos including the Wynn, Encore, Golden Nugget and Treasure Island.  Wynn’s business skills and determination have resulted in creating thousands of jobs and wealth.  Wynn knows business and he knows how to create jobs.  He is exactly the type of man who should be consulted for his advice on guiding the country out of depression levels of unemployment.

Unfortunately, the president spends most of his time demonizing wealthy businessmen for a litany of transgressions including not paying enough taxes.  The White House’s disdain for free enterprise has not escaped the notice of the country’s job creators.  In a conference call to investors, Steve Wynn lamented that businesses are being demoralized and paralyzed due to socialistic government policies.

Wynn said  that the “Obama administration is the greatest wet blanket to business and progress and job creation in my lifetime. And I could prove it…I could spend the next three hours giving you examples of all of us in this marketplace that are frightened to death about all the new regulations, our healthcare costs escalate, regulations coming from left and right, and a President that keeps using that word redistribution.”

Wynn also mentioned that he is a Democrat and a friend of Harry Reid, but “I am telling you that the business community in this country is frightened to death of the weird political philosophy of the President of the United States. Until he is gone, everybody is going to be sitting on [his] thumbs”.

Wynn also said that Obama is “responsible for this fear in America. The guy keeps making speeches about redistribution and [the need] to do something to businesses that don’t invest, that are holding too much money. You know, we haven’t heard that kind of talk except from pure socialists. Everybody is afraid of the government and there is no need soft-pedaling it. It is the truth. It is the truth.”

And right on cue, Obama today confirmed Wynn’s worst fears.  Although unemployment has been at crisis levels in this country for three years, Obama has ignored the problem other than occasional lip service to the issue.   In an announcement proclaiming a new push for job creation today, the President came up woefully short on ideas.  The “new job initiatives” announced involve extending unemployment benefits and the social security tax cut, proving Wynn’s contention that Obama, as a socialist, does not understand or embrace free enterprise.  More social benefits merely transfers wealth from workers to non workers.  These initiatives would be underwritten with borrowed money, deepening the debt crisis.  Wynn is correct - until Obama is gone from office, the nation’s economic woes are certain to worsen.

It’s time for a change.

After signing into law legislation that increased the national debt by a massive $2.4 trillion, the President said he wants to solve other issues including tax cuts for the middle class and extended unemployment benefits.  No mention was made of focusing on job creation but the President said he understood what the voters really wanted.  President Obama said “They want us to solve problems.” - Barrack Obama 2011

How would Ronald Reagan respond to the profound crises that the Country faces today?  Does the massive power grab by the government and crippling levels of debt, taxes and regulation have any connection to an unemployment rate of almost 20%?  Are small business owners, the engine of job creation in America, being killed by the government?

“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people.” - Ronald Reagan 1981

“I’m convinced that today the majority of Americans want what those first Americans wanted: A better life for themselves and their children; a minimum of government authority. Very simply, they want to be left alone in peace and safety to take care of the family by earning an honest dollar and putting away some savings.” - Ronald Reagan 1976

It’s time for new tactics and new leadership.   Socialism does not work as we can observe by looking at two of the biggest national financial disasters in history - Cuba and Venezuela.  The command and control economic policies of these two countries have condemned their entire populations to a life of grinding poverty and hopelessness.

The Two Stupidest Men On Earth

Here’s the Wall Street Journal’s score card on the performance of Obama after 923 days, in alphabetical order.

A is for the Arab world, and our standing in it: This year, Zogby International found that 5% of Egyptians had a favorable view of the U.S. In 2008, when George W. Bush was president, it was 9%.

B is for the federal budget deficit, which is estimated to come in at around 11% of GDP in 2011, up from about 3% in 2008.

C is for China’s military budget. For 2012, Beijing plans to increase spending on defense by 12.7%. The Obama administration, by contrast, proposed Pentagon cuts in April averaging out to $40 billion per year over the next decade, and Congress may soon cut a lot more.

D is for—what else—the federal debt, which grew to $14.3 trillion this month from $10.7 trillion at the end of 2008. D is also for the dollar, which has lost almost half its value against gold since Aug. 2008.

E is for energy. The average retail price of a gallon of gas hovered near the $1.80 mark when Mr. Obama was inaugurated. It has since more than doubled. E is also for ethanol, the non-wonder fuel the U.S. continues to subsidize to the tune of $5 billion a year.

F is for free trade. Bill Clinton signed Nafta in 1994, which facilitates $1.6 trillion in the trade of goods and services between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. George W. Bush midwifed more than a dozen FTAs, from Australia to Singapore to Morocco to Bahrain. Number of FTA’s signed by the current president: zero.

G is for Guantanamo, which remains open, and for Gadhafi, who remains in power, and for Greece, which offers a vision of America’s future if we don’t reform our entitlement state.

H is for Hillary Clinton, who—I can’t believe I’m writing this—would have made a better president than Mr. Obama.

I is for Israel, a Middle Eastern country the president claims to support even as he routinely disses its prime minister, seeks to shrink its borders and—why not?—divide its capital.

J is for jobs. In November 2008, president-elect Obama promised he would create 2.5 million jobs by 2011. By October 2010 the economy had shed 3.3 million jobs.

K is for Karzai, Hamid, Afghanistan’s feckless leader. Still, the Obama administration probably did itself no favors by publicly dumping on the man, leading him to seek new best friends in Tehran.

L is for Laden, Osama bin. The president’s greatest triumph, which will forever put him one notch—if only one notch—above Jimmy Carter.

M is for Mexico, a country that manages 5.4% unemployment and 4.2% annual growth even as it fights a war against the drug cartels.

N is for NATO, once a pillar of Western security, which Mr. Obama is in the process of destroying through his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and his refusal to give NATO the push it needs to win in Libya.

O is for ObamaCare, which goes far to explain B, D, J as well as the Greek part of G.

P is for Pyongyang, whose ruler the administration is once again attempting to engage in the six-party talks. This is after the Kim regime welcomed Mr. Obama’s plea for a nuclear-free world by testing a nuclear bomb, torpedoing a South Korean ship, shelling a South Korean village, and unveiling a state-of-the-art uranium enrichment facility.

Q is for QE2, the most disastrous experiment in monetary policy since Fed Chairman William Miller’s low-interest rate policy crashed the dollar in 1978.

R is for the reset with Russia, the principal result of which is an arms-control treaty that brings us to parity in strategic nuclear weapons, leaves us behind in the tactical category, and ill-equips us for the challenge of a proliferating world.

S is for shovel-ready. Enough said.

T is for taxes, which Mr. Obama would like to see raised for “millionaires and billionaires”—curiously defined as people making $200K and up.

U is for Iran’s uranium enrichment. When Mr. Obama came to office promising to extend his hand to the mullahs, Iran had enriched 1,000 kilos of uranium. Today they have produced more than 4,000 kilos.

V is for Venezuela, a country whose extensive subterranean links to Iran the administration has consistently downplayed.

W is for the Dubya, whose presidency now looks like a model of spending restraint.

X is for Liu Xiaobo, an example of what a deserving winner of the Nobel Peace Prize looks like. X is also for Xanax, likely to be remembered as the drug of choice of the Obama years.

Y is for Yes, We Can! Unfortunately, it’s also for Yemen.

Z is for zero, which is the likelihood that one of the current GOP hopefuls will defeat Mr. Obama in 2012.