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<\/a>Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma this week urged grad\u00adu\u00adat\u00ading West Point cadets to \u201csee the world as it is.\u201d But how clear\u00adly does he see it? [Cred\u00adit: NY<\/span> Dai\u00adly News]<\/p><\/div>Pres\u00adi\u00addent Obama\u2019s mas\u00adtery of the obvi\u00adous was on dis\u00adplay this week dur\u00ading his lengthy address<\/a> at West Point.\n \u201c<\/span>Iso\u00adla\u00adtion\u00adism,\u201d he declared, \u201cis not an option.\u201d There\u2019s a bold state\u00adment. But that\u2019s \u201cnot to say that every prob\u00adlem has a mil\u00adi\u00adtary solu\u00adtion.\u201d Has any\u00adone ever said that? \u201cWar rarely con\u00adforms to slo\u00adgans.\u201d Rarely? \u201cU.S. mil\u00adi\u00adtary action can\u00adnot be the only \u2014 or even pri\u00adma\u00adry \u2014 com\u00adpo\u00adnent of our lead\u00ader\u00adship in every instance.\u201d Has that ever been sug\u00adgest\u00aded? \u201cAmer\u00adi\u00adca should nev\u00ader ask per\u00admis\u00adsion to pro\u00adtect our peo\u00adple, our home\u00adland, or our way of life.\u201d That\u2019s a relief. \u201cThe most direct threat to Amer\u00adi\u00adca at home and abroad remains ter\u00adror\u00adism.\u201d Real\u00adly. But \u201ca strat\u00ade\u00adgy that involves invad\u00ading every coun\u00adtry that har\u00adbors ter\u00adror\u00adist net\u00adworks is na\u00efve and unsus\u00adtain\u00adable.\u201d That would require an awful lot of inva\u00adsions. \u201cWe must uphold stan\u00addards that reflect our val\u00adues.\u201d Uphold\u00ading stan\u00addards that don\u2019t reflect our val\u00adues would seem wrong. \u201cWe should not expect change to hap\u00adpen overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n Change, nev\u00ader\u00adthe\u00adless, is occur\u00adring \u2013 but not the sort of change the Pres\u00adi\u00addent has been advocating.<\/p>\n The list of for\u00adeign pol\u00adi\u00adcy set\u00adbacks that the Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion has suf\u00adfered goes on: the fail\u00adure of US<\/span>-ini\u00adti\u00adat\u00aded peace talks<\/a> between Israel and Pales\u00adtine, China\u2019s habit\u00adu\u00adal provo\u00adca\u00adtions in the South Chi\u00adna Sea<\/a>,<\/span> con\u00adtin\u00adued unrest in Iraq<\/a> fol\u00adlow\u00ading the President\u2019s deci\u00adsion to remove all US<\/span> troops before the 2012 election.<\/p>\n And although the Pres\u00adi\u00addent pro\u00adclaimed that \u201cglob\u00adal lead\u00ader\u00adship requires us to see the world as it is,\u201d he him\u00adself seems inca\u00adpable of doing so. The speech evinces no aware\u00adness of Amer\u00adi\u00adca\u2019s declin\u00ading influ\u00adence or the con\u00adse\u00adquences of his many pol\u00adi\u00adcy flops. He sees an Amer\u00adi\u00adca that has \u201crarely been stronger,\u201d the \u201cone indis\u00adpens\u00adable nation\u201d that is shap\u00ading events and fash\u00adion\u00ading a brighter future. He sur\u00adveys a land\u00adscape of botched ini\u00adtia\u00adtives and sees an unbro\u00adken vista of suc\u00adcess. Indeed, for him, it is impos\u00adsi\u00adble to see it any oth\u00ader way. Those who sug\u00adgest that US<\/span> influ\u00adence is dimin\u00adish\u00ading in an increas\u00ading\u00adly dan\u00adger\u00adous world are either \u201cmis\u00adread\u00ading his\u00adto\u00adry or engaged in par\u00adti\u00adsan pol\u00adi\u00adtics.\u201d Their ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal dis\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adtion blinds them to \u201cthe world as it is\u201d \u2013 a place where the Pres\u00adi\u00addent fan\u00adcies him\u00adself steer\u00ading glob\u00adal events in a soft\u00ader and smarter way to advance our interests.<\/p>\n But his most trou\u00adbling delu\u00adsion is that America\u2019s world lead\u00ader\u00adship is immutable fact. \u201cAmer\u00adi\u00adca must always lead on the world stage,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t, no one else will.\u201d If there is one uni\u00adfy\u00ading theme to the dis\u00adturb\u00ading chain of recent world events, it is the aspi\u00adra\u00adtion of many \u2013 jihadists, Rus\u00adsia and Chi\u00adna among them \u2013 to assume the \u201clead on the world stage\u201d that the US<\/span> appears to be relin\u00adquish\u00ading. A Pres\u00adi\u00addent who is obliv\u00adi\u00adous to this sim\u00adply is not see\u00ading things as they are.<\/p>\n Every Pres\u00adi\u00addent lives in a bub\u00adble. By Year 6, his advis\u00aders have cre\u00adat\u00aded a durable ver\u00adsion of real\u00adi\u00adty that is near\u00adly imper\u00advi\u00adous to events. Suc\u00adcess\u00ades are exag\u00adger\u00adat\u00aded, fail\u00adures denied, min\u00adi\u00admized or warped to con\u00adform to some man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtured nar\u00adra\u00adtive. A Pres\u00adi\u00addent is sur\u00adround\u00aded by aides who share his views and who are deeply invest\u00aded in the illu\u00adsion of his suc\u00adcess. Eco\u00adnom\u00adic advis\u00aders tell him that the econ\u00ado\u00admy is robust, for\u00adeign pol\u00adi\u00adcy advis\u00aders that his strategems are win\u00adning the day, domes\u00adtic pol\u00adi\u00adcy advis\u00aders that his achieve\u00adments are his\u00adtoric. Con\u00adtrary evi\u00addence is ignored, crit\u00adics dis\u00admissed as par\u00adti\u00adsan haters. When the Pres\u00adi\u00addent does ven\u00adture out\u00adside the White House, it is most often to meet with donors or to speak at cam\u00adpaign-like events where every line on his teleprompter evokes affir\u00adma\u00adtion and praise from a care\u00adful\u00adly screened audi\u00adence. In those rare moments when real\u00adi\u00adty man\u00adages to intrude itself, as in the ongo\u00ading VA<\/span> scan\u00addal, aides reflex\u00adive\u00adly absolve the Pres\u00adi\u00addent of blame for blun\u00adders made by agency offi\u00adcials whom he appoint\u00aded and direct\u00adly supervises.<\/p>\n That Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma has proven sus\u00adcep\u00adti\u00adble to such flat\u00adter\u00adies and fab\u00adri\u00adca\u00adtions should come as no sur\u00adprise. He is, after all, human. It would take rare vision and courage to see through this con\u00adtrived real\u00adi\u00adty, to rec\u00adog\u00adnize that his for\u00adeign pol\u00adi\u00adcy is fail\u00ading and that it has to be rethought. His suc\u00adcess \u2013 and ours \u2013 nev\u00ader\u00adthe\u00adless depends on his at last see\u00ading the world as it is, not as he has imag\u00adined it to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pres\u00adi\u00addent Obama\u2019s mas\u00adtery of the obvi\u00adous was on dis\u00adplay this week dur\u00ading his lengthy address at West Point. \u201cIso\u00adla\u00adtion\u00adism,\u201d he declared, \u201cis not an option.\u201d There\u2019s a bold state\u00adment. But that\u2019s \u201cnot to say that every prob\u00adlem has a mil\u00adi\u00adtary solu\u00adtion.\u201d \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading \n