Not Ready For Primetime

The worry about Barak Obama has been that he has an abundance of pithy sayings (the "audacity of hope" and whatnot) but there isn't much substance behind his catchphrases.  Obama gave evidence to this charge last night when apparently he agreed that as president he would meet with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bashar al-Assad, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, and Kim Jong Il while taking the current administration to task for not doing the same.  It must be said that you know a candidate has made a mistake when his spokesman has to spend time after a debate explaining what the senator "really meant." 

How, then, is this a mistake?  This reflects a profound naiveity.   Does Obama really think that there is something he could say to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that would turn the Iranian president from an enemy to a friend?  Obama apparently believes that the root of world conflict is lack of understanding, so if you just get someone with a charming personality (read: Obama) to reason with your enemies, they will see the error of their ways.  It doesn't matter how many times Iran spits in the Western eye, or how many American hostages it currently holds, or how many  terrorist acts Iran sponsors, or how many conferences it holds denying the Holocaust.  If we just talk to them as friends, then it will all work out.  Obama seems to think there are no harmful ideologies that a little dose of Dr. Phil can't cure.  Perhaps Bashar Assad sponsors terrorism because of unresolved conflicts with his father. 

This does answer one question.  A couple days ago I questioned how Barak Obama would go about fighting evil around the world, given that he doesn't think military force is the answer.  Now we have it.  The charm offensive.  I am sure our enemies are quaking in their boots.