[MR2]

Originally Posted by tonyz

Some simple and timely observations by an intelligent commentator - as our president continues to lead from behind. Roll on November.

1980 Redux

By Victor Davis Hanson
NRO
September 19, 2012 10:38 A.M.

When young Phaethon takes over Helios’s chariot, lots get scorched: China and Japan in a war of words over more territorial disputes as Asia watches unsure of the U.S. position; more unrest against the U.S. in the Middle East; a new cartoon uproar in France as it evacuates embassies; Americans cannot patrol any longer with the Afghan troops they are supposed to train; Iraq slipping out of the U.S. orbit; Israel and the U.S. at a historic divide; Iran full-speed ahead on nuclear-weapons proliferation; “lead from behind”/ Cairo-speech strategy going up in the smoke of the Arab Spring; Syria — who knows what?; EU warnings on U.S. debt, borrowing, and printing, as weak U.S. growth, unemployment, and energy prices hit the public — and in reaction we get presidential summits with Letterman, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z as the media goes ballistic over a video in which Romney warns that nearly half the population is becoming dependent on government.

Fiddling as Rome burns...