The Audacity of Barack Obama

When Senator Barack Obama was on his European tour earlier this summer it appeared that in his meetings with various foreign leaders he was behaving as if he had already been elected President. If a report that appeared in today's New York Post is accurate, he was acting as if he was already President:

While campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."

Granted, this is an opinion piece and there is debate over whether the allegations made by the column's author, Amir Taheri, is true. The McCain campaign argues, correctly, that if the allegations are true, Senator Obama's conduct is inexcusable. The Obama campaign reflexively characterizes the column as the equivalent of another smear before denying the allegations made in the column.

From a strict legal perspective, if Senator Obama conducted himself as Mr. Taheri reports, has broken the law. The Logan Act prohibits citizens from negotiating with foreign governments without the specific authority of the United States Government:

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

Practically speaking, there are very few instances where an individual has been prosecuted for violating this Act. In today's highly politicized culture it would be extremely difficult to pursue such a case. Frankly, while Senator Obama's actions, if true, are appalling, I don't think they would warrant prosecution.

But this incident, if true, is another in a long list of instances of Senator Obama's incredibly poor judgement. The question that voters face is given the Senator's track record, can we trust him to exercise proper judgement once in the White House?

I don't think so.

Quick Takes - 2-29-08

Random links of interest for your weekend enjoyment (with a huge tip o' the hat to my lovely bride for her exhaustive research):

People who work alone are more productive? A new study suggests this is the case. From my personal perspective, I've worked from home for over four years now and find I am much more productive than I ever was working in an office. (hat tip: Evangelical Outpost)

Honoring Champions President Bush welcomed the 2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox to the White House on Wednesday. They also spent time at Walter Reed Army Hospital visiting with wounded soldiers (scroll down for pictures). But the highlight for manager Terry Francona and slugger David Ortiz was riding on motorcycles in the motorcade.

Flushing money down the toilet. Atlanta spends $300,000 on toilets for homeless people.

Doctors said abort the baby, parents defy them and he's born healthy. This story begs the question how many babies that are aborted based on a doctor's recommendation would otherwise be born healthy.

All the news that's fit to recycle. The New York Times tries to stir up more trouble for Senator John McCain by regurgitating old inquiries about his birthplace.

Movie Trailer of the week. Here's a peek at The Final Season. This looks like it could be great.



Portrait of a hero (Part 1). A Marine loses his leg in Iraq but rather than letting that slow him down returns to active combat.

Portrait of a hero (Part 2). An Amry Sergeant, home after two tours of duty in Iraq, bought a scratch-off lottery ticket on a whim at a convenience store. Little did he know he would win $1 million. Now he's getting set to return to Iraq for his third tour of duty.

Does higher turnout among Democrats in the primaries mean a landslide in November? Not necessarily.

Grandma said so. Several news outlets made the regrettable decision yesterday to disclose that Prince Harry has been fighting on the front lines with the British Army in Afghanistan. But the best part of the story is that Queen Elizabeth (his grandmother) told him he was going to be deployed.

Dave Barry on getting a colonoscopy:

OK. You turned 50. You know you're supposed to get a colonoscopy. But you
haven't. Here are your reasons:
1. You've been busy.
2. You don't have a history of cancer in your family.
3. You haven't noticed any problems.
4. You don't want a doctor to stick a tube 17,000 feet up your butt.

I can relate to #4. Been there, done that. (hat tip: Betsy's Page)

Anyone can have a bad year century. The Chicago Cubs get ready to start year 100 since their last World Series championship.

The troop surge in Iraq is working. Just ask Angelina Jolie.

Maybe she should have bought the dogs a different chew toy. It's just a thought.


Have a great weekend.