THE WORLD

Happy Christmas and Happy New Year World

Clintons in Power GRAB

IHT: Reports that in - coming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wants to extend the influence of the State Department. The Obama West Wing Team should make it clear to Hillary and Bill Clinton that Foreign Policy will be set by the White House. If Obama allows the Clintons this power grab it will be the first of many, the Clintons if they think that Obama is weak will push and push for more power. This is the hard lesson of the Clintons, lets see if Obama has the backbone to say No to the Clintons. It does not matter if the ideas by the Clintons are good ideas, this is about politics and the use of power.

Is Obama another Ford or Lincoln

Fox News: Reports that President - Elect Obama will use the bible that was used in the first Inauguration of President Lincoln in 1861. The Title of this piece comes from a book on President Ford, A Ford not a Lincoln, will Obama like Ford who faced eventual times fail or like Lincoln save the Union through this economic crisis. In 1974 Ford had the Vietnam War and a Economic crisis, Obama has two Wars, Iraq and Afghanistan and the economic 9/11. In Iraq the USA has a time table to get out by 2011, this will allow the Iraqi government to take over the heavy load of security. In Afghanistan the Obama Administration will try a surge to see if this will combat the terrorist threat, the problem is Pakistan, this is very much like the threat that South Vietnam faced from North Vietnam, the Viet Cong had the support of North Vietnam, the terrorists have the support of the Tribal leaders on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, also the terrorists have the support of the ISI, the Intelligence Service of Pakistan. Thus in many respects Obama has many more severe problems, the Economy is in free fall, the typical Liberal answer is to spend money, but as the New Deal of the 1930s showed it was not the government spending that got the USA out of the Great Depression it was World War Two. If the Obama money spend does not work what is Plan B. In 1976 Ford was defeated by Jimmy Carter, in 2012 will Obama be another Ford defeated for re- election or will he win a second term like Lincoln. The War in Afghanistan will define the Obama Presidency on the International Front while on the Domestic Side his vast spending will decide if he wins a second term as POTUS.