President Obama faces steep opposition at home for his foreign aid program, especially in giving away hard earned American dollar to Africa to fight AIDS.

      Although America’s indulgence in giving aid to countries in need is borne out of humanitarian consideration and human compassion, it doesn’t ring a bell to angry local Isolationists who devoid of humanity are apparently not in the mood of extending our welfare program abroad.

       For fiscal year 2010, Obama committed $8.6 billion for global health, “… up from $8.2 billion for the current year,” among others.  It looked nice. But there is a contemptible deception behind it.  A serpent rears its ugly head when we do the numbers [see this paragraph and the next paragraph in Part I].

     Here’s how Obama’s budget trickery was exposed by the Global AIDS Alliance: “[I]nstead of the $50 billion over five years that President Obama had pledged for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, the budget includes $51 billion, but spread over six years [instead of five years].”

       This resulted not in increased funding but in a seriously grave budgetary shortfall.  Nevertheless, it did not make local Isolationists happy at all.  They want a complete withdrawal of America’s presence in the international community, a complete severance of any connection to the United Nations, and the United States’ non-participation in world affairs.

       Turning America into a hermit to live in the cave in complete isolation from the outside world seems to be this kind of fantasy that Hollywood film makers would not even bother to invest in producing an animated cartoon out of it for the entertainment of America.

       Even though how distorted the opposition appears to be, still President Obama has a hard time neutralizing Ron Paul leading a group of Isolationists who are against foreign aid. Here’s the line of opposition to international aid as Paul charged: “This is money we do not have being shipped away on a foreign welfare program … The burden on our already weakened economy could well be crippling.”[1] This rings a bell to the vast majority of Americans during hard times.

     President Obama has to go to Africa himself, to speak to the Parliament of Ghana in July 2009 to give Isolationists at home a good lecture on foreign aid … to let those who opposed his administration’s budget lemon-squeezers understand where the money goes, and for what purpose.

     The speaking engagement -- an opportunity for Obama to exhibit his gift of oratory abroad -- was a brilliant propaganda move the purpose of which was to achieve a three-pronged objective, namely:

     [1] To tell the whole world that Obama’s bleeding heart is for those struggling poor countries that badly need help.

     [2] To seek international support in his fight against American Isolationists who want him to abandon America’s world leadership, to zip up his loud mouth in foreign policy where he is accused of lack experience and wisdom, and overall, to put American foreign intervention in world affairs in solitary confinement, preferably in the freezer, for the good of the country.

     [3] To avoid a frontal confrontation with politically correct politicians like Ron Paul & company who if Obama has the misfortune of openly debating against in national television would eat him alive in the bar of public opinion.

     The first objective was in accord with the program of the president’s image drummers to announce to the whole world that a black Messiah was born in the United States to lead the United States and the new world out of misery.

     The second objective was about Obama’s grave shortcoming in foreign policy that the opposing Isolationists meant to overcome, thus in this regard, Obama faces a formidable challenge.  He needs at least the moral backing of the outside world to defeat his local adversaries that argue the line of Islamic fundamentalism and the Moslem extremists’ campaign of terror, to wit: Americans deserved 911 – and there will be more 911s -- because America went to the Middle East to disturb the peace and quiet of Islam. Does this sound familiar? In short, Isolationists slam the door on Obama’s face with a jerky slap … if you want a guarantee to your national security, stay home!

       With this seemingly out of this world idea on how America should deal with its presence in the international community, radical Isolationists and downstream terrorist supporters want to freeze America’s “foreign intervention” in world affairs deep in the burning ice of hell.

       Right now, the revolutionary mood of the American public that suffers financial and economic difficulties is in favor of endorsing the revolutionary campaign of politically correct politicians like Ron Paul.  In a public debate, Obama’s loquaciousness has no match … fire eaters like this Libertarian Congressman from Texas, will eat him alive.

    The best way for Obama to fight his adversaries in objective No. 3, is to avoid a direct confrontation as much as possible … just like how effective the Fed’s Ben Bernanke avoids Ron Paul’s longwinded question during congressional hearings … endless committee investigations to find out what kind of skeletons the Federal Reserve is hiding in the closet.  

     Obama and his image-makers should take note of the fact that when Ron Paul shoots a kilometric question on the Chairman of the Fed with a Ph.D. in economics … a single question which recites a litany of Bernanke’s faults in monetary economics for the entertainment of the viewing public, Bernanke either gives a one-word response of irrelevance or indifference to indicate that he was bored, or just simply ignores Paul with that disgusting look in his face while in front of the TV camera. 

      It was Bernanke’s way of telling the public without uttering a single word, that speaking of economics, he doesn’t know what economics the Congressman from Texas was talking about! 

      As if Bernanke is aching to say to Paul that the Federal Reserve is not a toy politicians should play with; its huge and complicated responsibility in responding to worldwide economic crisis, in regulating domestic interest rates and the rate of inflation while at the same time promoting the growth of the economy is not something that could easily be discussed over a cup of coffee or for the public to understand when in congressional hearings Bernanke is responding in front of the video camera, to questions that are running wild for political expediency.

     Anyway, the people’s economics that Paul espouses is nominal or popular – real science of advance economics learned in the academe is where Bernanke’s expertise lies. Paul’s followers don’t mind if their hero is intellectually snubbed or ignored by the Chairman of the Fed. They didn’t understand it either, but the purpose of politicking caught in videotapes has been achieved, and for that alone Paul and his legions of followers are extremely happy. 

     It does not matter who understands or does not understand economics, especially whether or not understanding the role of the Federal Reserve of the United States in the U.S. economy is of any relevance at all.  A lot of Americans are angry with the Fed, and that’s more than enough to keep the “revolution” going!

       It also does not matter either, if the Fed falls into the hands of politicians through “audit”, and the Fed without the protective shield of independence, would succumb to the whims and caprices of politicians who would turn the nation’s monetary and banking system into a complete chaos to serve their election agendas.

       Politicians make an excuse of transparency to bust the Fed’s independence granted by law so that they can meddle into the fiscal and monetary affairs of the country, which is a good opportunity for launching bombastic political speeches in the campaign trail to attract and win political patronage.  The destruction it would cause the economy wouldn’t bother them at all so long as they get the votes they wanted. This indicates that the counter-cultural revolution for change is on.

        In the Parliament of Ghana where he was invited to speak, Obama lectured American Isolationists at home about foreign aid they opposed. In this lecture to revolutionary revisionists, Obama said “Americans will be more responsible in extending our hand …” meaning extending assistance to the people of the world who need help. “[W]e will put more resources in the hands of those who need it, while training people to do more for themselves …” 

       Obama was educating what he probably thinks are dull-headed Isolationists as if he was conducting a class in kindergarten on foreign aid: “Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose of foreign assistance must be creating the conditions where it is no longer needed… We can broaden prosperity through public-private partnerships that invest in better roads and electricity; capacity-building that trains people to grow a business … This is also in our own interest - for if people are lifted out of poverty and wealth is created in Africa, new markets will open for our own goods.”

       The lecturing U.S. Afro-American president was short of calling American Isolationists a bunch of hypocrites without conscience. “Because in the 21st century we are called to act by our conscience and common interest …” to extend international aid to the needy, Obama roasted Isolationists by implying in his speech they are not only short-sighted but also without conscience.

        However, he has to fire this salvo in Africa to avoid a direct confrontation in the local scene, especially avoiding a war of words with Libertarian Isolationists. The mutinous mood of the American public now suffering financial and economic difficulties swings in favor of endorsing the revolutionary campaign of politically correct politicians like Ron Paul who has not abandoned his Libertarian fervor as a fighter for good government.

       Sad for me to say, but even though Obama is known to be long-winded and loquacious in public debate, fire eaters like this Libertarian Congressman from Texas who in public is donning the armor of a Republican knight and ready to joust, will eat him alive. #

© Copyright Edwin A. Sumcad. Access FP.com, August 10, 2009.

The writer is an award-winning journalist.  Know more about the author by reading his published editorials and feature articles or you may e-mail your comment to ed.superx722@yahoo.com.sg.