Incessant Incompetence Defining Obama

In recent months, a series of appalling lapses in leadership have stung the Obama presidency.  His mishandling of the botched roll out of Obamacare and his indecisiveness in swiftly dealing with the Veteran Administration scandal have raised fresh concerns about his competence.

Despite the mounting evidence, most Democrats and the president's media chorus of apologetics have stood by their man.  But even their faith has been tested this past week by the relentless firestorm of criticism over the decision-making process that led to a prisoner swap for an American soldier.

The latest imbroglio exposed the administration's disdain for the legislative branch of government, its failure to conduct appropriate due diligence, its tone-deaf flaunting of an deal involving the release of five Jihadists and its callous parsing of words to explain its ineptitude.

Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairperson of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, was outraged that the president failed to notify Congress before the prisoner exchange.  The Californian accused Obama of "totally breaking the law."  A law that President Obama signed.

Earlier this year, Obama affixed his signature to a measure that required him to notify Congress 30 days before any transfer of terrorists from Guantanamo Bay prison was completed.  Clearly, Obama did not abide by the spirit or letter of the law.  No amount of justification will change that fact.

At a news conference, the narcissistic president strutted before the cameras to announce the a deal to release five hardened terrorists from Guantanamo Bay for a lone American soldier held captive by the Taliban.  His unbridled chest-pounding was woefully pathetic in light of the somber occasion.

Shortly after Obama's victory lap over the return of Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, social media erupted with charges by military personnel that the sergeant had deserted his post in Afghanistan and walked willing into the open arms of the Taliban.  How could that fact have escaped the president?

This perpetuates the narrative that President Obama is detached and isolated.  He depends too much on a tight circle of advisers, never bothering to dive into the details.  His trust is ill placed and he lacks the managerial skills to ask the right questions of those in charge.

The president also failed to grasp the gravity of turning loose five stone-cold killers.  Of the 614 detainees released from Guantanamo Bay since it opened in 2002, a total of 104 are involved in some form of terrorist activity, according to a report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Those facts didn't deter the president and Secretary of State John Kerry from reassuring Americans that the high-risk detainees would pose no threat to the United States. Already one of the Taliban prisoners has vowed to return to Afghanistan to fight U.S. forces.

Once the media ratcheted up the pressure, Obama trotted out National Security Advisor Susan Rice to inform the world that Sgt. Bergdahl served with "honor and distinction."  When critics pounced on her characterization, the administration began parsing her words in a lame attempt at damage control.

Instead of admitting her mistake in the light of emerging facts, Rice doubled-down.  She continued her full-throated praise of the sergeant, saying she was referring to his decision to enlist voluntarily in the Army as an honorable act.

Her "talking points" glossed over the fact that incriminating emails had been resurrected showing Bergdahl was critical of the military and of his country.  He may have voluntarily signed up for duty, but he also voluntarily walked away from his Army post without permission.  

The administration's clever word crafting has failed to stem the damage.  A series of Pew polls show that the American public's perception of Obama's executive competence has plummeted from a 70 percent favorable rating in February of 2009 to 43 percent in the latest research.

His inept executive and managerial skills have been exposed.  More troubling to Americans is the president's plans for the remaining 149 murderous terrorists at Gitmo.  The Bergdahl exchange likely signals Obama will empty the prison, making the world a more dangerous place.