A Democrat looks forward to a conservative Obama’s second term

I asked Mr. Bookworm if he wished that there could be a Democratic primary, so that he could have the choice of a Democratic presidential candidate other than Obama.  After all, I reminded him, back in 1980, a lot of Democrats wished that they could have voted for someone other than Carter.

Mr. Bookworm came back with an emphatic “No.”  He explained to me that Obama’s been a great president and a very conservative one.  “I told you that after campaigning to the margins he’d govern to the center.”

I wonder what center Mr. Bookworm is thinking of.  At home, ObamaCare is poised to destroy private sector medicine, the government has expanded, the stimulus money has disappeared into the government maw, our borders are hemorrhaging, the housing market has collapsed, unemployment seems intractable, welfare rolls are growing, etc.  This isn’t centrism, it’s bottomism.  Obama is taking American down, down, down.

Abroad, many see Obama’s continuation of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a sign of conservativism.  That’s wrong.  Obama’s decision to stay in the field is  mere self-preservation, because Obama doesn’t want his name on the inevitable blood bath that will follow abrupt American withdrawals.  What’s more interesting is his Libya engagement.  Obama has approached Libya as an imperial presidency.  Although he was unable to articulate how America’s involvement in Libya would benefit America, he went ahead and threw “his” troops into the task.  Now, he is in direct violation of the War Powers Act, a situation he has made worse by lawyer shopping.  This isn’t the act of a conservative, it’s the act of a tyrant.

As for Obama’s other overseas policies, please explain to me what’s conservative about turning on Israel; ignoring a democratic movement in Iran; demanding that Mubarak, a long-time American ally, decamp; insulting England left, right and center; turning his back on Poland and the Czech Republic; cozying up to Russia, Syria, Nicaragua, and a host of other totalitarian countries; and becoming the Palestinians’ new best friend.  These are all solidly Leftist political positions, although insulting England seems to be Obama’s personal spin on a solid socialist foreign policy plan.

If Obama is Mr. Bookworm’s idea of a conservative, no wonder Mr. Bookworm is horrified by the thought of a Republican president.  For him, a Republican president comes branded with 666 on his forehead.