America Weighs in on ISIS

- September 09, 2014

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America Weighs in on ISIS
New polling shows that Americans are worried about the threat of ISIS and support U.S. strikes in the region.

The Washington Post/ABC News have a brand new poll showing that 91% of Americans consider ISIS a “serious threat” to the vital interests of the United States. That same poll also found that 71% of Americans support U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and 65% support U.S. airstrikes in Syria. Fewer Americans, 58%, support providing arms to Kurdish military forces in their efforts to combat ISIS.

Another poll conducted by CNN found that about 70% of Americans believe ISIS has the capability to launch an attack against the United States. While it similarly shows support for U.S. airstrikes in the region, 61% of Americans oppose boots on the ground to combat ISIS.

How will Obama's actions measure up compared to the American people's desires? We'll find out in his speech tomorrow outlining his strategy for defeating ISIS. Meanwhile Obama is meeting with the four top Congressional leaders today in Washington, and administration officials will take his case to the full Congress later this week. All of this comes at a time when Obama himself is enjoying some of the lowest approval numbers of his presidency.

But make no mistake. Obama is not going to Congress asking for authorization, approval or any spending authority. Yesterday's White House press briefing made it pretty clear what the president is doing this week: “As a general matter, what I can say is that the president is interested in [Congress'] buy-in, is interested in a congressional debate and is interested in consulting closely with the leaders in Congress so that they feel bought in to this process and they feel like the partners that they actually are as the elected representatives of the American people,” said press secretary Josh Earnest.

But is all of this too little too late? Even the New York Times hits Obama today on his naïve statements related to ISIS and how this may come back to haunt him as he now tries to rally America, Congress and the world into a military campaign: “A President Whose Assurances Have Come Back to Haunt Him.”

Obama Delays Action on Immigration Reform
Barack Obama has decided to delay executive action on immigration reform.

Why? Because of politics.

He doesn't want his imperial presidency to become an issue before the midterm election, jeopardizing Democrat chances in November.

What's important to note is that Obama is still planning to unilaterally act on immigration. He just wants to do it after the voters have their say at the polls.

This decision was slammed by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who accused the president of “playing it safe.”

But Obama says he needs time to “get his ducks in a row” and help the American public understand “why it's the right thing for the American people.”

That still doesn't change the fact that he is playing politics and making a mockery of our system of checks and balances in order to accomplish his policies.

Source: WSJ