And take Benghazi, the site of an American diplomatic facility in… quick, what country? Syria? Iraq? Afghanistan? No… don’t tell me. Oh, right Lebanon. Grrrr. Google says it’s actually in Libya. (According to Public Policy Polling (PDF), 41 percent of Republicans—as well as 10 percent of Democrats and 20 percent of Independents—think Benghazi is “the biggest political scandal in American history.” Of the people who feel this way, 39 percent don’t know where Benghazi is located. Perhaps they think it is an arthritis cream.) Well, Libya is a place with which George W. Bush was not at all aloof. He was the first American president to phone Libyan madman and terrorist-sponsor Muammar al-Qaddafi, and he sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to meet personally with Qaddafi. Obama met with Qaddafi as well. And he later ordered airstrikes on Qaddafi’s regime that turned the tide in the Libyan civil war and drove him from power. But after Qaddafi was deposed, Obama’s aloofness allowed terrorists to attack our people in Benghazi. Four American patriots were murdered. Reagan would have never allowed that. Sure, under Reagan, 241 heroic Marines were killed by a terrorist suicide bomb in Beirut. But that’s not because Reagan was asleep at the switch. Under the rules of engagement, that Marine barracks was heavily fortified—by Marines who were prohibited from carrying loaded weapons.

But let’s get back to Obama’s aloof arrogance. Or is it his arrogant aloofness? Either way, Congressional Republicans were practically forced to reduce Obama’s requested funding for embassy security. If only Obama had played golf with the GOP more, or had them over for more dinners—maybe read them a story like The Pet Goat. Then they would have approved Obama’s full funding for embassy security. So you see, it all comes down to President Obama’s aloofness.