President Obama gave a brief, forgettable speech at the White House Friday about Iraq, where marauding jihadists are threatening to capture Baghdad. Here’s the speech he should have given instead.
“My fellow Americans, I come to you today from the Oval Office with a heavy heart and sober humility. Events around the world, including but not limited to the shocking terrorist surge in Iraq, lead me to make a painful admission.
“I confess to making serious mistakes on foreign policy. My decisions, centered in the Mideast but also extending to Europe, Russia, Latin America and Asia, were based on flawed assumptions about how others would react to my being president and to a lighter American footprint.
“As we see now, my repeated apologies for America’s past and promises we would be more respectful have not had the desired result. I believed we could usher in an age of peace and cooperation that did not require the United States to be the world’s policeman.
“And so I pulled our military from Iraq and moved toward an early exit from Afghanistan. I recalibrated our relationship with Israel and the Palestinians to force Israel to make concessions that, I hoped, would lead to a resolution of their ancient feud.
“My ‘reset’ with Russia reflected my view that we had needlessly antagonized that great nation, and that a new flexibility would induce the Russians to become our ally at the United Nations.
“For similar reasons, my administration has accommodated China on a host of controversial issues and even taken its side or remained neutral as it threatened our allies.
“I bent over backward to assure the Iranians they need no longer fear America. By giving perfunctory support to the popular uprising there in 2009, I made it clear we would not contest the government’s suppression of its people. I offered to let the ruling mullahs continue their nuclear program, as long as they did not move to weaponize it immediately.
“I turned the other cheek to insults from the late Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and other Marxist dictators in our own back yard. My hope was that they, too, would moderate their hostility.
“To show my commitment to this path, I slashed our military, and it will soon be smaller than it was before World War II.
“There is no way to sugarcoat the results, so let me be clear: I was wrong. My policies have not yielded the benefits I promised.
“On the contrary, they have proven to be major contributors to the chaos, violence and repression we see in the headlines.
“My trust in the good will of our adversaries has been misplaced. Our hand of friendship and respect has been slapped away with ridicule and aggression.
“As such, the world is a more dangerous place now than before I took office. Additionally, our allies are nervous and interpret my presidency as meaning we will not help them in a crisis.
“That was not my intent, but good intentions are not enough. Voters elected me twice because they believed my vision would bring a more peaceful and prosperous world.
“To them, I offer my deepest apologies. Your president failed you.
“Let me add that my Republican opponents, John McCain and Mitt Romney, were right to doubt the wisdom of my approach. As for President Bush, I now have far greater respect for his efforts to combat the scourge of Islamic terrorism.
“I have personally conveyed my apologies to these three dedicated patriots and invited them to the White House to seek their advice.
“I also offer my apologies to our allies who feel abandoned. I especially extend my hand to the people of Israel, whose survival ultimately depends on American friendship. I am sorry I caused you to doubt that bond.
“Finally, I want to assure friend and foe alike that today marks the start of a new American approach to the world. My eyes have been opened to the error of my ways, and I pledge a forceful stand based on the realization that America truly is exceptional.
“I pledge to work night and day to right the ship of state. The changes will be obvious in coming days and weeks.
“To our adversaries, I offer this simple warning: Beware, the sleeping giant is awake again. America is back.”
Cuomo rival’s tax to grind
Westchester County Exec and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino found a way to stick a finger in Gov. Cuomo’s eye. It seems that Cuomo’s companion, Food Network host Sandra Lee, didn’t get permits for interior renovations on her New Castle home, which she shares with Cuomo. And she wouldn’t let a tax assessor inside to see the work, her right under the law.
Still, assessor Phil Platz told The Post he knows what work she did because he recently read about it in a 2010 story in USA Today, and raised the assessed value by 29 percent. That could mean a tax hike of about $8,200, bringing Lee’s property taxes to a whopping $36,500 on the house she bought for $1.2 million in 2009.
Astorino, effectively the county tax collector, seized on the dispute to roar that “New Yorkers deserve to know whether their governor is a tax cheat.”
That’s a fair point in a vacuum, but let’s not forget the facts at hand. The candidate for lower taxes and smaller government is demanding that a private citizen pay an additional $8,200 in taxes for interior renovations no one outside the house can see. Those renovations are known to the government only because an inspector had time to find a description of them in a 4-year-old newspaper story.
That sounds like the essence of big, intrusive government, and $36,500 in property taxes must sound wildly excessive to most New Yorkers.
All things considered, is this really where Astorino wants to plant his campaign flag?
City Hall’s flavor of the month
Never let it be said that City Hall is doing nothing to counter the 13 percent increase in shootings. First Lady Chirlane McCray is featured in public-service announcements that tout Gun Violence Awareness Month. Talk about action!
With the police handcuffed thanks to her husband’s policies, McCray teamed up with Brooklyn Democrat Jumaane Williams, one of the council members who demonized the NYPD. They urge New Yorkers “to help reduce the incidence of gun violence by participating in events, activities and working groups” through the month.
That’s just swell.
And if it doesn’t work, perhaps July will be Letting Cops Do Their Jobs Month.
Punishing hard work
Reader Matthew Hardy agrees the move to dumb down standards for specialized high schools will punish successful Asian students.
“I live in Flushing,” he writes, “and the Flushing library is jammed with Asian kids studying on weekends. Trying to find an empty seat is like trying to find a parking spot in Manhattan. These kids achieve because they work.”