THE OBAMA 2011 EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR

It's 4:15 AM and I'm looking at the news of the day before I have to get my children up and going. The DOW is down 1%, unemployment claims are back in the Fall of 2010 doldrums, the Euro is in apparent free-fall, gas has "fallen" to just under $4 / gallon, my grocery bill seems to go up $5-10 every week, and total employment in the U.S. is all of about 350,000 jobs higher than it was a year ago.

Oh, I forget to mention that President Obama kicked off his 2011 European summer tour on Monday.

Hey Barry, great job getting Bin Laden! Feel good about it? Good. Now get over it and deal with the realities on the ground here at home. The only time I want to see you leaving on another jaunt around the world paid for by the American taxpayer, is if the economy has a few quarters of 6-8% GDP growth and jobs sustain a growth rate of 300,000-400,000 per month (that's month, not year).

We need to remind Mr Obama that he is President of the United States, not the world. He seems to travel the world to avoid dealing with domestic issues. According to his own Treasury Secretary, the apocalypse is going to happen on Aug 2, but I've not heard of him getting engaged in the process of avoiding it one bit.

The U.S. economy is at real risk of another recession, and Obama wants to take a second round of bows for the Bin Laden raid. Housing prices have fallen for 50+ consecutive months, and he's more worried about visiting the hometown of his great great great Irish grandfather than dying suburbs in Detroit, LA, and Las Vegas. Gas is $4 per gallon, our debt is $14 trillion and Obama is announcing new aid packages for Egypt.

Apparently we have solved all our problems, there is an agreed upon budget in place and the debt ceiling negotiations are completed. It must be true, otherwise it would be the height of irresponsibility for a sitting President to be spending time connecting with his long lost Irish roots when the fiscal condition of the country is teetering on the edge (according to his own Treasury Secretary).

In the 1990's it was ok for Bill Clinton to travel the world like a rock star, because the U.S. was the world's rock star. Our economy was growing, the dollar was strong, and we were leading the world into the Internet age.

In 2011, every possible ounce of our President's energy should be spent dealing with the issues we have at home.

One can't help but feel that the reason that Obama takes so many trips is simply because he can. The thought that the American people might resent his constant traveling, posturing, and seeking after public acclaim never seems to cross his mind.

Keeping the Europeans convinced that Obama has their best interests at heart seems to be more important than avoiding the perception among Americans that he is unable to focus on any of the issues that directly affects the American people.