Well, that was weird.
Those of us who live on the eastern seaboard got a little lunchtime shake, rattle, and roll yesterday when an unusually strong earthquake struck, sending a powerful shock from Georgia to Canada. Fortunately no major damage or injuries were sustained. It was bizarre, though, to see areas more accustomed to hurricanes experience a more west coast phenomenon. Speaking of hurricanes, we're supposed to get a major one of those at the end of the week. When do the locusts arrive?
The political plague has already struck President Obama. He was on the golf course on Martha's Vineyard when the quake hit and took the call about it from the White House on the green. For him, the more important temblor is the one seen in his poll numbers. Gallup now has him at a paltry 38% job approval with a 54% disapproval. Rasmussen has him with a Strongly Disapprove of 45%, which is his highest Strongly Disapprove level yet. Most of the disapproval stems from his gross mishandling of the economy, of course. But there is a strong whiff of Carteresque weakness wafting around Obama now, the stench of which is very difficult to shake. Just ask George W. Bush.
Meanwhile, the revolutionary earthquake continues to sweep the Arab world, with violence and chaos running rampant in Libya and Syria. Before we celebrate these alleged forces of freedom fighting for their "rights" in these places, keep in mind that the alternative to the murderous dictators could actually be worse: power vacuums, tribal warfare, humanitarian crises, the seizing of power by al Qaeda terrorists, other brutal extremists, and/or Muslim Brotherhood militants. This is what is unfolding in Egypt now. Hard tyranny can easily be replaced with a more "happy face" but just as ruthless tyranny. And Team Obama is doing little to nothing to guide these revolts toward successor regimes that would be pro-Western and pro-American.
Earthquakes are rumbling all around us. We'd better hold on tight.
