Where Rhetoric Meets Reality Or The International Community Calls Obama's Bluff

Much like a British policeman may say "Stop, or I'll say Stop again", Obama's verbal dictates to other nations regarding the affaire Snowden are being met with the same result:

The Detroit Free Press: Obama to Russia: Turn over Snowden

Of course he made the same demand to Hoing kong, which promptly ignored it.

Edward Snowden's global fight could have major diplomatic ramifications.

The Obama administration is asking Russia to turn over Snowden, who has been charged with espionage in connection with news leaks of National Security Agency surveillance programs -- the same request Obama's team made of China and Hong Kong, which still allowed Snowden to depart to Russia on Sunday.

Turn him over, or we'll demand you turn him over again:

Hayden added: "We expect the Russian Government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged."

I'm sure they'll look into their options in their own sweet time. Trying to bluff someone when he knows you're not holding any cards is quite the waste of time.

Throughout the weekend, Obama administration officials suggested there would be diplomatic consequences for nations that protect Snowden. "We are disappointed by the decision of the authorities in Hong Kong to permit Mr. Snowden to flee despite the legally valid U.S. request to arrest him for purposes of his extradition under the U.S.-Hong Kong Surrender Agreement," Hayden said. She added: "We have registered our strong objections to the authorities in Hong Kong as well as to the Chinese government through diplomatic channels and noted that such behavior is detrimental to U.S.-Hong Kong and U.S.-China bilateral relations."

In reality, Snowden's liberty is now a tool which America's adversaries are using to illustrate America's, and the Obama administration's, soft-power powerlessness in the face of their intransigence.

That Obama and his State Department have yet to learn that even when the light-bringer and his subordinates are the ones making them, you do not go around making chest-thumping tough-guy demands when you have no potential to back them up, and no chance they will be heeded. Soft-power, loud talk and lofty rhetoric have their limitations.

Snowden is now being used to embarrass the Obama administration and show the United State's weakness. This embarrassment is only possible due to his administration making strident public demands that Snowden be extradited to the US, or Obama will demand he be extradited again.

Do take a look at the picture that accompanies the article of Putin and Obama staring at each other. One of them has a credible tough guy stare, and the other guy isd hoping to bluff his way through. Go ahead and guess which is which.

Freep Columnist - Snowden Not Even A High School Graduate! Quelle Horreur!

In Rochelle Riley's editorial, we see everything that's wrong about the attitude of the credentialed (but not educated) class of bien pensants that run the mainstream media media and for that matter the Democrat party, but I repeat myself.

The Freep: Rochelle Riley: Snowden case begs the question - how does high school dropout have access to classified documents?

You see, to Ms. Riley it's not just that he leaked secret documents and the existence of the spying program, it's not just that he dared do it while Obama was in charge which is bad enough (had he done it under Bush we would have expected her adulation), but it's that he's a member of the great unwashed - By Jove, he didn't even graduate high school, much less college! Tut-tut!

So as much as I want my first questions to deal with policies of domestic spying and to what extent the government should be allowed to intrude into the lives of its citizens to keep the country safe, my first question actually is: How did a high school dropout (who later earned his GED) become a security guard and then an IT officer who had access to the kind of information whose release leads to congressional investigations and allegations of treason?

Here Ms. Riley falls for the bien pensant delusion that one must be credentialed in order to be smart and capable of doing things, not to mention daring to enter into technical areas where he might rub shoulders with his betters.

An awful lot of technical training can be self-taught through hands on experience, taking technical classes, reading and by coaching from capable co-workers and mentors. You don't need a college degree to do an awful lot of very important work with it. While a classical college education (though few colleges now offer such) is indeed a mind-opening experience that can expose you to a great deal of information and how to analyze and problem solve, its not the sole way to receive such skills. Through a solid work ethic and effort you can indeed acquire all the needed skills to have a very nice career in the IT field.

I have no idea if Mr. Snowden is a "genius" or indeed even "smart", but I certainly don't discount his skills nor look down on him due his lack of a couple formal pieces of paper and that he received a GED rather than a regular high school graduation.

Note to Ms. Riley: This bloke with a GED just pulled the lid off of a top secret Obama spy program on the American people. His acts may darn well be wrong, they may indeed be treasonous, but they are not to be discounted just because he lacks a college degree.