[J.P.’s Moment of Common Sense on Broad View, KRNG 101.3 FM Reno. Listen live Saturdays at 11:00 AM Pacific Time.]

Watching our president stumble through America’s foreign policy is like watching a blind St. Bernard gallop through a china shop.  He seems genuinely eager for quiet progress—his tail wagging happily forsooth—but the inventory is crashing down around him.

Remember our post-Cold War rapport with Russia?  Last year, Obama lectured Mitt Romney about calling Russia our geopolitical enemy, snidely telling Romney during one of the presidential debates, “...the 1980s, they’re... calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”

Well, apparently, he managed to restart that Cold War because last week Russia gave political asylum to Edward Snowden in defiance of hysterical U.S. pleading.  Obama responded by angrily cancelling an upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin and Putin answered with international diplomacy’s version of the middle finger... by calling George Bush and wishing him well.

Ouch.  So much for that “reset” button Hillary gave them.

The president’s strategy in the Middle East is also in flames.  After stabbing longtime ally Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in the back—the poor guy now sits in prison for life—he backed a bunch of Muslim Brotherhood goons to replace him and the citizens of Egypt were so disgusted with that idea they decided to have a second revolution.  Next door in Benghazi, Libya, where the president spent God-knows-how-many billions of dollars backing some other goons, those goons turned around, attacked our consulate, and murdered our ambassador.

CNN is reporting that dozens of CIA agents were in Benghazi at the time of the attack.  Eerily reminiscent of Obama’s Fast & Furious gun-running fiasco that has Mexico irritated with us, the CIA agents were involved in a gun-running operation to ship arms to Islamist rebels in Syria.

When it comes to Islamist revolutionaries, Obama keeps betting the house.  Trouble is, it’s our house.  This week we had the unsettling privilege of watching the president close twenty embassies across the Middle East in fear of an attack by Al Qaeda, then two days later give a speech bragging that we will never run from Al Qaeda.

The terrorists must be laughing their heads off.

Meanwhile, Israel, our biggest ally in the Middle East and the only functioning democracy in the area (also, by the way, the only economically and demographically viable nation in the area) is so disgusted with Obama and his various blunders, ignorant comments about Palestinians, and endless waffling about Iran’s accelerating efforts to build nuclear bombs, they can hardly hold a civil conversation with him.  Watching Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu share a news conference is like watching two method actors trying to express “thinly veiled contempt” without words.  Keep in mind, Iran has made it clear they want those nuclear bombs for the specific purpose of dropping them on Israel.

It’s understandable why Israel might resent that idea.

After five years of watching Barack Obama insult and betray allies while kowtowing to and embracing Muslim terrorists and communist despots, maybe it’s time to revisit the Founding Fathers’ reasoning for the words of Article Two Section 1 Clause 5 of the United States Constitution:

“No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President...”

So you either have to be living in the colonies in 1787 or you have to be a natural born citizen.  Everything hinges on the definition of “natural born citizen.”  Fortunately for the sake of insight into the Founders’ reasoning, we don’t have to guess what was on their minds.  They were worried that the top executive position in the government, the titular head of the fledgling United States of America, might be particularly damaging if that person had divided loyalties.  They wanted that position, specifically and uniquely, to be held by someone not beholden to foreign powers.  Here is what John Jay said to George Washington in 1787—one Founding Father to another:

“Permit me to hint, whether it would not be wise and seasonable to provide a strong check to the admission of Foreigners into the administration of our national Government, and to declare expressly that the Command in chief of the American army shall not be given to, nor devolve on, any but a natural born Citizen.”

There you have it.  The authors of the Constitution wished to avoid foreign influence in the presidency.  That’s why these deeply intelligent wordsmiths used the phrase “natural born citizen” rather than “native born citizen” or simply “citizen.”  Those are fine if you want to be in Congress or run for dogcatcher but not if you plan to be Commander-in-chief.  The framers wanted both parents of the president to be U.S. citizens.  They didn’t want naturalized citizens to qualify, they didn’t want native born citizens who might have foreign parents, and they didn’t even want people born in other countries of citizens who didn’t reside here.

According to the Constitution of the United States of America, according to the clear and logical intent of the framers, Barack Obama is ineligible for the office he occupies.  Some people think that issued was settled.  It wasn’t.  Every time someone takes it to court, they throw it out for lack of standing.

So much for this being a constitutional republic.

What’s more, Obama proves with every misguided foreign policy foray that his divided loyalties—Kenyan father, dual citizenship, Indonesian-Muslim stepfather and upbringing—that the framers were exactly right.  His divided loyalties are blinding him and his blindness is shattering our foreign policy.

That’s... today’s dose of common sense.

“Government has a legitimate sphere of operation.  The problem arises when that sphere continually expands, encompassing areas where government lacks legitimacy.” —William A. Dembski

“In America, there’s a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world.” —Barack Obama

From Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA        Tweet

August 12, 2013 - Do you really think Obama is worse at foreign policy than that dummy Bush? Seriously? – C.L., Canada

J.P. replies: Yes.  Seriously.  You may consider Bush a dummy but at least we knew whose side he was on, eh?

August 12, 2013 - Your analysis is spot on! Putin has the 'goods' on barry; be it the Syrian arms smuggling to Al Quaida to overthrow another head of state or the assassination of Ghaddafi also abetted by barry - the Benghazi assault was a retaliation of his black ops. Putin knows that barry is an imposter - as many others do, and barry is about to implode. He is neck deep in 'drone assassination' throughout the Middle East; Syria was the last straw for Putin. He had warned barry regarding the tons of weapons shipmentmeant for Al Quaida to overthrow Bassad. Hopefully, the 'whole story' about Benghazi will be told followed by impeachment for allowing Jarret to issue the 'stand down' order. It is unbelievable how many Generals barry has fired, crippling our armed forces in leadership. His bootlickers McCain and graham will do him no good; Morsi was involved in Benghazi; Stevens being sodomized, tortured and killed - watched live in DC. Why were family members not allowed to view the bodies of our four men upon returning to the US? What can we do to stop this tyrant? – cali, California

August 10, 2013 - Ah geez, you just had to get me riled up! The President's foreign policy is " fubar." I suppose those that voted for him, (twice), which does not include me, might not see a thing wrong with the President and his administration's foreign policy. Course these are the same constituents that are anti-gun so it's not a huge leap to understand that they might not see a thing wrong with what is going on in the rest of the world. Obviously they have either never heard or understand the saying "walk softly and carry a big stick." When you have a president that bases his foreign policy on three things: ONE - be nice to them and they'll be nice to you. (Except this ain't school). TWO - just throw money at them. Even if they tell you that they hate you. Just throw more money at them, maybe that will change their minds. THREE - is it a good place to vacation and play golf? If not, we don't really care about what's happening over there. At one time, our President and are country were respected in the world. Not so much any longer! Other countries view the man as "weak" and so therefore is the country. This country elected a President that had no experience in any aspect, not business, not economy, and certainly not foreign policy. Worse those that he placed in his cabinet are just as bad or inexperienced in their jobs as the President is. But that's why he likes them, makes him feel superior. This country has three more years of this buffoon, his cronies, and his idiotic policies. I pray every day that there will be a country left that can recover. – Pam T., Virginia