A gasbag always dreads a pin.

You have to feel sorry for Obama. At home the Republicans are preparing to win both the House and the Senate in November, which would make him completely ineffective, while foreigners ignore anything he says. He is under pressure to confront Russia over Ukraine but he needs Russian help to pressure Iran on its nuclear weapons. He is expected to force Iran to stop its centrifuges but he needs Iranian help to stop the rampaging ISIS in Iraq. He must stop ISIS from attacking Saudi Arabia but he does not want Iranian troops in Iraq, which shares a long border with Saudi Arabia, and he cannot put American boots on the ground. He cannot stop ISIS in Iraq unless he attacks them in Syria which, with the Free Syrian Army in shambles, would give Bashar al-Assad a victory. Of course, he cannot control what others do but he should have resisted his so called allies. He should never have allowed David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy to talk him into bombing Gaddafi's army in Libya by misusing a UN Security Council resolution allowing the use of force to protect civilians. That angered the Russians and the Chinese who refused any resolution on Syria. The Orange revolution in Ukraine in 2004 was a western creation which failed. This time the Russians were not going to fall for it. In November last year Viktor Yanukovych was faced with a choice. He could accept a severe austerity deal for joining the EU or he could take $15 billion in aid and a 33% reduction in gas price from Russia. Naturally, he chose the latter. This was the cue to start an armed revolution by ultra-nationalist Svoboda and the neo-Nazi Right Sector thugs. Yanukovych fled to Russia and Russian speakers in the east of the country revolted against the government in Kiev. When Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 crashed on 17 July Russia was immediately blamed for shooting down the plane. The US has had to admit that there is no evidence for such accusations but relations with Moscow have disappeared as long as Obama remains in office. Western support for the neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic government in Ukraine has probably created the condition for the hate campaign against Jews in Europe which has prompted an Israeli envoy to compare the situation to 1938. Why has Obama become so irrelevant in the world? Because he is motivated solely by politics and has surrounded himself with spin doctors. He is also mean. Although Bill Clinton's speech set the Democrat National Convention on fire in 2012 he is not supporting Hillary Clinton for president. His wife has been knocking Hillary in private conversation. Perhaps that will be his legacy. A mean conniving gasbag.