He Said That? 4/3/15

President Barack Obama, hailing a “historic understanding”—the nuclear framework negotiated between Iran and the US, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China:

I am convinced that if this framework leads to a final, comprehensive deal, it will make our country, our allies, and our world safer. This has been a long time coming.

The Wall Street Journal, “Iran Agrees to Outline of Deal,” 4/3/15.

For a deal to be reached, not one, but two major trust issues need to be resolved. There is skepticism that Iran will comply with a deal, and won’t secretly develop nuclear weaponry. That issue can only be resolved after a deal is reached, if it happens. However, before it does, there is the other trust issue: can Barack Obama be trusted? Call it blowback from the Affordable Care Act, but neither Republicans in Congress nor a substantial portion of the American people believe him. He lied, repeatedly, to get that legislation passed, made no effort to work with Republicans, who voted unanimously against it, and teamed with congressional Democrats and resorted to dubious legislative legerdemain to get the law to his desk. Millions of Americans discovered, contrary to Obama and Democrats’ assurances, that they were not be able to keep their insurance plans and doctors, and that they were paying much more for inferior plans.

The Iranian agreement may be a work of statesmanship, but it is going to be a tough sell to the American people, and Obama has made his job immeasurably tougher by having no reservoir of credibility to draw on. It’s not just Obamacare and other lies, but his overall modus operandi. He’s autocratic, ruling by executive order on important issues, bypassing Congress, and thereby skirting the Constitution. Although he may not need Congressional approval for the agreement, Congress can make things very difficult for him. Pro-negotiations commentators have disparaged Benjamin Netanyahu’s congressional appearance, Senator Tom Cotton’s letter to Iranian leaders, and proposed legislation that would require congressional approval of the agreement (which Obama has threatened to veto). If a meritorious agreement fails to go through, the Republicans, Netanyahu, and the Israeli lobby may deserve some of the blame, but not all of it. Republicans can hardly be blamed, after six years of lies and presidential imperiousness, if their response to Obama’s: “Trust me on this one” is a decisive: “No way.” What goes around comes around. Obama may have already doomed his opportunity to thaw the frosty US-Iran relationship, peacefully stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and give himself a signature accomplishment at the end of his administration that would belatedly justify his Nobel Peace Prize.