A Line Too Far

“We have a genetic memory of fascism here.”
~ Anatoly Skripnik, a businessman in Kiev, Ukraine

Another world crisis erupting, another line drawn by the U.S. president. How embarrassing.

Kiev, Ukraine - Photo: The New York Times

Did he really need to use the term "cross the line" in reference to Kiev, after the Syrian fiasco? The entire world is now highly familiar with President Obama and his invisible red crayons. Other nations are not likely to pay much attention to America's puffball threats.

The president has proven himself quite comfortable navigating all kinds of lines. He has crossed constitutional lines, intoned campaign promise lines, fed us healthcare lines. Barack Obama seems to have a new line every day. Americans are used to that.

But when people in other countries are fighting and dying for the freedom we in this country enjoy and take for granted, tossing off a line that has no meaning behind it is disrespectful at best. To borrow a phrase, President Obama has crossed a line. This time, he may have stepped over into irrelevancy.