Are We Free from Obama?

            The topic of discussion for this Freedom Friday concerns an article - really just the headline - that stated the Barack Obama is campaigning for the position of Secretary General of the United Nations. I did not actually read the article because I decided to do a fact check first. However, I have to admit that the headline stabbed me in the heart! According to Snopes, the article is untrue.

            I do not know whether or not Snopes is completely trustworthy, but I will take them at their word for the present. This is part of Snopes’ report on the article. 

This story was false. President Obama has announced no plans to seek the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations….

Moreover, the position of U.N. Secretary-General is not exactly one that can be gained through campaigning for it, nor is President Obama a likely choice for it. First off, the Secretary General has to be nominated by the U.N. Security Council, and any one of the council’s permanent members (China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States) could veto that selection – meaning that the Trump administration (and/or the Russian government) could unilaterally block any attempt by President Obama to become U.N. Secretary-General.

Additionally, the Secretary-General has to be appointed by the General Assembly (which comprises all 193 member states), many of whom would likely reject the thought of an American’s leading that global organization. Finally, President Obama would be an unlikely choice for the role of U.N. chief administrative officer because, as Wikipedia notes, “most Secretaries-General are compromise candidates from middle powers and have little prior fame” (but Barack Obama hails from a major power and has achieved international fame). The U.N. has never selected a Secretary-General from North America, and only once in United Nations history has a candidate from anywhere in the Americas been appointed to that position (Peruvian diplomat Javier Perez de Cuellar, who served from 1982 to 1991).

            If the above information can be believed, we may be free of Obama – unless another recently reported idea comes to fruition. Someone reminded us that it would be perfectly legal for Joe Biden to run for President of the United States with Barack Obama as his Vice President. How is that for a nightmare scenario? We may or may not be free from the leadership of Obama. For now, I think that I will breathe a sigh of relief and hope that my fellow Americans are not dumb enough to elect Biden to anything!