I am not shy in telling people I have a plethora of problems with the current President. So many in fact that there isn’t enough time left on this Wednesday evening to write them all. But what I am experiencing these days is just plain strange. I am seeing not just poor leadership but a complete void of leadership. By most accounts the situation in Iraq is going much better. Military deaths are down as are Iraqi civilian deaths. Would you know this if you didn’t pay close attention to what is going on in the Middle East? I am certain the average American doesn’t have a clue to what is transpiring in our largest war since Vietnam. I’m not saying we are winning the war in Iraq but the conditions have improved considerably in the past six months and what do you hear? Crickets chirping. Silence. The leader of the free world has lost his voice. After the sacrifice of over 4000 military personnel don’t you think the President has an obligation to tout what is occurring? General David Petraeus put out a New Year’s communiqué to the troops about what is transpiring. It is worth a read. In it he outlines the progress and the challenges ahead in Iraq. As the first Americans prepare to caucus in Iowa tomorrow wouldn’t it be productive if they comprehended the current conditions of the war? I’m sure the one man who has been championing the validity of the surge strategy in Iraq, Senator John McCain, would greatly appreciate a boost from the President; especially after what George Bush did to McCain in South Carolina in 2000. For so long many Americans have desired to move past the Bush presidency and strangely enough, it seems that we are both there and not there. Up until the NIE report which announced Iran had given up its nuclear program in 2003, the Bush Administration seemed to use its quarrel with Ahmedinejad like food that fueled its raison d’etre. But the NIE report has sucked the oxygen from the room. Even when Bhutto was assassinated the President appeared briefly, made a simple comment condemning the action, and retreated back into the White House. Isn’t January the month when the President gives the State of the Union Address? I haven’t heard a lick about that either. The nation is rudderless with a full year to go until inauguration day.  If anyone is reading this in Washington DC, could you please drive by the White House and see if there are any lights on?