This week saw two stunning examples of the illusion that holds President Obama and some of his closest advisors hostage.  The idea that talking about a topic is the same thing as doing something about it is a common belief among academics and journalists, who, after all, make their livings from mere words. But in a president, the chief executive of our federal government, such a delusion is almost incapacitating. And as concerns our response to Islamic terror, it is incapacitating.

Andrew Malcolm of Investor’s Business Daily brilliantly headlined the text of Peresident Obama’s weekly address to the nation, “Obama: This week I'll visit 2 government offices to fight terrorism.”

He does not exaggerate, only highlights:

This week, we’ll move forward on all fronts. On Monday, I’ll go to the Pentagon. And there, I’ll review our military campaign and how we can continue to accelerate our efforts. Later in the week, I’ll go to the National Counter-terrorism Center. There, I’ll review our efforts—across our entire government—to prevent attacks and protect our homeland. And this week, the Department of Homeland Security will update its alert system to ensure Americans get more information, including steps that you and your communities can take to be vigilant and to stay safe.

Obama’s longtime friend and now his UN Ambassador Samantha Power made the point even more strong in Congressional testimony this week:

On October 21, the U.S. and other Western nations asked the Security Council sanctions committee to investigate an Oct. 10 Iranian long-range ballistic missile launch, urging it to “review this matter quickly and recommend appropriate action.”

The matter was still under review by the time Iran carried out a second missile test, on November 21.

Power told the Senate committee that the matter had been referred to an expert panel, and that the sanctions committee was expected to discuss it again next Tuesday.

Asked by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) what had been done since the first test was reported to the sanctions committee seven weeks ago, Power replied, “Beyond having Security Council discussions on the matter there’s been no follow-on action.”

Then she added, “Discussions are a form of U.N. action. It’s a little bit like a hearing is a form of congressional action.”

“We’ve have multiple discussions,” she said.

No wonder so many in the public actively distrust and disbelieve what they are told by the nation’s elites.