Tibet card won't help Obama

It seems to be no secret that US President Barack Obama is deeply mired in his country's economic mess. Recovery is painfully slow, unemployment (and under-employment) persistently soaring. The debt crisis is profound, while the overall mood on American streets appears to be gloomy, parallel to continuous social decline. Medical reforms are on hold, some say permanently stalled.

On the foreign front, the Afghanistan War is dragging, described by many experts as "unwinnable", the Libyan campaign is turning into an embarrassment and the rest of the African continent - from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Somalia, Rwanda and Uganda - is suffering from aggressive US policies geared to covert plunder of natural resources.

There is very little to celebrate as the 2012 US presidential election approaches. Many voters still remember the moving "Yes We Can!" rallying cry but are now asking what exactly it was all about.