Just Because You Say You're Not Naive Doesn't Mean You're Not Naive

President Obama, in an address in Prague, announced plans to eliminate nuclear weapons completely. At first I thought this was some kind of hoax or a fake news story from The Onion. But no, it's real. I can't believe that there is any rational person out there who honestly thinks we can put that genie back in the bottle. The knowledge to make nuclear bombs is out. The will to make them exists. Those two things combined make it impossible to turn back that clock.

My favorite part of the story was when he announced that he was not naive:

“I'm not naive. This goal will not be reached quickly –- perhaps not in my lifetime. It will take patience and persistence,” he told an adoring crowd that waved miniature American and Czech flags. “But now we, too, must ignore the voices who tell us that the world cannot change. We have to insist, 'Yes, we can.'"

If you have to tell people you're not naive it makes you seem that you are aware of your naivete yet unwilling to give up your delusion. Who honestly believes that Russia, Israel, Great Britain and even the U.S. are going to give up their nuclear weapons? Why would they? They would all suspect that the others are keeping theirs and hiding them. Why is Obama even having this conversation? He can't possibly be that naive. He has to be pandering to the utopianists, right? I don't believe he is dumb enough to think that countries who are worried about others' ability to attack them are going to give up a weapon that provides a significant amount of deterrence. If he did believe the tripe he's spouting then I would be extremely concerned about his capacity as commander-in-chief.