Wednesday, May 04, 2011

NY Times: Prez' "star-spangled rhetoric" but too much policy nuance


A rarity from the Gray Lady, opining from Paris-- there's too much nuance from our President Barack Obama. (Welcome to the crowd, but we'll just call it an incoherent policy. They even noticed all the first person plugs):
Call it a presidential volley of star-spangled rhetoric, including 10 I’s, a me and a my in Sunday night’s 11-minute got-him announcement, followed up by a trip Thursday to New York and the ground zero of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America.

While that sounds a lot like flag-wrapped, and probably effective, pre-campaign politicking, the raid leading to Bin Laden’s death takes a stone off the country’s heart. Mr. Obama, with seemingly justified pride and moral legitimacy, could well say (and did) — although the International Federation for Human Rights in Paris finds the operation’s legality open to question — “Justice has been done.”

But this is also a long way from the diction of a candidate who ran for the White House in 2008 with the phrase “we’re no longer about bluster and unilateralism and ideology,” and the suggestion that the United States’ potential for worldwide reach and military commitment has ever-increasing limits.

We'd settle for steady leadership and consistent strategy, something this president has difficulty with. And how about some honesty--America has never been "about bluster and unilateralism and ideology", we fight when we have to, as we did after Sept. 11th. We come home when we can. Others often choose to follow us but few other than America lead.

The US anti-war movement is dead now and even the NY Times can't bring it back. And most Americans are under no illusions that this president acted forcefully to defend this country.

Reluctance then and now, overseas, and at home.


Forget the rhetoric, judge the actions, remember in November, 2012.

Lucky for Obama he already won the Nobel Peace Prize, because just the words of his speech that night might have been enough to put off the silly leftie committee.

As for America, we'll stick with the words of the Star-Spangled Banner which need no embellishment.


Two Cheers for Enhanced Interrogation Techniques- The Weekly Standard (blog)
The Terrorist Next Door
Obama Owes Apology to CIA Interrogators - Marc Thiessen, Washington Post

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