I’ve been wanting to write about the rhetorical overkill deployed by this administration when it comes to touting the president’s decision to kill bin Laden. I mean, is this really something only Barack Obama had the singular courage to do? Really? A Republican president wouldn’t have killed bin Laden under similar circumstances? But I was also reluctant because, yes, the president deserves praise for doing it and there are so few things I find praiseworthy in his agenda, better to focus on the things that revolve around fundamental disagreements. But this is just beyond the pale.
Joe Biden calls Obama’s action against Bin Laden, “the boldest decision … any president has undertaken on a single event in modern history.”
Seriously? Of course, “modern history” is a relative term, so presumably he’s excluding the Emancipation Proclamation or Truman’s decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But how about Gerald Ford’s pardon of Nixon? Or Bush’s surge?
And of course, boldness doesn’t necessary depend on success. Carter’s botched mission to rescue the hostages was certainly bolder. So was Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs. Indeed, given what a loose cannon Joe Biden is, Obama’s decision to pick him as a running mate might even be bolder.
Video here. There’s a lot more to say, but I’ve got to head out for a few.
Don't you know that history started with the election of Obama?
(BTW, I didn't think it was possible, but these new Dish commercials are even more irritating than the Cancer Society ones.)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI think Joe misspoke. He meant to say "post-modern" history. You know, where history is whatever you say it is.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHistory began and ENDED in 2008. In fact, in some circles it is still 2008, and always will be.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJonah,
Typo in your last sentence. You wrote "for a" and I think you meant to write "and have a"
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse“modern history”
No, in Biden's attention span.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNot the first time that Biden has invoked The Tick as his muse:
"And, isn't sanity really just a one-trick pony anyway? I mean all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you're good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit."
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Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEndorsed. A decision can be proper and well-executed and praiseworthy without being remotely bold, and this one fits that description. Crocodile tears on behalf of UBL from German pseudo-intellectuals notwithstanding, this decision was about the least controversial or bold decision that a president could have made. Signing Mother's Day into legal existence took more political courage than killing UBL did.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseActually, the decision to kill Osama was one of the EASIEST decisions in ALL of history (not just modern) with which any president has been faced.
The only difficult aspect of it was the decision of whether to capture him instead. And given the presence of Eric Holder at the top of the Justice Dept. food chain, a bullet between the eyes becomes a no-brainer.
BOLD? The only thing bold about it is the chutzpah to claim it was bold.
As with most statements from socialists, however, a little decoding is in order. What the administration REALLY means to say is this:
"For a socialist committed to apologizing for America's existence and her history, and for a socialist committed to diplomatically dealing with our sworn enemies, and for a man that spent the better part of 5 years griping about 'unlawful' warfare due only to the lack of a UN mandate, the decision to assassinate an unarmed man in someone else's country without permission to enter is about the boldest decision such a person could make, given that it runs counter to the worldview he and his fellow travelers espouse."
That is the ONLY way to conclude this decision took any level of boldness.
On Jonah's brief list of presidential decisions that were bolder, he left off one that dovetails with current events. Reagan's decision to attempt to assassinate Quadaffi was considerably bolder.
Heck - GHWB's decision in 1991 to sign the Democrat budget containing tax increases was bolder.
Clinton's decision to testify on closed-circuit video in front of Ken Starr, with absolutely no legal obligation to do so, was probably the single boldest presidential decision made during my lifetime.
The last was one of the most brilliant, too. WJC out-lawyered a very expensive corporate litigation partner @ Kirkland & Ellis and brilliant jurist! If you're gonna lose your law license, that's not a shabby victory to notch on one's belt.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJonah, there is pre-Barack and post-Barack. Anything in that whole pre-Barack era is ancient history filled with a disgusting United States, superstition and without enlightenment. So obviously the killing of OBL was done in "modern history," otherwise known as post-Barack.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJonah
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseDo you really take what Joe Biden said seriously? Really? Vice Pres. Joe Biden was, is, and always has been a comedic buffoon, and almost all of his lines are designed for cocktail humor. No more, no less. Possibly in contention for the top 3 dumbest vice president in the history of the republic. The scary thing is he's a basketball-elbow away from the presidency.
However, in this instance Joe was right in 1 fact: Longingly-known as wartime president, George W Bush, a Republican, and tough-guy Dick Cheney, had a chance in similar circumstances (less than solid intel, high casualty risk) to bag Bin Laden in Tora Bora, Afghan, and both ducked. Bush II spent the rest of his presidency trying to make up for that failure to no success. Enter Obama, he had his chance, took it and ran to the end-zone, and spiked the ball. Game over!
Chris,
A couple of problems with your analysis: the intel on Osama was as rock solid as possible for Obama's call, heck the CIA had him under surveillance; a compound is not the same thing as a cave complex. The operation at Tora Bora was immense and complicated when compared to the raid on Osama's compound.
How one can compare the circumstances between the two operations is beyond me. But even if I accept your premise your overall analysis is still wrong. When it comes down to it Bush attacked Tora Bora, so he indeed made the call.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe're all glad that bin Laden is dead, but this praise of Obama's "gutsy call" seems even more delirious when you consider that it may in fact have been about the easiest decision for any President to make.
"Mr President, we have located bin Laden, mastermind of 9/11 and #1 on the FBI's Most Wanted List. We have a plan to kill him. Yes or no?"
I can only explain the effusiveness of the praise for Obama by suggesting that it mostly reflects the surprise and relief of Obama's supporters that he didn't screw this up.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRightEveryTime:
I'm not sure about ALL the time, but certainly in this case you are!
Right? One of those "certain circles" to which you refer has Obama at its center! Witness the guest book at Westminster Abbey!
2008 in perpetuity, indeed!
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Obama’s decision to pick him as a running mate might even be bolder." Oh that's funny
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm guessing that the boldness is that the action eventually authorized by the POTUS is an action that, according to his AG, is one for which he should be arrested!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOn a scale of one to ten in terms of boldness, Obama's decision to ice bin Laden would rank below 1. What would have been bold would be that Obama stuck to his civil liberties guns and captured bin Laden alive and tried him in civilian courts in New York City. I would wager that 95% of Americans would have put a bullet in him if given the decision.
What a crock Joe Biden is.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFord pardoning Nixon and "The Surge" are offered up as example of successful boldness? I guess the guy who went over Niagra Falls in a trash can was succesfully bold as well. I mean, he did make it to the bottom.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHow about Reagan's decision to fire the air traffic controllers? Not bold much, eh? (Or is that not modern enough?)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe decision was a no brainer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNo wonder Biden is in awe.
Wasn't Joe a cheerleader in college?
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