As a candidate on the campaign trail for roughly two years, then-senator Barack Obama never mentioned Libya in any of his speeches. (McCain mentioned the country once.) In fact, if you go back to his speeches as a senator before that and as a Senate candidate in 2004, he did not mention Libya at all.

As president, Obama mentioned Libya three times before 2011. One six-word response to a question about the release of the Libyan bomber; one reference to Libyan oil imports, and one reference to the country giving up its nuclear program.

Admittedly, the president has had a lot on his plate . . .