Good News and Narcissism
That we finally took out Osama is, obviously, very, very good news. Re the President's remarks, however, two notes:
1. He said nothing that justified the delay of more than one hour between the time his press operation said he would appear and the time he finally walked down the White House cross hall to the lectern. If he had been on time, the world would have heard the news from him. As it was, the news had broken, been confirmed, and gotten discussed--and a lot of folks back East had grown tired of waiting for the chief executive and turned in. Altogether clumsy.
2. When he took office, the President said, he instructed CIA director Leon Pannetta to make the capturing or killing of Osama bin Laden the top priority in the war on radical Islam. Which suggests? That for the previous seven years the members of the Bush administration were twiddling their thumbs. A moment later the President informed us that the killing of bin Laden represented our most important achievement to date in the war. Which suggests? That the removal of the Taliban from power, the toppling of Saddam Hussein, the killing of thousands of terrorists and insurgents, the establishment of a tenuous but more or less decent structure of governance in parts of Afghanistan, and the achievement of democracy in Iraq--tenuous, again, but genuine and gaining strength--that all this proved of only secondary importance.
I repeat. The death of bin Laden is very, very good news. It demonstrates that in the interest of defending the Republic we are capable of sustaining a difficult, complicated effort--if need be, for a decade--and of making such the effort bipartisan. I give President Obama his due. But the man's self-absorption diminishes him.
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Aug '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Obviously the primary issue is the satisfaction we can all see in retributive justice being served.
The secondary issue though is what this means for our deployment in Afghanistan. In a strategic sense it is obviously irrelevant. However in a political sense it is profound. Personally, I am despairing that a bunch of goat herds and heroin dealers can ever be civilized and so I hope this provides political cover for us to get out of that sink hole ASAP.
Whether I care for the nuances of the president's rhetoric isn't even tertiary.
Edited on May 1, 2011 at 9:13pmJun '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
I suspect he was waiting till big events in Europe, the wedding, and the beatification, were over. And then the news was starting to leak out, so he picked a time tonight, not realizing how long it would take his speechwriters to decide on the "right tone."
Jan '11
Re: Good News and Narcissism
I had a similar reaction. I really wanted to hear it from the President first; it seems like if they kept it quiet for this long they could have let him break it himself.
And does he really think that this was our most important achievement? It really left me cold. It should have been about the CIA and the military. When he said "we" I only heard "I,"; when I wanted to be thinking about SF guys in ghillie suits I only could see a dour President claiming credit for himself.
It really could have been great, though.
May '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Is it really important who/whom/how many minutes late this was announced? If Obama is going to get credit, he will get it, because it took place on his watch.
The more interesting question is, will he get any credit? He didn't shoot OBL himself, and set himself up to only be reluctantly presiding over the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan (and Iraq).
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Bill Whalen put up a post, just seconds after I put up mine, in which he said the President's remarks struck him as "spot on." Below, the comment I placed on Bill's thread. (The bin Laden news is so big that we've go thread sprouting all over on Ricochet tonight.)
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Peter, I agree with your observations on the inconsistencies and the self absorption. What, pray tell, was the CIA's number one mission prior to his directive? And I really thought the national security team was America's, not Obama's.
All the same, I'm elated. I'd volunteer to go back on active duty and take the body on tour. Sort of a Weekend At Bernie's arrangement, ya know? Was that crude? Maybe better to drop a building on it. I'm having a second cigar now.
Aug '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
All the analysts on the various cable news channels are saying that Al Qaeda is "a very different organization" now than it was a few years ago. Talking heads are saying that bin Laden's death is not so significant now, because Al Qaeda is less centralized and each country has to rely on its own regional leader (who is often killed and replaced).
Hmm... I wonder, what major foreign policy initiatives might have led to that kind of disintegration???
Dec '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Um, the hubby and I have decided that FOX and pretty much everyone else we're following tonight are getting the timing wrong. The President said he approved the mission last week. But, he gave the kill order today. Bin Laden was killed today. We don't buy the "waited a week to get the news out pending DNA tests". The DNA tests have been in the can since 2001-2002. He was identified within minutes of his death.
Run your DVR back and listen to Obama again. We'd like to know if you agree with our assessment.
Jun '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
I'm one of the last people to give Obama any credit, but I thought the speech was okay. I usually can't even listen to him speak, but this time I could. I especially liked how he ended it. Yes, there were too many "I's" in it, but he did end the speech in a way I could hope any President would. Now, I'll go bite down on some really bad-tasting soap.
May '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Obama needs to learn how to use the Royal "we."
While I give credit to him for signing off on it, name a politician that wouldn't. The credit goes to the military and the CIA.
Jun '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Yes, exactly...
Aug '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Western Chauvinist: Um, the hubby and I have decided that FOX and pretty much everyone else we're following tonight are getting the timing wrong. The President said he approved the mission last week. But, he gave the kill order today. Bin Laden was killed today...
Run your DVR back and listen to Obama again. We'd like to know if you agree with our assessment.
After listening to Prez's actual remarks, I'm inclined to agree with you... sounded to me like the mission started a week ago, but the final move came today.
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Western Chauvinist: Um, the hubby and I have decided that FOX and pretty much everyone else we're following tonight are getting the timing wrong. The President said he approved the mission last week. But, he gave the kill order today. Bin Laden was killed today...
Run your DVR back and listen to Obama again. We'd like to know if you agree with our assessment.
After listening to Prez's actual remarks, I'm inclined to agree with you... sounded to me like the mission started a week ago, but the final move came today. · May 1 at 9:54pm
That's the way I read it, too. Even so, it's clumsy at best to have your press office announce that you'll be speaking at 10.30 and then fail to turn up until 11.35.
Nov '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Sorry, but no. Those things, while admirable, are of secondary importance. Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, I'm glad he's gone, and I supported taking him out, but he didn't murder 3000 Americans. Killing OBL is the equivalent of taking out Hitler during WWII, or Khrushchev during the Cold War.
Don't cheapen this, and yourself, by denying how big a deal it is.
Nov '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
From ABC: "The Americans took Bin Laden's body into custody after the firefight and confirmed his identity. According to a senior administration official, the U.S. is 'ensuring it is handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition. It's something we take seriously and therefore it's being handled in an appropriate manner.'"
...Why?
Jun '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
By the way, has anyone told John Brennan about this? I hope he'll be briefed before his next meeting with the press.
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Jan-Michael Rives: From ABC: "The Americans took Bin Laden's body into custody after the firefight and confirmed his identity. According to a senior administration official, the U.S. is 'ensuring it is handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition. It's something we take seriously and therefore it's being handled in an appropriate manner.'"
...Why? · May 1 at 10:14pm
My offer above still stands.
May '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
I'm elated we finally nailed that S.O.B. and I hope we don't let up until we've nailed the rest of Bin Ladin's filthy pals. I didn't hear what Mr. Obama had to say about it and I couldn't have cared less anyway; to me he's a poseur who's long ago been pegged by everybody as a lightweight.
I would rather have heard the announcement come from our military. God bless them!
Nov '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
Charles Lavergne
Sorry, but no. Those things, while admirable, are of secondary importance. Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, I'm glad he's gone, and I supported taking him out, but he didn't murder 3000 Americans. Killing OBL is the equivalent of taking out Hitler during WWII, or Khrushchev during the Cold War.
Don't cheapen this, and yourself, by denying how big a deal it is. · May 1 at 10:11pm
I think you'd have a hard time arguing that OBL was worse than Saddam Hussein on any metric other than American deaths he directly caused. In terms of total body count, Bin Laden wasn't in the same league as Hitler, Saddam, Mao, etc...
Aug '10
Re: Good News and Narcissism
I was listening to Wayne Resnick on KFI in the car, as he milked the rumors and leaks for all the interest they were worth, and wondered out loud what was taking the President so long to speak. When Obama finally opened his mouth, the answer was utterly obvious: he had been doing what he does best, writing an eloquent speech.