Jonathan Freedland (The UK Guardian): Last week, when Barack Obama released his birth certificate to silence those who had long questioned his American identity, he explained that he did not normally respond to such nonsense because “you know, I’ve got other things to do”. Now we know that those “other things” included meticulous planning for an event that could well transform his presidency, reshaping both the way he is seen and the foreign policy he pursues.
… the success of the operation in Abbottabad now makes Obama’s rivals look small indeed, Lilliputians chasing wild fantasies while Gulliver deals with the things that matter. He has rendered even more laughable Donald Trump’s declaration that “I feel proud of myself” for flushing out the proof of Obama’s Hawaiian birth. The president has shown what a true achievement looks like.
For, like it or not, no trophy mattered more to American public opinion … Obama’s role in slaying the dragon may not make him a national hero, but it will take a special kind of stupidity for Republicans to question his patriotism now.
The killing in Pakistan will bury another criticism, rarely articulated explicitly: the suggestion that Obama was somehow insufficiently tough, insufficiently macho, to be America’s commander-in-chief … Crude though it may be, Obama just passed that test with flying colours of red, white and blue.
He did it, though, his own way … he avoided the crass cowboy talk that was a hallmark of the previous administration: the official statement of Saddam’s capture began with the words “We got him”. Obama’s style was, by contrast, measured and steady, recalling 9/11 and speaking movingly of the images of “that September day” that the world did not see, starting with “The empty seat at the dinner table”.
From now on Obama will be viewed slightly differently at home and abroad, his coolness understood to be unflappable and poker-faced, rather than chilly and professorial. One former foreign minister who has seen the president up close believes that Bin Laden’s scalp will lead other world leaders to conclude that, to paraphrase Teddy Roosevelt, “Obama may speak softly – but he carries a big stick”…
…he has scored a valuable victory, one that lifts his own standing but also arrests the gloomy, declinist mood that has gripped some in his country, convinced that American power is on the slide. He has done in two years what his predecessor failed to do in eight. But Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” banner should stay in the White House basement: al-Qaida remains, the war in Afghanistan is not over, and there is still so much more work to do.
Full article here
White House.gov
This is such a great statement. We have always known what a great man he is. Now other people know. They are all small people that continue to complain.
I am off to work the polls at our school board election today. It will be a long day. Have a great day everyone.
Have a lovely day MT
Just checked Mama Grizzly’s FB page. Not a word congratulating the president. I thought at least this time she will be unpredictable and admit it. But nopes! She is what she is. Ha ha. She must be really scratching her head how to attack the president now. Jealous b**h
She’s an insignificant nothing.
She messed up big time in Denver.
““One of the evil leaders of the Islamic extremists..has met justice at the hands of America’s finest.” She said. “We thank our president, we thank President Bush.”
http://www.kwgn.com/news/kdvr-palin-thanks-former-president-bush-for-bin-ladens-death-20110502,0,6647521.story
From Politico:
“The small crowd didn’t even completely fill the bleachers. And though the event was ostensibly a celebration of the troops, it felt more like a B-list conservative gathering – replete with booths for little-recognized social conservative groups, iconic imagery of Ronald Reagan, and of course dozens of copies of Palin’s two books. One of the small university’s music instructors had prepared an original trumpet composition to commemorate Palin’s visit. And the National Anthem was sung by what could have been a barbershop quartet were it not for the odd variances in octave.
The other painfully noticeable aspect of the crowd was the advanced age of the attendees, especially given that Palin was speaking on a college campus.”
A very well written and accurately insightful article… Thanks Chipsticks … for posting it.
This photograph of him will remain one of my favorites… it just says it all doesn’t it… his quiet, strong, determined, good, caring, and compassionate nature… Can you tell I just love this man?
Have a great day everyone… I truly have a new spring in my step … thanks to the miracle of PBO
The President exemplifies the Biblical exhortation: “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” The opposite of what we’ve had for years.
Perfect.
THIS IS FOR CAROLYN…YOUR MENTIONED BIBLICAL EXHORTATION SAYS IT ALL….OUR PRESIDENT EXEMPLIFIES ALL OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES REQUIRED FOR GREAT LEADERSHIP. GO OBAMA 2012 AND YES WE WILL DO IT AGAIN!
Yes! We WTLL!!!
WILL!!!
Chipsticks so well written! The photo is filled with so much tension….we really do need to pray for these decision makers in the White House all of those who help our dear President!