QADDAFI
“Mr. Obama’s carefully calibrated response infuriated critics on the right and left,” reports the New York Times, “who blamed him either for ceding American leadership in a foreign conflict or for blundering into another Arab land without an exit strategy. But with Colonel Qaddafi joining the lengthening list of tyrants and terrorists dispatched during the Obama presidency, even critics conceded a success for Mr. Obama’s approach to war — one that relies on collective, rather than unilateral, action; on surgical strikes rather than massive troop deployments. ‘I think the administration deserves great credit,’ Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said in an interview on CNN. ‘Obviously, I had different ideas on the tactical side, but the world is a better place.’ ”
Add this to the list.
Speaking of which:
THE LIST – III
Andrew Sullivan yesterday quoted one of his readers with a far more succinct, and thus powerful, list of Obama accomplishments:
The truth is that this President has done a good job in what has been one of the most difficult periods of modern history. He saved the economy from ruin (until the Tea Party took over Congress) with a stimulus that was as large as possible given the political realities, presided over a stock market that fairly quickly recouped many of its losses, presided over almost consecutive monthly increases in private sector job growth (unfortunately balanced by monthly decreases in public sector jobs which I attribute to the GOP further starving government), enacted the only meaningful healthcare reform ever in our history, passed financial reform (no matter what the Left says, he did this), saved the auto industry (which Romney is on record opposing), fired the first salvo of the Arab Spring with his address in Cairo no less, drawn down our footprint in Iraq in a responsible way (and headed toward almost total withdrawal), stopped numerous terrorist attacks in this country, stopped torture as policy, repealed DADT, joined the international community in a measured and responsible way to bring down an odious tyrant in Qaddafi, and killed a whole generation of al Qaeda leaders. And taking out Osama bin Laden the way he did will go down as one of the bravest military actions in American history.
I know this President is not popular, and it is very unpopular to defend him in such a way. I don’t care. For this country to dump him for anyone on the other side would be a terrible thing. Progress is slow and painful, but we are doing it. Is that fashionable to say? No. Again, I don’t care.
THE LIBERTARIAN CONSERVATIVE BILLIONAIRE TEA-SWILLING CHRISTIAN RIGHT
“A profoundly significant new political alignment within the right flank of the Republican Party is becoming entrenched in American politics . . . For Independents, moderate Republicans and Democrats this new alignment should be a wake-up call that the foundations of Democracy are always fragile and the promises of America must never be taken for granted.” Read all about it.
