Still in Command

Don't worry that President Obama is in Latin America as we launch attacks on Libya. The military can handle this. Anything that the president needs to tell the military won't be done in person so it doesn't really matter if the phone call comes from the Oval Office or his traveling communications suite.

If you are still in doubt, recall that Vladimir Putin was sitting watching the Summer Olympics in China while his forces invaded Georgia. I'm not drawing anything but command comparisions here, of course. Just reminding you that opposition to the president doesn't mean you have to jump on everything he does or doesn't do.

I'm certainly not automatically upset that we aren't supposed to be the main force in the intervention after the opening days air defense suppression mission. As I've often noted, the Europeans have the military assets and the motivation to take the lead--let them. We'll see if they can handle it for more than a week or two and stay in the match without tapping out.

Let's cheer on the coalition and hope for the best even as we recognize the limits of the intervention's means compared to the varied goals of  members of the coalition.