This is amazing:
One first impression left by President Obama’s much-anticipated speech re-casting U.S. counterterrorism policy is that of the contrast between Bush’s swagger and Obama’s anguish over the difficult trade-offs that perpetual war poses to a free society. It could scarcely be starker. While Bush frequently seemed to take action without considering the underlying questions, Obama appears somewhat unsure of exactly what actions to take.
Bush ordered attacks on terrorists (including drone strikes), renditions, holding terrorists indefinitely, and wiretaps. Bush believed that these things were absolutely right and necessary when he ordered his subordinates to carry them out.
But President Obama is morally superior for waffling on the issue of whether what he also orders his subordinates to do is right or wrong?
And let me add that I find it amusing that the author defends President Obama as accepting constitutional limits on his war powers (in contrast to George W. Bush, apparently) even though President Obama went to war with Libya despite no Congressional authorization by the simple expedient of denying that we were at war. George W. Bush at least got Congress to authorize his actions whether against Afghanistan, Iraq, or jihadis outside of those areas.
I swear, it's like the president's fans think The American President is a documentary about how to act presidential in matters of war, as that fictional president fretted over an order to strike Libya:
Leon, somewhere in Libya right now, a janitor's working the night shift at Libyan Intelligence headquarters. He's going about doing his job... because he has no idea, in about an hour he's going to die in a massive explosion. He's just going about his job, because he has no idea that about an hour ago I gave an order to have him killed. You've just seen me do the least presidential thing I do.
Ah, the anguish! It is exquisite, no? As long as you're anguished, the sky's the limit, I guess. Send the IRS to harass opponents. Spy on journalists. Whatever.
Heck, our president could get another Nobel Peace Prize for water boarding if he fretted enough.
