All That Is Necessary

Tag: Obama

  • Iraq: Mission Accomplished!

    Quick reaction on my lunch break: We won. Yes, there are pitfalls and concerns on the road ahead, but it’s one heck of a lot more appropriate now to declare the war “won” than it was for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to declare in 2007 that “this war is lost.” Obviously it was Bush […]

  • Gaddafi: “Another One Bites the Dust”

    I still find it astonishing and inconsistent that Mr. Nobel Peace Prize entered a war of choice in Libya. But as VDH said, "the only thing worse than starting a stupid war is losing it," and it looks like there is no further danger of losing to Gaddafi.

  • The al-Awlaki Killing Crossed a Line. Bravo, Mr. President.

    In addition to being a tactical victory, the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki is a welcome reminder that the President understands we are at war.

  • Race, American Exceptionalism, and the Delicate Art of Criticizing Obama

    To describe Mr. Obama’s attitude as anti-American is to caricature it. But he does seem motivated by a vision of America as just one more unremarkable country among many. That point of view has a constituency — but I’m not part of it.

  • Obama’s “I Blame George Bush” Act Is Growing Old

    More than 30 months into the era of Obamanomics, the administration is still desperately seeking to blame all of the nation’s woes on George W. Bush. They’re getting less and less traction with that argument — Obama’s approval rating just hit a new low of 40%, according to Gallup’s tracking poll.

  • In the Budget Battle, GOP Should Not Let the Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good

    If purists force a government shutdown in August to avoid exceeding the debt ceiling, each side will of course point fingers at the other. But Republicans have seen this movie before. In 1995, Bill Clinton triggered a government shutdown by vetoing budget bills — yet Republicans ended up shouldering the blame, and Clinton was re-elected.

  • Happy Independence Day to You;
    Happy Blogiversary to Me

    Three years ago today I posted my first substantive blog post, about Senator Obama, the Democratic nominee for president. Here’s how it began: "From the start, my take on Obama has been that he’s a talented and charismatic politician who some day could become an important senator."

  • Processing bin Laden’s Death in a Spiritual Context

    The Rev. Bernard Poppe, my priest and friend, is more liberal than I am. (Ditto for 98% of his flock in the deep blue town of Maplewood, NJ.) So when Bernie started his sermon on Sunday by indicating he had mixed feelings about the death of Osama bin Laden, I was prepared to sit politely in silent disagreement.

  • Props to the Prez for Getting bin Laden

    Despite the risks, despite not being certain that bin Laden was even in the compound, Obama signed off on the mission. It could have ended badly, but it did not, and Obama deserves enormous credit for a landmark victory in the war against Islamic fascism. Congratulations, Mr. President, and thank you.

  • Why Libya But Not Syria? For That Matter, Why Iraq But Not Libya?

    How do we justify allowing Assad to kill his own people after taking up arms against Gadhafi for doing the same thing? Syria — with its ties to Iran, its support for Hamas and Hezbollah, and its recent history of shuttling terrorists into Iraq to kill Americans — is if anything a more odious and important enemy than Libya.