Mission Creep

The Left in Revolt
Nine days after Barack Obama launched his wee war in Libya, he went on television to tell the American people why he had done so. Not quite a week after congressional Republicans thumped the president by excising more money from his budget than he said he’d allow, the president will present his plan for dealing with the deficit. The cliche of late has been the trope about “getting ahead of history.” Wonderful. I would settle for Obama just catching up with himself. (Richard Cohen, NYT, 4/11/11)

What have they done with President Obama? What happened to the inspirational figure his supporters thought they elected? Who is this bland, timid guy who doesn’t seem to stand for anything in particular? (Paul Krugman, NYT, 4/10/11)

New York Times Headline – 4/12/11
Pakistan Tells U.S. It Must Sharply Cut C.I.A. Activities

Headline RedStateVT would like to see - 4/12/11
U.S. Tells Pakistan It Must Get Its Act Together Or U.S. Will Do It For Them

Nailed It
Obama’s inability, or reluctance, to say clearly why we are involved in Libya or under what conditions the mission might be said to have been accomplished has occasioned comparisons with Iraq. A more apposite comparison is to Jimmy Carter’s invasion of Iran — a nation twice as large as France — with eight helicopters. This became emblematic of a floundering president out of his depth. (George Will, Washington Post, 4/6/11)