We’ve been treated, these last few days, to a new round of talk about football-spiking in light of the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s long-overdue departure from this mortal coil and his consequent deliverance to unblinking justice.
President Obama has apparently decided to make the timing of said departure a campaign theme as he seeks re-election this November. His critics are arguing that he’s acting like the rooster that takes credit for the sunrise. The fact is, presidents always take more credit than they deserve for the positive results of actions like that when they happen during their tenure in office; what sets Obama apart from predecessors like George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan is the clumsy obviousness with which he’s going about it.
When a military operation went well back in the ’80s, President Reagan would go on TV and tell the American people about the brave men of their armed forces who risked their own lives to carry it out. He made a point, where possble, of making their names and faces known to the American people — the “brought to you by” was always unspoken, because Reagan knew he didn’t have to remind people that he was the Commander-in-Chief ultimately responsible for these things. The more he worked to deflect credit to the boots on the ground, the more credit was nevertheless heaped upon him by an audience impressed with his confidence and his willingness to praise the guys who made it happen.
But when things went badly, as in Beirut, Reagan didn’t deflect blame. That was when he did stand up and tell the world who the Commander-in-Chief was, and went to great lengths to make sure the boots on the ground didn’t come in for public censure. Individual soldiers whose only failure was to make the National Command Authority’s objective happen in the face of enemy fire, didn’t get hung out to dry to protect the politician who sent them into harm’s way. The purpose of finding out what went wrong was to ensure it never happened again, not to make a scapegoat out of some unlucky Marine.
Compare and contrast that to Barack Obama. To be fair, he can’t put the names and faces of a covert special forces unit on public display — still, he needn’t have made it sound, then as now, as if he were personally indispensable to every stage of the process, from the gathering of crucial intel to the firing of the fatal shots in bin Laden’s bedroom. And to suggest that he is unique in being willing to make that call is, quite simply, asinine.
Commanders-in-Chief like Reagan and Bush make it to the White House by demonstrating leadership qualities long before they get involved in electoral politics. Breeding loyalty by sharing credit and shouldering blame is one of the harder lessons of good leadership, but both demonstrated at various times in their respective tenures that they knew how to do it. Meanwhile the incumbent CINC has become a joke for his tendency to throw embarrassing associates “under the bus.”
There are reasons to believe both of the two major parties will be going into the fall campaign with a nominee whose record in this regard is more laughable than admirable.
Update: Obama officials had a game plan in case the Abbottabad mission went south. Color me shocked.
Obama gets away with “Mission Accomplished” routine because press wants him to.
News at 11.
And by news I mean leftist bubble building.
if he hadn’t ass-raped the economy into bloody submission he wouldn’t have to strut around jabbering inanely about a dead terrorist he had nothing whatsoever to do with killing – he could be talking about how awesome the economy is
Pardon the early OT rant:
For those of you listening to Rush, that Renee woman who just called is the latest poster child for restricting the franchise.
Not listening today. Could you recap, please?
“For those of you listening to Rush, that Renee woman who just called is the latest poster child for restricting the franchise.”
Renee wasn’t alone in her stupidity. Rush was in there pitching hard. Possibly the most misleading segment for the volume of misstatement of terms I’ve heard him put to airwaves.
leigh, they’ll have a transcript up in an hour or so.
Renee doesn’t understand how the budget/appropriations process works with regards to seperation of powers and coequal branches of government.
In fairness, that’s not entirely her fault. The feckless crapweasels in office have done their best to make it an informal set of procedural guidelines rather than the law of the land.
Renee was trying to figure out how to answer her liberal friends who tell her it’s hypocritical of the Republicans to bitch about deficit spending and the debt because spending bills originate in the House, which they control.
It took Rush a while to remember that the problem is budgeting via continuing resolution rather than merely that Republicans only control the House, or that Democrats ran everything from Jan 09 to Jan 11.
sdferr, in fairiness to Rush I think we just witnessed how hard it is for a deaf man to do what he does. And thus how awesomely talented he really is.
Leadership while bugging out.
Thanks, guys.
It wasn’t deafness that caused him to call the legal requirement upon the Senate to produce a budget a Constitutional business, when it’s statutory. Nor to call the Congress a part of the executive. Look, I give the man plenty of credit for his skills, but when he goes off the rails, as he did in that segment, I see no reason not to criticize him.
I’ve heard Rush make statements about procedural and statutory issues that are incorrect more than once. Growing up around all of those lawyers in his family, maybe he thought it was genetic or he’d get through three years of law school by osmosis at the dinner table.
Some of that I missed, sdferr, busy as I was shouting at Renee.
Renee doesn’t understand how the budget/appropriations process works with regards to seperation of powers and coequal branches of government.
You mean like how king Barry flipped Congress the bird, and went ahead and gave $192 million of our tax dollars to the Palestinians?
By decree?
I don’t much understand the separation of powers either, leigh.
I did once upon a time.
The Constitution? What’s that?
The Federalist Papers? Never happened.
I guess we’re too old (at least I am) to have learned all of those catchy songs about how a bill becomes a law that were on PBS back when it was actually educational.
Leadership while bugging out.
You go all brainy, sdferr (show off). I was just thinking…this.
Clearly the Republicans are at fault Lamont.
They forgot to tell Barry he wasn’t really a king.
Haven’t the Medicare trustees reported something to Congress, that by law, requires either the Congress and/or Teh One to take some fairly specific actions?
Leigh, There’s an ap for that.
School House Rock was on ABC on Saturday mornings.
See, I told you I was too old.
I’m not all on board with the description of Reagan in regards to Beirut.
I was there. Before , during and after the attack on the barracks.
We were put in an untenable position. We were not allowed to make the necessary adjustments to improve our position; the ‘request denied’s couched in terms such as ‘too political’ or ‘too provocative’.
After the bombing , we were not allowed to take offensive/ retaliatory action.
We were pulled out shortly after, and while untrue, the impression was that we were leaving with our tails tucked between our legs. An impression that was allowed to stand.
And you better believe there were plenty who tried to pin the blame on our command.
Oh, there were, shortly after, many fine speeches about how those responsible would be brought to justice and so on. But no such accounting happened, despite Reagan being in office another 5 plus years. Basically, the ‘cowboy’ got his bluff called, and didn’t ante up.
Fast forward nearly 29 years. My brothers are still dead; the group responsible does fundraisers and has rallies on it’s behalf on American soil; and they and their cause have advanced so far that they now have final approval on what does and does not go into the training manuals of the CIA, FBI, and military.
There is much good that can be said of President Reagan. Beirut is not among those things.
You mean the I’m just a bill/ yes only a bill/ but I’m sitting here on Capital Hill song?
Hell ,that was on Saturday morning tv back when Saturday morning TV had real cartoons.
I liked the nutrition shorts with that twisted magical yellow weirdo who warned us not drown our food, and told us how to make ice juice cubes.
” Can you make me a banana? ”
” Okay! You’re a banana! “
Heh, Ernst. They have told him!
According to Chris Mathews last night, Barack Hussein Obama is Henry V.
I can’t wait for his next tingle-legged fondling of The President.
“If only Rembrandt or da Vinci were alive to paint His Majesty’s portrait.”
Good grief.
I can’t be the only one expecting that one of these days Matthews is going to pull a weapon on the set.
It’s just as well School House Rock is history.
Today’s version would feature a talking condom telling the kindergarteners it’s not nice to tease the pre-schoolers who have two daddies.
I believe it. It’s Washington, after all. The point is that Reagan didn’t join in. Beirut stands as one of the biggest stains on his presidency, but I don’t remember him throwing anybody under the bus for it while the D.C. chatterati were gleefully tearing him to shreds.
And I’m pretty sure the blunders of Beirut were not repeated on his watch nor on Bush 41’s.
“If only Rembrandt or da Vinci were alive to paint His Majesty’s portrait.”
Barry O says he suavely clings to the sentiment that if one wants something done well, best to do it oneself, and that since he has more skill in his little finger than either of those two putzes showed in their entire lives, he’ll paint his own portrait, thank you very much.
sdferr, I’m not sure that there is a medium that can quite capture the magnificance that is the Wonce. Not paint, not charcoal, not marble or film. He’s mythic.
I appreciate your response, McGehee. I’m fine with your points describing Reagan as a good and honorable man. He was.
He was also the CinC who ordered us to Beirut; put us in a militarily untenable position; did not override political considerations to allow us to correct that position; did not order/allow us to retaliate; and did nothing to the enemy afterwards.
Directly to his actions/non actions, and decisions/non decisions, my brother marines were hung out to dry and died for nothing.
Should I meet Mr. Reagan on “the other side” one day, he’s going to have a problem on that with me.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/05/afghan_intelligence_2.php
I am sure Teh Won will just be able to use his force of will to get them to negotiate in good faith
In the spirit of POTUS and OBL, I’d like to thank everybody for doing the things that are intellectual, oral or social imperatives and have to be done as part of daily living. Feel free to take credit, since that is the new way to do things.
1. Abe Froman–thanks for flushing.
2. Jeff–That was good that you didn’t tell your wife, “No honey, I really don’t give a shit about your _____.”
3. BH–You allowed that little girl to go in the gas station door first. Aces!
4. Leigh–You make your husband feel like a porn star, even though he is in insurance. Good work.
5. McGehee–Thanks for tipping waitresses.
6. Ernst–A job: you have one. Nicely played.
7. SDFerr–Every month the utility sends you a bill and every month you pay it. Amen.
8.Lamont YBD– You could tell the family across the street, “Thanks for raising cretins–we haven’t nearly enough!” But you don’t and go about your business.
Validated?
I hope so. It’s the sign of a good, well-lived, purpose filled life.
“According to Chris Mathews last night, Barack Hussein Obama is Henry V.”
Wow. I bet France is kind of pissed. And the guy reigned nine years (which is even more than eight…ominous music?) and died at 35 of the splats. So who’s Charles VI? Putin?
Obama probably wants to be Louis XIV.
Louis XIV laughs from the great beyond at the very thought.
OOps!!!
oral=moral.
that’s quite a slip, there.
I thought you were trying to make a funny, Roddy.
” Obama probably wants to be Louis XIV.”
Frankly he doesn’t have the hips to pull that off.
Oh no! Did I just bully the gayers in accordance with Leviticus like a dumb christer bully person ?
You only know I do that because I told you. Repeatedly.
Roddy Boyd says May 2, 2012 at 12:34 pm
He said my name! He said my name!!
Joke over.
Thank you (I think?). It’s fun to have fun in here (plus there’s armadillos, and whatnot).
And that woman who forgot to make sure I had enough cash to tip that waitress at Denny’s a while back? Is no longer my wife. I fired her and got a new one who will never make that mistake.
Roddy, I don’t even credit a 9?! What the hell!? I bath, nearly ever day, and I want my credit dammit!
OT: Junior Seau killed himself.
…Matthews is going to pull a weapon on the set.
MSNBC Producer: “Relax everybody. It’s just a squirt pistol.”
And JD, remember we’re negotiating with these animals because “they’ve shown an indication at reconciliation”.
Bring ’em home now.
“Louis XIV laughs from the great beyond at the very thought.”
Then his horse laughs even louder.
L’Étwat, c’est moi.
Then his horse laughs even louder.
Nuh-uh. Caligula’s horse got a Senate seat.
Louis the XIV’s horse was a regicide who acted in conspiracy with the forces of gravity and the hard cold ground to bring down the monarch. Permanently.
What? The elephant shit artist isn’t available?
I guess for Junior Seau, life without football wasn’t worth living.
Obama’s New York girlfriend in Dreams was a composite…
No big deal, I can see Bill Ayers taking a little literary licence to improve the story flow.
What the elephant shit artist isn’t available?
I think that guy only defaces Christian religious icons, so probably not.
“What? The elephant shit artist isn’t available?”
Excuse me? Elephant shit? This is an era of donkey shit sir!
I think Susan Bell would do an admirable job of depicting Teh Won.
Isn’t Obama Jesus’s brother?
His older one, I mean.
hey jesus how ’bout a nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray?
Chet. The name is Chet. And I didn’t think it was a whale’s dick, honey.