Obama Should Thank Bush
Trevor Thomas
May 7, 2011
In the aftermath of Osama bin Laden’s death, many on the left have
rushed to congratulate and extol President Obama for this momentous act of
justice. Liberal pundit David Corn declared
that Dick Cheney owes Obama an apology. He also noted that Cheney “and
other conservatives who denigrated Obama's devotion to national security have
lost a much-valued possession: the Obama-is-weak-on-defense card.”
Writing for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cynthia Tucker boldly
anointed Obama with the “walks softly [and] carries a big stick” slogan.
Lamenting the attacks against Obama as being weak on national security, she
noted that, “The death of Osama bin Laden, in a raid executed under Obama’s explicit
leadership, ought to quell that sort of foolish talk permanently.”
After bin Laden’s death, democratic consultant Bob Shrum
pronounced the Obama presidency “renewed and transformed.” He went on to assert
triumphantly that, “On the eve of big decisions about the debt ceiling and the
budget, the president has new strength and credibility — and his
Republican opponents and 2012 rivals have a stature gap that was always real
but is now apparent.
“The gap will only widen as the gripping insider story of the nine-month
saga of the mission to get Osama is told and retold. Not since the 13 days of
the Cuban Missile Crisis has there been a story of leadership equal to this in
drama and appeal. The best sellers are already on the way.” Wow.
The anonymous left-wing blog posters were bolder still. A young
We shouldn’t be surprised. After all, remember, “Yes we can!” and “We
are the ones we’ve been waiting for!” and “This was the moment when the rise of
the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal?”
However, when one actually examines the facts behind the downfall of bin
Laden, President Obama does not come across quite so heroic. As John
Yoo points out, “In the war on terror, it is easy
to pull the trigger—it is hard to figure out where to aim.” It turns out that
Obama didn’t need “proton torpedoes;” all he needed were the military and
intelligence architecture laid down by the Bush administration.
I’m talking about the
Oh, the irony. To get to what is almost certainly the high point of his
presidency, Obama had to channel his inner George Bush—and liberals across the
country are fawning all over him for it!
Remember Obama’s promise to close Gitmo?
Remember the change in the “War on Terror” semantics incorporated by Obama’s
national security team? The “Global War on Terror” became “Overseas Contingency
Operation;” “enemy combatants” ceased to exist; and even the word “terrorist”
was awkwardly avoided. I mean, Obama’s administration not only rejected Bush
era policies, they didn’t even want the same terminology. But now Obama is the
greatest thing since Eisenhower.
Don’t get me wrong. Obama deserves some credit for delivering the final
blow in bringing Osama to justice. However, when drawing conclusions on Obama’s
foreign policy and military strengths and successes, one must consider all of
his actions and not an isolated success that was possible only because of the
efforts of the previous administration.
Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and
Reason.
Copyright 2011