- There's fighting in the streets in Iran
- A terrorist nearly succeeded in blowing up a US-bound airplane, even though US authorities had been alerted by the man's own father that he was a danger and he had been barred from the UK. Despite all of which, Obama's Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has the unmitigated gall to claim that "the system worked."
And Obama's on vacation playing golf in Hawaii? Taken together, these events may not amount to 9/11, but surely they justify Obama taking a break from his vacation to say something. How about words of support for regime change in Iran and thanks to the passengers and crew who acted promptly?
At the very least, one hopes the people who for years have criticized George Bush for finishing reading The Pet Goat on 9/11 will take adverse note of Obama's silence. If it's a strategy, it's a pretty stupid one.
I'm in agreement with Althouse on this one:
On to Marc Ambinder:
In his Farenheit 9/11, filmmaker Michael Moore juxtaposes images and words of a terrorist attack in Israel with President Bush's first words about the incident, spoken to a press pool on a golf course, with him leaning casually against a tree.Ah, my association was the same as Ambinder's. Ambinder goes on to tell us thatObama has been golfing in Hawaii. And he went to the gym right after he was briefed about the attack. But Ambinder offers his usual pro-Obama spin:There is a reason why Obama hasn't given a public statement. It's strategy....So was Bush. It wasn't effective. Obama has had the opportunity to learn from Bush.
[A]n in-person Obama statement isn't needed; Indeed, a message expressing command, control, outrage and anger might elevate the importance of the deed, would generate panic....
In a sense, he is projecting his calm on the American people....It's a tough and novel approach....It's not novel, because Bush did it too. The only thing novel about it is doing it after Bush did it... ineffectively.
