Michael Crowley, writing at TNR yesterday, on press coverage of The Pirate Story :
Predictably if somewhat absurdly, news commentary this weekend (the Stephanopoulos roundtable, for instance) was beginning to suggest that Barack Obama would be held accountable by the public for the fate of captured ship captain Richard Phillips.
Well, now Phillips has been rescued, and early accounts are emphasizing that Obama personally authorized the use of force. And while Obama probably doesn’t deserve much actual credit—that would belong mainly to the badass snipers who took out three pirates in a moment—methinks he’s going to get it, starting on all the network morning shows tomorrow.
Just watched the morning network shows’ pirate-related coverage; Crowley’s prediction didn’t pan out. While the president having authorized use of force was mentioned, in passing, during these morning show segments, if “credit” was given it was to the Navy snipers… and luck… and… the ship’s captain.
Crowley did find, in today’s Washington Post, this instance of what he flags “pushing the analysis a bit far:”
But the result — a dramatic and successful rescue operation by U.S. Special Operations forces — left Obama with an early victory that could help build confidence in his ability to direct military actions abroad…
…if, I suppose, you previously had no confidence whatsoever in this president’s ability to do that. (And to you, “a senior White House official” says, via the Post, that the handling and outcome of this Pirate Situation “is the latest indication that the national security team is working well together. These folks have spent a lot of time together, including with the president, in the first couple months, and they have a good working relationship.”)
Right. Now that the crisis has ended well, Obama deserves no particular credit for his part in resolving it. Any competent Commander-in-Chief would be expected to act in exactly the same way.
However, during the weekend, every rightwing lunatic was screaming on Twitter and Red State and National Review about Obama's "pansy politics" and demanding that US ships go in and nuke the culprits immediately:
"Playing pansy politics with pirates put the Captain’s life at increased risk. His first escape attempt was thwarted by the thugs as Phillips remained adrift from the aid and cover of the US Navy, which sat restrained by an administration too cowardly to let slip the dogs of war."
(h/t John Cole http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=19856
And then there was David Broder, yes DAVID BRODER!
"David S. Broder: I agree with you that collective action is preferable to unilateral sanctions or retaliation. But you saw what happened when the North Korean missile test was taken to the United Nations. Wimps. And when an American vessel is seized on the high seas, it behooves us to take steps against the pirates. We don't want to establish a pattern of backing down from challenges, or they will grow more frequent an more serious. "
(Source:Broder on Politics: Investigating Torture, Obama's Comments in Europe, More
David S. Broder
Washington Post Columnist
Friday, April 10, 2009; 12:00 PM )
So I'd say that the administration has a right and an obligation to say something about it, yes?
#1 Posted by Tom, CJR on Mon 13 Apr 2009 at 03:23 PM