One day after North Korea launched a successful test of a nuclear weapon, President Obama said that the United States was prepared to respond to the threat with “the strongest possible adjectives.”

In remarks to reporters at the White House, Mr. Obama said that North Korea should fear the “full force and might of the United States’ arsenal of adjectives” and called the missile test “reckless, reprehensible, objectionable, senseless, egregious and condemnable.”

Standing at the President’s side, Vice President Joseph Biden weighed in with some tough adjectives of his own, branding North Korean President Kim Jong-Il “totally wack and illin’.”

Later in the day, Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the North Korean nuclear test “supercilious and jejune,” leading some in diplomatic circles to worry that the U.S. might be running out of appropriate adjectives with which to craft its response.

But President Obama attempted to calm those fears, saying that the United States was prepared to “scour the thesaurus” to come up with additional adjectives and was “prepared to use adverbs” if necessary.

“Let’s be clear: we are not taking adverbs off the table,” Mr. Obama said. “If the need arises, we will use them forcefully, aggressively, swiftly, overwhelmingly and commandingly.”

But I agree Secretary Gates should avoid a lot of sweeping statements about how the Obama administration will not ‘tolerate’ a North Korean nuclear capability that only puts the US in an awkward position. Without any good options for dealing with it, we’ve tolorated it for several years now and that’s exactly what we will continue to do. So what happens when If Kim Jong-il refuses to back down and the Dear Leader calls his bluff? A nasty choice between some sort of military action or listening to him crow while losing face with our allies and enemies alike.

Yep. Remember, Obama thought he could say “I say STOP, or I’ll say STOP again”, and all would be fine, because he was the symbol the world was waiting for. lol

And, of course he thought bribery would work. It’s worked for him and his colleagues so far. That is until they get caught and someone throws out that “illegal” thing.

The remarks, therefore, were aimed more at at reaffirming the US role in defending its allies and upholding regional security, as well as increasing world pressure on the Kim regime, than signaling US preparations for a nuclear-free world.

After all, don’t we all believe that North Korea is working on nuclear energy for the same reason Iran is: to provide cheap electricity to its citizens? That’s the whole thing.

So dear readers, what is the difference between North Korea and Iran? Can anyone offer a suggestion perhaps?