Republican Bullshit on Obama
By Larry Johnson on September 23, 2010 at 3:00 PM in Current Affairs
* Bumped up *
No one would mistake me for an Obama enthusiast. But I must speak out about the nonsense being spun by some outraged Republicans over a quote from Bob Woodward’s book on Obama’s war strategy. Obama told Woodward:
“We can absorb a terrorist attack. We’ll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever . . . we absorbed it and we are stronger.”
A reasonable statement in my view. But some Republicans–John Bolton and Liz Cheney to be specific–are soiling themselves and suffering a case of the vapors. Here’s Cheney’s reaction:
“Americans expect our President to do everything possible to defend the nation from attack. We expect him to use every tool at his disposal to find, defeat, capture and kill terrorists. We expect him to deter attacks by making clear to our adversaries that an attack on the United States will carry devastating consequences. Instead, President Obama is reported to have said, ‘We can absorb a terrorist attack.’ This comment suggests an alarming fatalism on the part of President Obama and his administration. Once again the President seems either unwilling or unable to do what it takes to keep this nation safe. The President owes the American people an explanation.”
Note to Bolton and Cheney–STFU.
You would think that Obama had suggested he would let Osama Bin Laden rape every man and woman in the United States. But he didn’t. He said something very sane and rational. The terrorists do not have the military force or capability of the Soviet Union. Although we will do everything in our power to prevent a terrorist attack, we will not be defeated or collapse because of terrorism.
These stupid Republican assholes should spend their time attacking Obama on actual substance rather than try to spend a sane statement into something resembling a white flag of surrender. There are other revelations in Woodward’s book detailing Obama’s rejection of requests from his Generals that are worthy of more scrutiny and outrage. This terrorism quote, however, is a non-issue and will be ignored by any serious national security analyst who is worth a damn.
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