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| Mission accomplished |
The successful military operation that culminated in the death of Osama bin Laden is a crystal clear example of the superiority of our current president, Barack Obama, over his imbecilic predecessor, Junior Bush.
President Obama faced huge political risk when he authorized the operation. (And, isn't it telling that there has been no snazzy, poll-tested name given to it? No "Operation Iraqi Freedom" hoohaw?) If the mission had somehow ended in disaster, the President's already shaky approval numbers would most likely have fallen through the floor. (Remember President Carter's Operation Eagle Claw?) But Obama did something that today seems almost unbelievable. He put the interests of his country ahead of his own political interests!
Junior, when faced with a similar opportunity in December 2001, chose to protect his political capital According to a definitive account by Peter Bergen (senior fellow at the New America Foundation and the author of The Osama bin Laden I Know), even as US military forces and their allies had Osama bin Laden cornered in Tora Bora, "the Bush administration’s attention was distracted by the planning process for Iraq." The last thing Junior and Cheney wanted, going in to the new year, was to have significant military casualties broadcast across the airwaves, dampening public appetite for war. Their goal was Iraq and nothing must interfere with that. Osama bin Laden escaped Tora Bora in mid-December.
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| Hoo boy... |
Further, contrast how the two men, Obama and Junior, portrayed their various successes. President Obama made a brief factual statement on the evening of the conclusion of the operation. Junior, on the other hand, in May 2003 played dress up just like a real soldier and gave a premature victory speech in front of a banner on an aircraft carrier. (By the way, the mission Junior was celebrating went on to last another seven years.)
Today, President Obama graciously invited Junior to join him in placing a wreath at Ground Zero in memory of the victims of 911, but Junior declined. A spokesman said Bush appreciated the invitation, but "has chosen in his post-presidency to remain largely out of the spotlight."
Just serves to confirm what I already knew: There's no contempt like self-contempt, eh, Junior? Sucks to be you.