Obama's Speech on Libya

I just finished watching this speech and I think it's possibly the best speech he has ever given.

I know that as soon as he is done talking, Fox News (aka the Republican Party) will begin trying to turn your attention away from this extremely positive and detailed presentation.

I am going to predict their response:

The Republicans will come from both sides.  They will say that by waiting, we appeared to be weak in the eyes of the world.  They will tell you that we need a president that is not afraid to act.  At the same time, they will pretend that he acted recklessly.  He should have told congress in advance and sought their approval.  They will tell you that in hard economic times, we don't have the money to spend on someone else's war.

His own party will have those that come out against him.  This is just posturing for the presidential run.  We are within 18 months of the next election and it's time to become visible.  Watch those that speak out and they will be the same faces you see trying to take his place as the Democrats candidate for president.

Here is my caution, no, my plea to you.  Do not allow yourself to be swayed by The Final Word.

As president, he needs to act first.  Everyone else gets to watch and then formulate a response.

The same is true with the speech.  He has to talk first.  Even as I write this, their speech writers are trying to pick apart his speech.  The Republican response will start with a "God Bless our troops," sort of false church/patriotic position.  The weak minded will say, "Hey, they mentioned God so God must be on their side."  The GOP will then go on to challenge the trillion dollar price tag assigned to the war they started in Iraq.

So, if you want to believe all of that, go ahead.  Just don't believe because it was the last thing you heard.

Here is what I heard:

1.  We learned from Iraq.  Don't try to overthrow a government  or invade without an exit strategy.
2. There is a time table for turning over power.  Wednesday.  I heard it and so did you.  The GOP will say it's not specific enough.  They will say this even if he'd said, "We will deliver the last bag of humanitarian rice at 4 pm on May 3rd.
3. He explained why he waited to go in.
4. He explained why he went in quickly.
5. He didn't mention that he did all of this very visibly and the nay-sayers could have spoken up before hand.
6. He looked into the camera and said, "We are not afraid to act.  We told you what we were going to do and then we did it."  This is an important message to the world.  Everyone needs to know that we will do what we say.  I believe he was saying this directly to North Korea and Iran.  They need to know if we say we've had enough, that we mean it.
7. He talked about why we don't go in everywhere we are needed.  He also explained why this isn't an argument to never go in at all.
8. He explained about the coalition that includes Nato, the United Nations and League of Arab nations.

As I watched him, I felt proud to be an American.  This is what we all need to stand for.  Not democracy, but freedom.

Let's face it, we're lucky to have been born in the United States.

But with this windfall comes a tremendous burden.  We cannot turn our back on the world.  They need us, and we need them.  Together, we are greater than the sum of us as individuals.

This was a truly great speech and if you didn't see it, find it online and take a look.

Judge for yourself.  You can do that because you are free to do as you wish.

My guess is that is speech is unavailable in North Korea, China and Iran.

This just in:  The official Republican response is that they think we need to overthrow Gadaffi.  Kind of like we did to Saddam.  That worked really well before so why not do it again.

Now, I'm all fired up to do some world saving...

Up, up and away...

j

The GOP All-Stars

While Libyans were starting to rise up against their government, we, along with the rest of the world, sat back and thought "Another one bites the dust."

As long as the rebels were winning, the world watched in smug satisfaction.  The good guys were going to win.

Then Gaddafi seemed to wake from his slumber...and he was really pissed off.  He hired mercenaries to be his loyalists and to do his dirty work and soon, no one was safe.

Now this is important: In a very visible way, the United States entered the fray. This is important because the entire process was transparent.  The League of Arab nations called and the U.N. Security counsel answered.  The United States said they's drop by to practice their precision targeting  and then would leave the party early.  So far, this seems to be the case; still, I wait to see if we are really going to get out - any day now.

Once Obama made his very public and well advertised move, creatures crawled out from under every rock to criticize the action.  The GOP is trying to have it both ways.

One side of their mouth opens slightly and they say, "We should have gone in two weeks ago and removed the bastard."

The other side of their mouth creaks open and says, "What are we doing in Libya?"

I think a lot of the questions about the constitutionality of the action or exit strategies are valid.  We should always force our leaders to the table when we put our soldiers and tax dollars in harms way.

But what really gets me is the HYPOCRASY of the Republican party.  It's been over 3,500 days since Bush declared mission accomplished in Iraq.  We are paying for the GOP war with todays son's and daughters.  Now, when we want to drop by for a few days of humanitarian gun-play, the GOP appears to be shocked by the inhumanity and presumable complete disregard for the will of the people.

How can they live with themselves?

Well, to understand that, you really need to understand the key players on the GOP side of the room.  I have assembled their key leaders here for you to consider.  Please take your time and then let me know which you would follow anywhere, much less into battle.  These are the people that want to make decisions about war, taxes and morality.

As for me, I would rather chose whatever is behind door number 3.  Who cares if it turns out to be Arnold the Pig.  I'd rather follow him that any of the current GOP leadership.

I want to be clear that I am against these people and their positions/tactics.  I like small government and several other positions the Republican Party once stood for.  Now, the GOP is just a collection of Keystoners.

Onward.

Apple is removing an App that is suppose to cure one's "gayness".  It was called the Gay Cure App.  Sometimes I think that people are really funny (or scary).

Japan's bill is up to $300 billion plus.  This may not be as bad as we think.  This does not mean that they will throw $300Bn into a volcano and the gods will turn back time.  This is $300Bn that will be spent to build homes and schools and roads.  This is a stimulus package with a purpose.  I'm not saying this bill is a good thing.  But, it will certainly create a lot of jobs in an economy that needs to get back to work quickly.

Earthquakes are only outnumbered by political uprisings.  Even now, as I look out my window, I think that California is about to be washed into the sea.

As 2012 approaches...I begin to wonder if there may be something to this after all.

But just in case I actually matter, I need to get back to saving worlds and stuff...

Up, up and away...

jim