I really don't like former Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA). His role in the bogus, irresponsible, shameful impeachment of President Clinton will forever taint him in my eyes. But, over the last few years, he has been right on a number of issues (mainly dealing with privacy rights and the overreach of government in combating terrorism). Here is his well reasoned defense of President Obama against partisan critics of his measured response to the latest attempted terror attack:
"Yes — the not-so-bright, would-be terrorist from Nigeria got though international and domestic security mechanisms supposed to have stopped him long before the jerk lit his underwear afire before landing in Detroit. And yes — the incident happened during the administration of President Barack Obama. But the sniping at the president by Republicans, including former Vice President Cheney, and by conservative radio and TV commentators, borders on — if not passing into — asinine.
The criticism has included such childishness as blasting Obama for waiting a few days before making a national speech on the incident. For heaven’s sake, the president was briefed on the incident from the moment it occured; he made statements almost immediately indicating his concern and that he was being regularly briefed; he took time to gather the facts and meet with his national security team; and then he appeared publicly to give a rational, measured, but hard-hitting response. And for this, a former vice president criticizes him.
Partisanship truly has pervasively infected our political system when a reasonable, measured, factual, timely and substantive response by a president to a single security incident — the roots of which clearly indicate long-simmering problems that predated his tenure in office — is publicly blasted as irresponsible. In point of fact, those leveling such counterproductive attacks are the ones engaging in irresponsible behavior."
---------------------------------"Yes — the not-so-bright, would-be terrorist from Nigeria got though international and domestic security mechanisms supposed to have stopped him long before the jerk lit his underwear afire before landing in Detroit. And yes — the incident happened during the administration of President Barack Obama. But the sniping at the president by Republicans, including former Vice President Cheney, and by conservative radio and TV commentators, borders on — if not passing into — asinine.
The criticism has included such childishness as blasting Obama for waiting a few days before making a national speech on the incident. For heaven’s sake, the president was briefed on the incident from the moment it occured; he made statements almost immediately indicating his concern and that he was being regularly briefed; he took time to gather the facts and meet with his national security team; and then he appeared publicly to give a rational, measured, but hard-hitting response. And for this, a former vice president criticizes him.
Partisanship truly has pervasively infected our political system when a reasonable, measured, factual, timely and substantive response by a president to a single security incident — the roots of which clearly indicate long-simmering problems that predated his tenure in office — is publicly blasted as irresponsible. In point of fact, those leveling such counterproductive attacks are the ones engaging in irresponsible behavior."
Right on, Bob.
2 comments:
Bob Barr has been doing a slightly less contorted version of a Adriana Huffington as he slowly slouches towards the left lately.
That being said, he does make a fairly good argument in this case.
My beef is more with Obama's incompetent Homeland Security secretary Napolitano. According to that foolish woman, the system worked just as it should have.
Now if she thinks that some passenger taking out a dumb-ass would-be terrorist after literally a dozen other guidelines and precautions failed is the same as the "system working like it should", then Obama should ask for that idiot's resignation right now!
And this after the fact that she thought right-wingers and former veterans were potentially more of a threat to our country than al Qaida. Why this woman is still working in Obama's cabinet does NOT speak well of Obama.
I don't disagree that Napolitano's statement was beyond stupid. She did clarify it a few days later, but the damage was already done. Personally, I don't like the idea of a Dept of Homeland Security. It is stupid, and actually has made intelligence sharing harder, not easier. The individual agencies are still virtually autonomous, so the head of DHS has very little real authority to do anything.
I hope President Obama undoes a lot of the intelligence changes made by Bush and gets rid of the holdovers from his administration (like the head of the counter terrorism center who is still a Bushie) and the Defense Secretary (though I don't think Gates is that bad, actually, certainly better than Rumsfeld).
As for that report that you claim said right wingers were more dangerous than Al Qeada...that is made up by Sean Hannity. It never, not even a sentence, said such a thing. AND the report was written by the previous DHS. The Bush one. So, you need to let go of that myth.
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