I dont get it -Why is the pirate situation being touted as a great Obama Victory?

[TheCoxwain]

I am sure Obama broke no sweat in making the decision he did ... He did what most Presidents would have done and luckily for all of us - everything turned out well..


So what is the hoopla about ?

[lamp_shade]

1. Ofercrissake

[TheCoxwain]

4. make your point ....instead of letting out sighs of frustration.

[lamp_shade]

5. That's my standard response when I'm left speechless.

[DevonRex]

2. Did you forget to post the part about we're being lied to about pirates?

:eyes:

[Adelante]

24. If I see that post one more time

I will scream. I think it's been a dozen already.

[DevonRex]

29. I know. Me, too. Somebody has just taken to posting it

in every reply. Might as well, I guess. :)

[Bicoastal]

3. Ask the people who were declaring it a Huge Obama Failure a few days ago.

Not DUers, of course--but every RW pundit and blogger was declaring this Obama's "Carter moment" before the pirates were thwarted.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

40. Kind of romantic Obama taking on the pirates!

[elleng]

6. He did what we would have WANTED most presidents to do.

Considering what we had during the past 8 years, there's no guarantee whatsoever what would have occurred.

[vaberella]

7. I thought it was apparent...there are several threads talking about.

If you go to schaeming_demonsthread, you'll see what the RW pundits were saying. Basically they said O was going to fail and in my opinion implied that the Captain was going to die. They said it was because O was president that our ship was taken by pirates. From there it went on to say that O is going to have a "Carter" moment and be a complete failure. Basically, they were and are doing everything in their power to destroy O and hence the reason it's a victory. Bad guys taken out, and our Captain saved and back home for Easter when the Repubs were ready to blame him for the death of the Captain.

[grasswire]

43. is that pic in your sig line for real?

Was Tweety on the cover of the mag?

[vaberella]

45. Yes. There was a bigger one on google.

I know it was real because someone on the board told me they had the copy of that issue.

[RoadRage]

8. Because if it would have went south, it would have been touted as a "GREAT OBAMA FAILURE".

I agree, he did what he was suppose to do - but the far right is so bat-shit crazy out of their minds that they truly have had the tin-foil hats on so tight for so long that they really do think he's a muslim loving hippe who wouldn't ever authorize the use of force in any situation.

This is a big win because it shows the world, American's, and even the bat-shit crazy Republicans that Obama has no problem authorizing the use of force if it will save an American life.

If the Republicans hadn't falsely built Obama into something he is not, this wouldn't be a big deal. But they did - so it is. And Obama (again) comes out looking like a hero.. and Republicans (again) come out looking like idiots. Same song, 15th verse.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

9. Whatever happens in an administration, the President is given credit for nt

[Cha]

22. Right..or

Debit.

[Nay]

10. Why? Because last week wingnuts in my workplace, and in workplaces

all over the country, were making snide and shitty remarks about how badly Obama was going to handle this "crisis" and what a pussy every Dem was, so the outcome would obviously be crappy; and how Obama would be just as "French" as Kerry and be a wussy coward (despite the fact that French operatives just last week freed their own captives), and on and on.

Today NOT ONE of the wingnuts in my office even MENTIONED the rescue. Not one. They were waiting for Obama to fuck it up, and when it didn't happen, they had nothing to say and were obviously miffed that things went well. They don't give a SHIT that Capt. Phillips is fine, and they're mad that Obama's orders got 3 pirates killed -- that's the manly warrior's job (read: a wingnut) and a "pussy" pulled it off. I hate those people with every fiber of my being. I can read them like a book.

[Optical.Catalyst]

11. I think it is great

A good event transpired that did not enrich any defense contractors or big oil corporations.

Not to mention that it is causing the right winger's heads to explode.

[AZ Criminal JD]

31. It enriched both contractors and big oil

Publicity like this make it easy for Congress to push through unneeded ships for the navy. Who gets enriched? Defense contractors. Big Oil wants this area of the world to be safe for their ships and paid for by the taxpayers.

[SpartanDem]

12. Have you been listening to the media for

the last week or so? The rw griping about Euro trip in general saying Obama was weak and making the country unsafe. They already running with that meme and comparing him to Carter, the success of this mission completely shut them up. It may not have been a huge military victory, but it was a fucking huge one politically.

[Peacetrain]

13. ~sigh~

[AtomicKitten]

23. My sentiments exactly.

He would have been eviscerated had it gone badly. Conversely he deserves credit for having managed it appropriately with a good outcome.

[Uzybone]

14. In a political vacuum this would really be no big deal

Since you have chosen to pretend that we live in a political vacuum then you are correct. Its no big deal.

I'm sure he wouldn't have been blamed if something had gone wrong either.

[depakid]

15. Two main factors

1. Because the converse wouldn't be true (had there been a snag under the same decision parameters, memmbers of the corporate media would have been beside themselves proclaiming an "Obama failure").

2. Because nationalism has been ingrained into much of the 21st Century American psyche- to the point of hyperbole.

[moondust]

16. The policy was correct.

"The White House said that President Barack Obama had given the Pentagon a standing order to use force if necessary to save Phillips's life." - McClatchy

This would not necessarily have been the policy in place under a reckless, gung-ho, trigger-happy, right-wing administration. They typically don't have the patience or skill for negotiation. They much prefer "taking out" people who (might) get in their way.

[WinkyDink]

17. How do you know "what most Presidents would have done"?

[TheCoxwain]

18. I am sure any one with a normal functioning brain would have said ..

" Do everything you can to save the captain - I authorize the use of necessary force"

I dont anyone would have

1) Discussed the use of tactics.

2) said "Ignore the poor bastard .. He is F***ed anyway"

[kestrel91316]

19. Thank you for outing yourself. Welcome to my Ignore List, lol.

[TheCoxwain]

21. outing myself as what exactly?

[QC]

28. An enemy of the people. n/t

[jonnyblitz]

20. He can take credit for it, it turned out well. Like others said, he

would have been blamed if it went wrong. I just don't find it a HUGE, MAJOR event worthy of making a made-for-tv movie about. I think the media magnified the situation to cause excitement and ratings.

[ClarkUSA]

25. Um, Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter fucked up in similar military crises.

Your confidence in what "most presidents would have done" is touching, but past Democratic presidents' efforts hasn't turned out half as well as President Obama's.

It was one of the earliest tests of the new American president -- a small military operation off the coast of a Third World nation. But as President Bill Clinton found out in October 1993, even minor failures can have long-lasting consequences.

Clinton's efforts to land a small contingent of troops in Haiti were rebuffed, for the world to see, by a few hundred gun-toting Haitians. As the USS Harlan County retreated, so did the president's reputation.

For President Obama, last week's confrontation with Somali pirates posed similar political risks to a young commander in chief who had yet to prove himself... But the result -- a dramatic and successful rescue operation by U.S. Special Operations forces -- left Obama with an early victory that could help build confidence in his ability to direct military actions abroad... A top military official, Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of the Fifth Fleet, explained that Obama issued a standing order that the military was to act... And as Obama's Democratic predecessors can attest, a victory -- no matter how small -- is better than a failure.

Clinton's decision to send the USS Harlan County to Haiti loaded with troops was seen as a half-measure taken by a president spooked by the earlier downing of a Black Hawk helicopter in Somalia... Thirteen years earlier, Democratic President Jimmy Carter authorized a military rescue of the 52 hostages being held by Iranians in Tehran. The 1980 attempt, called Operation Eagle Claw, ended when two helicopters crashed in the desert, killing eight servicemen. The incident was a permanent blemish on Carter's reputation.

Had yesterday's rescue at sea gone badly, the political damage for Obama might have been severe. But aides said the outcome should be seen as a success.

Rest assured, had the rescue efforts had failed, President Obama would be getting crucified right now.

[Jennicut]

35. And McCain and any other Rethugs would have jumped the gun and overdone the force

Really, why has that not been mentioned before?
So it is a big victory for him in that he was cool under pressure and did not listen to the crazies who demanded we jump on the lifeboat right away. It is "not what any other President would have done". That is far from the truth.

[ClarkUSA]

37. Good point.

:thumbsup:

[sampsonblk]

26. ...the soft bigotry of low expectations. LOL

A good pct of the voters assumed he wasn't able to make even these easy decisions. Couple that with the fact that when Bush made these easy decisions, it was promoted and advertised as brilliance.

Its no wonder people are surprised that Obama was able to do it.

[TheCoxwain]

38. Bush and Brilliance in the same sentence !!!! I have never seen a creature like that ....

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. If Bush were still president, the hostage would be dead...

And we would have just bombed downtown Oslo.

[Joe Chi Minh]

30. Didn't you whoop it up when you invaded Grenada! Imagine for Obama to be mentioned in the same

breath as St Ronald. I see the exultant expressions on some of those German troops marching down the Champs Elysees, and the American tankies rolling into Iraq, for that matter.

Still, nice outcome from a military angle, as far as the action itself went. And all credit to the whole team right up to the President for a surgical strike and rescue.

We shall see if it leads to the deaths of more Westerners, as has been threatened. I suppose the US couldn't suddenly allow itself to be suddenly seen as a "mark", by paying the ransom; losing face.

But what a shame, we in the West have been responsible for stealing the fishing rights of one of the poorest nations in the world, and even served the Devil himself by dumping toxic waste (radio-active, I believe) in their waters. But since our own Brightest and Best in the UK knowingly used our troops as guinea-pigs to learn the effects of atomic radiation, I suppose we shouldn't be too surpised or appalled by it. All's fair in greed and hate.

[Jennicut]

36. I think the real issue is the mess that is Somalia.

I know we did nothing to help that situation at all over the years. I wonder what can be done as no one in the US has the stomach for sending ground troops anywhere these days. The public is split over Afganistan. These people would not turn to being Pirates if there was a real govt. in place and they could legitimately make money. On the other hand they are now making millions of dollars and its harder and harder to give up making quick money in large amounts for anything else.

[Joe Chi Minh]

50. Yes. You've got the picture, haven't you?

[Better Believe It]

32. Because it's a good diversion from the bandits on Wall Street who infest the White House?

That's one possible explanation. Any other credible reasons?

[Baltoman991]

34. Any other

credible reasons? You act as though the reason you gave is a credible one.

But alas, one can always count on you to pop up on a thread about one thing and you'll turn it into an Obama trying to divert attention from Wall Street woes thread.

Nothing new.

[Arkana]

33. It's a major victory because the right wing noise machine turned it into a major battle.

They bet against America and against Obama--that pantywaist librul commie wuz gonna sell us out.

Well, like Truman after Roosevelt, he fooled 'em.

[Mike Daniels]

39. Probably because if the mess had gone the other way it would have crippled him

Allowing the company to pay off the ransom (which they were still willing to do until the end) while the Navy stood down or having the rescue attempt go bad would have crippled Obama and been used by his opponents as "this is what we warned you about during the campaign" through the rest of his term.

In light of a succesful rescue if the Repubs still want to complain they need to point out what they would have done differently. From reading FR it appears their solution was to go in guns blazing 10 minutes into the standoff and to hell with the captain as long as the pirates got "got."

[Dappleganger]

41. Because he didn't roll over like the rethugs and freepers swore he would.

Really, IMO it's not a big deal. All in a day's work of being The Man.

[RepublicanElephant]

42. on democracy now!, a discussion on how the piracy of foreign fishers goes unreported.

a somali named mohamed abshir waldo, who lives in kenya says that for almost 20 years, foreign fishing vessels, along with their naval boats, are illegaly fishing off the somali coast, stealing the vast food resource from the impoverished nation.

also, widespread dumping of toxic, including nuclear waste, also being dumped of the coast.

while the corporate media ignores the causes of somali piracy, they talk-up the need for a military solution.

watch here
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/4/14/analysis_somalia_piracy_began_in_response

an article he wrote back in january
http://wardheernews.com/Articles_09/Jan/Waldo/08_The_two_piracies_in_Somalia.html

[anonymous171]

44. Conservatives made a huge deal out of it in an attempt to harm Obama's popularity.

And, like many of their schemes, it backfired on them.

[demo dutch]

46. because our nation is just dying for good news???

[Hanse]

47. Because he answered a call at 3 AM.

Which his critics have been saying he's incapable of for over a year now.

So once again, Obama's critics make asses of themselves.

[Beacool]

48. I can't think of one president who would have done otherwise.

He authorized the Navy to do what they had to do to save the captain, even if they needed to use force. Which president wouldn't have done the same????

;)

[TheCoxwain]

49. My point exactly .. Thank you !!

[eridani]

51. It's about how rare quiet competence has been over the last 8 years.

We therefore tend to get wowed by a president that doesn't play phony dress up and strut around just for meeting basic job qualifications. Pretty refreshing, IMO.

[olegramps]

52. Thankfully it resulted in a innocent man's rescue.

I am not rejoicing in the death of the pirates, nor am I mourning their loss. They put themselves in peril by their unlawful actions in which they jeopardized the life of the ship's captain.

I am glad that it did not turn out like it did for President Carter. If it had, I am sure that many Republicans would have been pleased since it would have provided the scum bags occasion for them to criticize him.

Somalia is a basket case that has been torn apart by both internal strive and its continued wars with Ethiopia. It is unfortunate that Somalia, like so many other African nations that won their independence, has deteriorated so quickly. A person can't help from wondering if they were ready for independence and perhaps they would have been better off under colonial rule for a longer period.

[Balbus]

53. Well, to be fair, if the situation turned out badly, he would've been blamed for it.

What annoys me, is that during the whole situation, the white house was staying very distant from the whole ordeal. Yet as soon as the captain was rescued, immediately the white house people are all over the airwaves - "Yep, Obama did it - he's the man - he rescued him - couldn't have done it without Obama - he invented the navy seals - Obama was one of the snipers...blah, blah, blah..."

O did good. Anyone with half a brain knows he did good. But stop trying so hard to convince us, though.