"I'm pretty relieved to know Barack Obama is in the Oval Office"

[impik]

Steve Benen:



BEWARE OF LOCUSTS.... Looking for something else this morning, I stumbled upon this item TNR's Michael Crowley published in April 2009.

Two wars, economic collapse, and now a possible global pandemic. When do the locusts arrive?

During the '08 campaign the GOP ran an advertisement mockingly comparing Obama to Moses. But if he can get us through all this....



Oh, for the halcyon days of "only" having to deal with wars, economic crises and a global flu pandemic. Crowley wrote this 13 months ago, when the challenges facing America's leadership seemed overwhelming.

Since then -- in addition to the two wars, economic crises, and global flu pandemic -- it's been hard to keep up the pressing and immediate challenges on the Obama administration's to-do list. We've seen natural disasters (Haiti's earthquake, Nashville's flooding, Oklahoma's tornadoes), man-made disasters (the BP oil spill), default crises (Dubai, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal), foreign policy crises (North Korea, Israel), and attempted terrorist attacks (Abdulmutallab on Christmas, Shahzad in Times Square).

I can only assume that it's fairly common for President Obama to wake up, receive his morning briefings, and say, "You've got to be kidding me."

For what it's worth, I may not agree with every decision or policy position, but when it comes to confidence during tumultuous times, I'm pretty relieved to know Barack Obama is in the Oval Office. And while the media has decided it's unacceptable, the president's cool, poised demeanor seems unusually well suited to the times.



http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

[Cha]

1. FWIW..I love Steve Benen.

:)

"For what it's worth, I may not agree with every decision or policy position, but when it comes to confidence during tumultuous times, I'm pretty relieved to know Barack Obama is in the Oval Office. And while the media has decided it's unacceptable, the president's cool, poised demeanor seems unusually well suited to the times."

We're fortunate in that respect.

[zipplewrath]

2. As oppose to whom?

If we're talking McCain, Palin, or even Bush, heck yeah. I'm not sure at this point but what I might prefer a bit more Richardson, mixed maybe with a touch of Biden.

And I keep pointing out, he can get some of those issues off his desk. Both Afghan and Iraq are off his desk as soon as he authorizes it.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. As I keep pointing out, Iraq is moving off his desk in a couple of months.

You keep ignoring it, but all signs point to meeting the target draw-down date.

[zipplewrath]

6. He'll still be there

Spending lot's o money. 50,000 troops ain't cheap. But people keep mentioning that he has to "fight two wars". A bit of obsfucation really, he's "choosing" to continue to fight two wars.

[avaistheone1]

8. As I understand we will be replacing our troops with mercenaries

which we will still be footing the bill for to the tune of $1,000,000 a piece or more.

I don't think this is what the American people had in mind in terms of getting out of Iraq.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

10. Yes but he's escalating in Afghanistan.

I never doubted Clinton's intellect. I know Obama is smart, but I'm starting to think his intellect is overrated. How can one escalate in a nine-year-war counter to all the history of empire failure there? Truly weird.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

3. The last paragraph pretty much sums it up for me.

I shudder to think of where we would be with Gramps and Caribou Barbie running the WH right now. It sucks that we still have to listen to so much garbage from Palin in particular still but at least she nor McCain are in charge of making decisions.
:scared:

[Cant trust em]

4. I was watching the West Wing the other day…

The big legislative issue that they’re pursuing is an assault weapons ban. Wouldn’t it be nice for something like that to be anywhere close to Obama’s radar? It really feels like the weight of the world is upon us right now.

Simpler (albeit fictitious) times.

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. I could not agree more. Only wish I could rec more than once. (nt)

:kick:

[starroute]

9. There's a grasshopper plague out West -- will that do?

They were already bad in Utah last summer, and this year will be worse.

http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=220618

The worst grasshopper outbreak in decades may envelop the western states this summer, scientists warn. A dramatic rise in the number of grasshoppers was found during a survey of the western states conducted last year, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). And while that may seem bad enough on its own, it's really the grasshoppers' kids that are the threat.

If last summer's adults were successful during mating season, then the worst grasshopper infestation in 30 years could strike ranches and agricultural land in the Great Plains states between late July and early August, said Roeland Elliston of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Fort Collins, Colo., who worked on the survey.

Ecologist David Branson who was not involved with the study but specializes in grasshopper management with the USDA in Sidney, Mont., agreed.

Pacific Northwest states such as Washington are also facing their worst grasshopper infestation in 30 years, said entomologist Richard Zach of Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., who was not involved in the survey.