E.J. Dionne: Who is Obama? Now We Know

[babylonsister]

Who is Obama? Now We Know
By E.J. Dionne


WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama is not the man many Americans thought he was. This sudden realization has transformed American politics.

The sheer audacity of the successful operation against Osama bin Laden has forced Obama's friends and foes alike to reassess what they make of a chief executive who defies easy categorization and reveals less about himself than politicians are typically drawn to do.

Obama is hard to understand because he is many things and not just one thing. He has now proved that he can be bold at an operational level, even as he remains cautious at a philosophical level. His proclivity to gather facts and weigh alternatives does not lead automatically, in the venerable phrase, to the paralysis of analysis. It can also end in daring action tempered by prudence -- for example, making sure that additional helicopters were available to our Navy SEALs.

The president's rhetoric has often emphasized caring, compassion and community, the language one expects from a moderately liberal politician. Yet as one of his close aides told me long ago, there is inside a very cool, tough, even hard man.Obama is not reluctant to use American military power. He was not at all queasy about authorizing the killing of an American enemy and the disposal of the body at sea to ensure that there would be no memorial to rally bin Laden's followers.

more...

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/05/05/who_is_obama_now_we_know_109758.html

[Buzz Clik]

1. +1

Thank you for posting this.

[steve2470]

2. k&r nt

[OwnedByFerrets]

3. Now if he could just be a liberal and fight for the middle class

[Bodhi BloodWave]

4. you have to be a liberal to fight for the middle class? nt

[OwnedByFerrets]

6. Past precedent certainly points in that direction.

[robinlynne]

14. Yes.

[Tarheel_Dem]

9. Those of us who supported him early on, knew he was no firebreathing "liberal".

He's a moderate, and still he won a resounding victory, which he will repeat in '12. :bounce:

[DCBob]

12. +1

Its funny so many hard-core liberals thought Obama would govern as a hard-core liberal. If they listened at all to what the guy was saying it should have been obvious Barack Obama was/is a moderate... and I have no problem with that.

[RBInMaine]

17. Silly reply. Look at the record, and then get a clue. Ultra left nonsense.

[Historic NY]

5. K&R

[davepc]

7. I really doubt the president is assigning aircraft on military raids.

Can't we just give him the actual credit he's do and not invent shit?

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. Can't stand it, huh? That's what makes this victory so much more delicious.

:rofl:

[dionysus]

18. there you go, kickin barack and joe again with that cartoon feller! why i aughta...

:P

and how is that guy supposed to get back up after he's done kickboxing? he ain't got no arms!!!

:hi:

[starroute]

10. Why do you doubt Obama's role on the helicopters?

See Michael Scherer's blog at Time Magazine:
http://swampland.time.com/2011/05/03/obama-pushed-for-fight-your-way-out-option-in-bin-laden-raid/#ixzz1LKNgqtJu

A senior U.S. military official Monday credited President Obama for having a prominent role in pushing and shaping the plan to get Osama bin Laden. “In the final weeks and really months of this, his personal interest and direction and attention pushed the case to a new level that enabled real action,” the official told reporters. “And I think that role is quite important.”

On Tuesday, White House officials began to offer more details on exactly how Obama had shaped the final assault plan. In particular, the President, they said, urged the Pentagon to revisit the number of helicopters it planned to bring into Pakistani airspace on the mission. One of those extra helicopters later played a role in the mission.

The president made his concerns known in a briefing about 10 days before the assault on the bin Laden compound. According to senior aides, Obama felt that the special operations COA, or course of action, was too risky. Under the COA at that time, only two helicopters would enter Pakistani airspace, leaving little backup if something went wrong. “I don’t want you to plan for an option that doesn’t allow you to fight your way out,” the President told operational planners at the meeting, according to the notes of one participant.

[stevenleser]

11. K&R, GOBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Scurrilous]

13. K & R

:thumbsup:

[flamingdem]

15. woo hoo! we knew all along of course nt

[rpannier]

16. K&R

Don't necessarily agree with the entire article
But, it's still a good read