Republicans are criticizing President Obama for campaigning on his victory in killing Osama bin Laden, saying he is politicizing the event. Former US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley joins the conversation on how Obama is touting the death of bin Laden for political gain.
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Over the past decade, Americans watched in bafflement and rage as one institution after another – from Wall Street to Congress, the Catholic Church to corporate America, even Major League Baseball – imploded under the weight of corruption and incompetence. In the wake of the Fail Decade, Americans have historically low levels of trust in their institutions; the social contract between ordinary citizens and elites lies in tatters.
How did we get here? With "Twilight of the Elites," Christopher Hayes offers a radically novel answer. Since the 1960s, as the meritocracy elevated a more diverse group of men and women into power, they learned to embrace the accelerating inequality that had placed them near the very top. Their ascension heightened social distance and spawned a new American elite--one more prone to failure and corruption than any that came before it.
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Personally, I love the ad. And the timing of the ad couldn't be more perfect. Romney was all set to have another Etch-a-Sketch moment as he scheduled an event in New York City to surround himself with firefighters and Giuliani, and the entire GOP including the torture defenders were all prepared to hit the airwaves on this first anniversary to take the credit for a mission they had opposed, exactly as they did last year when Bin Laden was eliminated.
President Obama rightfully took ownership of the mission that he ordered, and the GOP is angry about that because they had every intention of co-opting Obama's success. And better yet, as Romney attempted to have his macho moment on the streets of New York, the ad reminded everyone that Romney opposed the very mission that he was now aiming to claim.
Politically the ad was savvy. Strategy well done is an art, isn't it?
I thought last year that the President's choice to "report" to the People was appropriately grave as befits the killing. His choice to present as the highest Public Servant was commendable. That's the way I took it, at least. I see our President as a highly dignified man of conscience. I'm trusting them not to overplay the hand.
I also had to ask what spiking the football meant. I think bin Laden's death ended the 9/11 mission in many Americans' minds. Afghanistan didn't attack the U.S. He wasn't even in Afghanistan when the Seals killed him. We're ready for a different approach.
Many of us consider war-making (even with drones) as an absolute last resort. We're aware of the difficulty of changing that mindset in this country. But I think President Obama is aware of the desire of Americans to step back from being the world's greatest aggressor- militarily and economically.
My unease stems from the fact that it's been wars for oil which have fueled our exorbitant spending on "defense" and its remoras for generations. The very substance which fuels armies and threatens the survival of our species on this planet has finally become a topic of conversation which is long overdue. But those who feed at the trough of war and oil remain entrenched in government, commerce, and finance.
Occupation, installation of dictators, manipulation of others' economic conditions to their detriment have finally resulted in creating rationales for the terrorist attacks which are now used as the rationale for continued exorbitant defense industry spending even as we openly discuss cutting more millions of our own people out of the opportunity for decent and healthy lives. A financial coup is upon us. An ideological assault batters our senses of justice, fairness, and struggles for equality under the law. This is foundational stuff!
I am hoping that constructive and decisive changes for the long term come from this last decade's experiences. I think the President is up to it if the Congress can be forced to commit to country over wealth. For me, hearing the Randian republicans talk more war and more tax cuts is more threatening than any external threats.
Well said Auntie!
In truth, I can't really think of anything to add, and I'm a guy who usually has A LOT to say.
From now on Chris should be known as:
Queezy Quozzy P
;-)
PJ Crowley talks about how, though Osama bin Laden was killed, the shape of al Qaeda has radically changed. But does anyone remember, right after 9/11, when journalists were trying to explain al Qaeda, they said over and over again that it was not simply "a terrorist organization" but an open-ended network, and bin Laden was not its "CEO" but simply a fundraiser and a spokesman.
Bush succeeded in recasting al Qaeda as a unified organization, but I wonder how much that reflects the reality. Whatever the truth may be, surely it's also true that Bush and his wars -- and the war against al Qaeda has been adopted with enthusiasm by Obama -- were the best recruiting tools al Qaeda could ever have hoped for.