Obama Is Pitch Perfect at Summit on Extremism | National Catholic Reporter

Obama Is Pitch Perfect at Summit on Extremism | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: Nothing is more maddening  than writers who react to Obama with the thought "I could have done better."  No you could not have.  Note even I could have.  Obama did not pass the Affordable Care Act - his part did because it was a long time goal of its moral leader, Teddy Kennedy.  Oddly, they passed a Republican crafted bill.  Hillary's bill was better, but it could not pass.  Obama's mistake was looting the Senate to staff his administration.  Things would have been easier had he not done that. Obama did not botch the rollout.  A contractor  did - one whom everyone thought could do the job. He was fine with congressional leaders of his party (he had Biden for that) and Mitch McConnell and those who were beholden to the Tea Party and its racist/partisan Republican core (county chairs, etc) would have been primaried just for going to a state dinner.  World leaders in NATO liked Obama enough to have Obama lead the intervention in LIbya. Putin does not like him, but I do not trust anyone Putin likies.  Africa likes him too.  South America is likely a mixed bag due to a few fascist holdovers that likely liked Nixon alot.  The search for budding Jeffersonian was more a Bush thing - just look at Iraq.  We did not start the Arab Spring - a Google Billionaire did - and we are reactive because there is something to react to.  After all that BS in the first paragraph, why read the rest.  I will anyway, but it looks like a man  bites dog story.



Violent extremism knows neither left or right - indeed, McVeigh was a proto-Teaist violoent extremist from the Adrian, Michigan area - where lots of them reside.  Islamic Extremist is a tough word to say when you grew up in Indonesia (even in Catholic School) and most of the population are ratehr peaceful Muslims - and they out number any combination of violent Arabs.  He could finger the Wahabi - but that would require action against our second best partner in the Arab world - the Saudis.



As for Hannity, why go on Hannity - propoganda needs to be ignored, not argued with.  Heck, their line is almost as bad as the one touted by ISIL (not Syria, the Levant - quit being ignorant).  As for moderate Muslims, its hard to fight against the Saudi Royal Families oil revenue.  Sadly, the world loves that oil - if it did not, bombing Aramco fields would cut off the funds to ISIL - along with freezing their assets.  That would, however, seem rather ungrateful after what they have done for us politically in that part of the world.  I suspect going after them in a stealthier fashion might be the order of the day so we can shut off the money to the Wahabis without too many Saudi Royals ending up dead.  Unless you want to have the witness of millions of Christian martyrs (and modern Christianity has no stomach for that at all), something military seems to be in order.



The President's remarks on ISIL are interesting on its lack of legitimacy.  Indeed, they are.  The Ottoman Turks tried to claim the Caliphate, as did bin Laden (until the seal turned him into Swiss Cheese and dumped him in the sea).  I suspect that ISIL want to be heir to bin Laden as much as anything else (and I won't mention the name of the two bit terrorist leading them).  Any larger claim would be quashed by the real royals in the region - like the Saudis. Indeed, the antedote for these claims is to recognize the kingship of the real heir to The Prophet - King Abdullah of the Hashemite Dynasty.  Of course, we could not make that step and it could not be made without His Majesty's cooperation - but doing so would cut them off at the knees.



While Obama is a great speaker and writer, he does have people who work on that for him. Sometimes they hit a home run and occassionally they miss.  Why the Communications Director can't stop the misses is unknown. Given Michael Gerson's understanding of how the right and left sometimes need to say the same things, maybe Obama should make him an offer.  Gergen would also be a good choice.  PC, by the way, is not catching your words so as to not hurt anyone's feelings - it is avoiding words which, though some people may sit is in and about their own group - others cannot.  Back in the day, not being PC could get you a fat lip. Indeed, if you are not Roma and call me a gypsy, I will give you one.  If you are, I will hug you.  That is all PC is - respecting other groups in conversation with them or about them. Its probably why we can't get ISIL until the mess up real bad - moderate Muslims won't touch them again until they start directing their fire against moderate Islam (at which point the Sunni Tribal Leaders had them annihilated - why do you think they were hiding in the Levant?