Oh.. I'll consider it.. Just long enough to dismiss it. :D

Seriously, I have to concede the possibility...

it's true that he's encountered less resistance both domestically and in the rest of the world,

I think you have hit it. Obama HAS had an easier time. He could AFFORD to be a kick-ass kinda guy because he had the political capital to make it stick..

but couldn't that as easily be due to his administration's political skill as a worldwide pro-obama bias?

I don't think so. And three words explain why.

Nobel Peace Prize

Obama didn't earn his Nobel Peace Prize. I am sure we can all agree on that...

It's easy to have political "skill" when everything political is handed to you on a silver platter..

If Obama does win a 2nd term (gods help us all) then I think the incompetence at leadership will become apparent to all. We're seeing a preview of this with the FAST/FURIOUS debacle and the lack of a good Iraqi agreement.

Obama's 2nd term (if he gets one) will be not only a living hell for this country, but also a living hell for Obama himself.. Because then I think we will see the REAL Obama...

Michale.....

but bush didn't do the same exact actions as obama. although i suspect you're right that there's a little hypocrisy going on, not everyone had the same reasons for disliking bush's policy. i can't say with 100% certainty, but i'm pretty sure that if you go back and read my comments, the main problem i had with the bush policy was that it was ineffective. now that a similar strategy has borne results under obama that it never did under bush, we're left to question why.

one explanation is that bush had already laid the foundation for all the foreign policy victories, and it would have eventually found just as much success had bush had a third term. although i don't see this being the case, i must acknowledge it as a possibility.

another explanation is an interaction effect, as sometimes happens in college football coaching. some coaches are better recruiters, strategy guys, game managers, motivators or teachers in practice. when a new guy comes in, sometimes he borrows some of the assistant coaches or elements left over from the old guy, and it works well together with the new guy's strengths.

yet a third explanation, and this is one i'm not sure you're ready to consider, is that perhaps obama is just a more talented CinC than bush was. it's true that he's encountered less resistance both domestically and in the rest of the world, but couldn't that as easily be due to his administration's political skill as a worldwide pro-obama bias?

Just like Bush was hated by the Left no matter what he did..

It works both ways...

Michale.....

Heh. No, he's on track to killing them all instead. :)

Just like Bush... :D Obama is more Bush than Bush..

So, we're agreed that the Bush/Obama method of dealing with terrorists is MUCH better than treating terrorists in the same vein as muggers and the like, right??

NYpoet,

so... obama is better at being bush than bush was?

Obama has MUCH less opposition to be Bush than Bush had to be Bush... nc'est pa'??? :D

policies will be scorned by the left no matter how well they work,

Perhaps, but as we have seen time and time again, at MOST, the Left pays lip service to that scorn.. This is evidenced by "all" (namely none) the anti-war protests that cropped up when Obama started his Libya bombing campaign..

Hell, many on the Left strut and preen that "their" guy is kicking ass and taking names... Those Lefties are PROUD that Obama is assassinating Americans w/o Due Process, invading sovereign countries w/o permission and torturing/rendition'ing terrorists left and right with reckless abandon...

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE those qualities in Obama...

It just freaks me out to have ya'all on the same side as me on those particular issues... :D

I just can't help what ya'all would be saying if Bush had done the exact same actions that Obama has done. :D

Michale.....

so... obama is better at being bush than bush was? the way this discussion is shaping up, the most rational conclusion seems to be something in that direction. it's good that we're racking up all the victories, but i suspect you're right that it's not helping on the domestic political front. conservative policies will be scorned by the left no matter how well they work, and obama will be hated by the right no matter what he does.

Still hasn't gotten a single decent conviction of a terrorist, has he...

Heh. No, he's on track to killing them all instead. :)

The blatant fear mongering in pursuit of Obama's loser of a Jobs bill is simply beyond the pale...

"Rapes and murders will go up if Republicans don't pass Obama's Jobs Bill!!!"

Gimme a frakin' break!!

Michale.....

Now who's comparing apples and elephants...

He treats criminals as criminals

No.. He treats terrorists as criminals.. And look how well it has worked out..

Still hasn't gotten a single decent conviction of a terrorist, has he...

Let me ask you something... How does treating terrorism as a Law Enforcement issue actually PREVENT terrorist attacks???

If you want to put a bunch of terrorist in jail, then by all means... Treat terrorism as a Law Enforcement problem...

But if the goal is actually SAVING lives by preventing terrorist attacks, the the US Military is the ONLY option...

He's not out screaming about terror every 10 seconds.

Really??? You must not read much of the news...

He's winding down our involvement in Iraq.

That Bush's surge won.. A surge, I might add, that Obama was against... Can you say, 'Obama was WRONG'.. Com'on.. I know you can say it.. Say it with me. 'Obama was WRONG'... :D

And he doesn't invade countries needlessly.

Splitting hairs.. While maybe not a true "invasion", he led regime change in Libya and Egypt....

Admit it.. You don't mind a "war monger" unless it's a Republican war monger...

So much for a Nobel Peace Prize, eh??? :D

I still disagree with some of his Bush-era continuations, but overall, a vast improvement.

Of course... Elmo would be "a vast improvement" as long as he had a "-D" after his name... :D

Michale....

I'm gonna have to throw a flag on this play
-David

In short, Obama is at his best when he is more Bush than Bush

Now that's like comparing apples and elephants ...

Let's see. He treats criminals as criminals. He's not out screaming about terror every 10 seconds. He's winding down our involvement in Iraq. And he doesn't invade countries needlessly.

I still disagree with some of his Bush-era continuations, but overall, a vast improvement.

Not until...

Michale.....

I have to admit that this is completely true..

However, I am constrained to point out that Obama's foreign policy successes have largely occurred when....

A> He has followed Bush's policies and expanded upon them

and

2> He has done things that are anathema to Democratic Party principles

In short, Obama is at his best when he is more Bush than Bush... :D

Michale.....