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.
