No Panic Button in Obama's White House

Watching our president stride across the world stage as an equal among equals is extraordinary. This is the change we all knew could be possible.

The G-20 summit revealed the possibilities of diplomacy and proved our new president is up to the task of leading a multi-polar world into the 21st Century. His softly spoken words proved far more powerful than Dubya's wildly damaging big stick. He accomplished more than most had anticipated - and received kudos from world leaders.

When France's Sarkozy declared "I trust him," it exposed President Bush's fatal flaw - his loss of integrity. The trustworthy Obama erased the Bush/Cheney regime's "you're either with us or against us" mentality our thoughtful and pragmatic leader has moved our nation back into it's necessary role of world leadership. The Right will scream about the abandonment of American "exceptionalism" but this chant rings hollow in an era roiled by economic hardship created in large part by America's elites.

Obama's first international crisis - North Korea's missile launch over the weekend - revealed a refreshing and welcome response from President Obama. Rather than pushing the PANIC button and employing the tired rhetoric of the 9/11 president, he seized the opportunity to talk about nuclear disarmament.

I, for one, am delighted this man is the one answering that 3 AM phone call.

Hey, Stupid, It's Iraq (and the Economy)!

Arianna has a post up over at HuffPo about the diminished focus on Iraq in the presidential campaign. In recent weeks, the MSM has pushed the "surge is working" storyline and Arianna correctly warns the Democratic contenders about the perils of ignoring Iraq on the campaign trail. She argues ceding the foreign policy and global war on terror issues to Republicans is risky and a repeat of Kerry's 2004 strategic mistakes.

I agree. The Democrats need to buck the newly delivered conventional wisdom being spouted by the media who "have hit on a new way of diminishing the importance of the war: pretend like no one cares about it anymore, like it's old news." It is yet another "inside the beltway" consultant driven talking point that reveals the disconnect between the chattering classes and the American electorate.

Our Democratic nominee will have the best chance of winning in November if they expand beyond our "kitchen table" economic issues (where Dems are traditionally strong) into the realm of foreign policy and national defense.