Bonnie Erbe

Obama Taking Blame for Terrorist Attack Was Presidential

January 8, 2010 RSS Feed Print

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

As much as I criticize the Obama administration for not being ready for prime time, I must also credit the president with acting extremely "presidentially" earlier this week when he actually took the blame for the Christmas Day airline bombing attempt. The Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz noted:

"Declaring that 'the buck stops with me,' President Obama on Thursday released the results of an internal investigation into the Christmas Day airline bombing attempt and ordered a series of incremental measures meant to close gaps in the U.S. intelligence system that failed to detect it in advance," says the L.A. Times.

Can anyone imagine such an apology from former President Bush? It takes more self-confidence and, indeed, honesty, to admit mistakes as the leader of the free world than it does to use the Bush approach of denying everything. It's a refreshing and much-needed change at the top and for that, I laud President Obama.

Tags:
bomb threats,
national security terrorism and the military,
terrorism,
Barack Obama

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To the first blogger who left a comment as towars the President's stupidity. I totally disagree, without the use of conservation in this world there would be no hope for the future, the attitude you take on actually shows that you are a far right wing! Well say hello, to misses tree hugger here: I am still an Obama fan, and as a correction if he did not have any leadership skills he would not have been elected President. I also would not mind paying for the health of the general public, have a heart!

HIppies Rock! of FL 10:07PM January 19, 2010

No more like Screwed UP!!! and got lucky.PERIOD!!!

Presidential, why because he's the Messiah?

No, because hes a FAILURE and INCOMPETENT and not at all TRANSPARENT!!

He is bringing us all down!!

Rid ourselves of liberals in 2010

End the corruption of this congress!

President Bush was a GOD compared to this idiot!

Go Green Up ur azz 2:13AM January 12, 2010

Hey Jeff of WI,

You want the UN to leave US? Great, well have it here in Australia. It's probably more appropriate it left America anyway. When it was set up there, America was a bit of a beacon for the rest of the world. Maybe one day it will be again. Obama certainly tried to bring that back and redress the public relations disaster of the previous 8 years.

But I have to tell you, the louder voices on the right wing (ie all of Fox News plus a few others) paint a pretty ugly picture of anti-globalists, nationalists, racists and other insular types that no doubt sing Amerika Uber Alles. They sing the merits of THE CONSTITUTION as if it's like the third testament of the bible and perfect in every way, and somehow manage to simultaneously hold the two contradictory views that it's not a living document to be fiddled with, and yet amendments made to it have been crucial to its quality.

Thank God we get to see that not all Americans are right-wing dilletantes and nut jobs through the internet and satirical shows like the Daily Show and Colbert Report.

So yeah, we'll take the UN if you don't weant it. Want to put a fence around the entire country? Knock yourself out. And the many good Americans, if you get sick of the place, come over and we'll put a shrimp on the barbie for you.

Chris Gordon 6:30PM January 11, 2010

Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe is a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report and hosts PBS's weekly news analysis program, To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe. She also writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column for Scripps Howard News Service.

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