How adults play the game

Last week, William Kristol, Leon Wieseltier and (sadly) Christopher Hitchens lambasted President Obama for not having a "Fierce Urgency of Now" on Libya. Implying weakness on his part, they all ask: "Why is Obama so disinclined to use the power at his disposal?" Hitchens wondered sophomorically, does Obama's alleged dithering mean the president is secretly Swiss? All advocate aggressive no-fly zones and/or landing the Marines in Tripoli post-haste. But as the first draft of history is already showing, the criticism is woefully misguided. Recent behind-the-scenes reporting indicates that these impatient critics are also wrong on the facts. And, for the record, it is worth pointing out that there isn’t a single Arabist or regional expert in the bunch.

It takes an insightful Atlantic reader to see what is in front of the noses of the Kristol-Wieseltier-Hitchens Axis: "The Obama/Clinton game is mature, carefully thought through and focused on the long-term consequences of the use of power. The Wieseltier/Kristol game is ill-considered, emotional and places a thoroughly unwarranted emphasis on the deployment of US military power without appreciating the negatives that go with such moves. Put otherwise, the Obama Team has learned some lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan, and Wieseltier/Kristol are prepared to commit the same mistakes, all over again."

Read the entire piece here. As I've said many times before (and will again), thank Providence the grown-up sitting in the Oval Office is running the show.