Waiting for ‘Superman’ Obama

Andrew Sullivan’s head exploded when he realized that Obama had authorized US covert ops to support the Libyan rebels, perhaps as long as three weeks ago (per Reuters). He’s shocked, shocked.

Take it away, Sully:

“He signed approval for covert action to arm the rebels weeks before the UN Resolution. The US ... has been on the ground actively aiding and abetting the rebels for weeks ... When Obama says he rules out boots on the ground, it appears it depends whose boots we are talking about. Maybe the CIA agents wear shoes, rather than boots ... All of this is clearly outside the UN Resolution. ... if the US actually takes the next step of arming [the rebels], then we might as well give up any pretense that this president - this president - is not involved in regime change by force of arms in yet another Muslim country. ... To say that this is a betrayal of his candidacy and his supporters would be an understatement. ... Have these people learned nothing? This is a dumb war, as someone once said. ... And it could wreck, derail and distract Obama's presidency.”

Contrary to urban legend, the president's ability to conduct world affairs in a feel-good West Wing haze has been greatly exaggerated. For good or ill, Obama is reality-based. He is non-ideological. His pragmatism is nearly Machiavellian (without the amoral parts). He copes with the world as he finds it. As president, he is accountable to the entire electorate and responsible for its collective well-being. As leader of the free world, he is obliged to respond to major upheavals when it threatens the collective interest. He will unleash war if necessary, but he understands the limits of power and has repeatedly shown prudence in its use. He alone is responsible for the consequences of his actions, and he feels it acutely. He is above all else, a rational actor. That means politically, he (and the “Spock” within) understands that "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.”

If Sullivan understood any of this, Obama’s actions in Libya – apart from their deftness – would not be surprising. The Obama he laments isn’t the Obama I know. The man Sullivan paints is a fantasy Moses figure (or is it Superman?) who has committed heresy by not remaining campaign “pure.” Obama is Bush and just as dumb, Sullivan seems to suggest. Okay, fine. Freddie deBoer, the brilliant L’Hote blog publisher, is politically so far out in left field I can barely see him. Last year, he noted that he had the “extremist’s luxury” of ignoring political realities, as writer-philosophers are wont to do. Yet, deBoer wrote, “Ultimately I have to admit that there are real constraints on political action.” I wonder why, at long last, the usually level-headed Andrew Sullivan doesn’t get this about Obama and the nature of the presidency. Fascinating.