Tonight, President Obama argued that America should not respond to ISIS by “abandoning our values or giving in to fear.” And then he suggested that we gut the Fifth Amendment and cast those who disagree with him as zealots interested only in making sure that everyone is armed.
Make no mistake: He knows exactly what he’s doing here. As Ramesh points out, he:
was demagogic on what he called, misleadingly, the “no fly list,” suggesting that there is no argument for letting suspected terrorists buy guns. In truth, the terrorist-watch list that congressional Democrats want to use to restrict gun rights is much broader than the no-fly list; there is no due process for the people on it; and the people on it are in no serious sense “suspected terrorists,” and the administration has no plans to treat them as such for purposes beyond restricting gun rights.
I expect this from Harry Reid. I expect this from Chuck Schumer. But from the president, who is supposed to be everybody’s leader? Outrageous. The president likes to say that we are attacked because we’re tolerant and free, and then he suggests that we indulge intolerance and make ourselves less free. This proposal had no place in his speech tonight. That he included it was a disgrace.
That being said, as Ramesh points out elsewhere, there were a number of valuable parts:
He put the San Bernardino killings in the context of the terrorists’ ongoing war against us. He even mentioned the Ft. Hood massacre as part of that war. He correctly noted that the war does not pit us against Islam or most Muslims but that it does put us at odds with a radical strain within the Muslim world.
He also mentioned America’s allies, and spoke of what makes the United States exceptional.
Overall, though, he looked tired and frustrated. Gone was the usual confidence and oratorical ability, and in its place was ennui. TelePrompTer jokes to one side, he really did seem to be reading this. Eventually, it happens to all presidents. Obama is done.
