Torpedos Over Tripoli

You're right in that he always is in communication and can make decisions from wherever he is.

But, while this is billed as a trade mission, it's still a glorified vacation.

He's traveling with his wife, kids, mother-in-law, and the kid's Godmother. The timing was chosen to coincide with the kids' school break.

They chose a nice, warm weather destination and they've been doing tourist activities.

This is a guy who loves to release pictures of himself from the Situation Room whenever he needs to make a big decision.

So, while he has all of the communications tools available to him, I'm not sure he can dedicate the attention to the situation in Libya that it deserves.

And, maybe I'm right as he's decided to skip a tour of some Mayan ruins and come home early.

He's still going to tour the Cathedral though.

 

I have Libya in the elite eight.

 

You know, in past events where the President has cited the Constitution to disagree with a legal ruling or a Republican stance on an issue, the lefties here have rushed in to tell us what a Constitutional scholar Obama is.

"He's a Law Professor! I think he know the Constitution better than you do."

So, here are candidate Obama's words on this very subject:


The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.

As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action.


So, are you going to tell me that this is the one instance where this brilliant Constitutional scholar got it wrong?

Did candidate Obama not understand the War Powers Act?

 

There is no more ignorant meme in this than the "Obama went on vacation!" nonsense, which - surprise, surprise - is but the latest Obama-bashing bum steer being sold feverishly by Fox and the rest of the right-wing noise machine.

As has been noted elsewhere on this thread, no president is ever really on vacation. Even when it truly is a vacation ... which Obama's trip to Latin America clearly is not.

 

Of course this didn't stop the lefties of accusing Bush of doing the exact same thing...

And we taken this kind of action against Libya without Congressional approval under a GOP president the same brain-dead lefties would be screaming this is an illegal war.

 

Some lefties are screaming that.

 

Echo chamber! Loud partisan noises!

 

The left went nuts about Bush traveling to his Ranch in Texas.

Now, since Bill Clinton never owned a house until after he left the White House, maybe some people forgot that it's routine for the President to set up shop at his own home during the summer when the Congress is on recess.

Kennedy went to Hyannis. Johnson went to Texas. Nixon & Reagan went to California. Carter went to Georgia and Bush 41 went to Kennebunkport.

And they all go to Camp David for weekends.

The entire White House moves with them.

That's a whole lot different than jetting off for Spring Break and turing Cathedrals & ruins.

It is.

I know he's still President. I know he can still make decisions. But it's different than working from home, which is what Bush did from his ranch in Texas.

 

Yeah. Must be a real bite when their hero goes all neo-con on them.

 

Shit happens. Collateral damage is always regrettable. But to quote Admiral "Fitz" Fitzwallace, chairman of the JCS under President Josiah Barlett in the West Wing: "We measure success of a mission by how few civilians were killed. They measure success by how many."

 

HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA HAHAHA!!!!!! That is the funniest post I have ever seen on SportsJournalists.com.

 

YF, this argument you're trying to push about Obama being on 'spring break' is weak. Seriously. You need to drop it.

Just because his family came along doesn't make it a 'spring break' vacation. He visited a country a day working on establishing trade relations for a trip that wasn't even scheduled to last a full week. Going to a sightseeing spot with the kids and wife wasn't an all-day, every day affair.

Generally speaking, people getting their panties in a bunch about presidents 'clearing brush', parasailing, eating barbecue and riding friggin' horses is patently ridiculous--and if I hear another talking head talk about the 'optics' of this crap I'm going to lose it. These guys are never--EVER--disconnected from the world at large.

This line of thought is a waste of everyone's time and your intelligence.