The Washington Post reports on the rescue of the captain of the Maersk Alabama from Somali pirates:
The result — a dramatic and successful rescue operation by U.S. Special Operations forces — left Obama with an early victory that could help build confidence in his ability to direct military actions abroad.
….The operation pales in scope and complexity to the wars underway in Iraq and Afghanistan….Nonetheless, it may help to quell criticism leveled at Obama that he came to office as a Democratic antiwar candidate who could prove unwilling or unable to harness military might when necessary.
You know, normally I’d say this was kind of ridiculous. The Navy Seals who led the operation deserve tons of credit, but it really doesn’t say very much about the president.
But I’ll make an exception this time. The right-wing criticism of Obama during the incident got so over-the-top that at times you’d have thought Obama was ready to invite the Somali pirates over for tea. That was ridiculous. So if this shuts them up for a few moments, it will be a well-deserved few moments of silence for Obama.