Thursday, May 05, 2011

Good news tarnished by the spin

Osama bin Laden dead: Yes, SEALs were in on the raid, but aides hail Obama's office bravery


According to another one of those White House briefings of reporters designed to suck up all available credit for good news, President Obama's homeland security advisor reveals that it was a really tense time in the air-conditioned White House as unidentified U.S. Navy SEALs closed in on the world's most wanted man after midnight a half a world away.

President Obama displayed courage when he OK'd the raid into Pakistan. It was not the same sort of courage displayed by the SEALs, but it was real.

Clausewitz: "Courage is of two kinds: courage in the face of personal danger, and courage to accept responsibility".

There is something unseemly about the outpouring of lavish praise from his own aides. Are these people public servants or courtiers?

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