And This Little Piggy Cried All the Way Home

I'm tired of hearing conservatives rending their garments over the reminder that President Obama did what President G W Bush couldn't, despite all the latter's tough talk. Look, give it a rest already. Put on the big boy pants, clap at the president, and move on. Instead, continuing to beat this particular dead horse drives the small percentage of real independents into Obama's camp. So, I should be happy that you continue to play the world's smallest violin, except for the fact that I hate hearing children whine, and that's all it comes off as/

Finally, um, did you watch TV last night. The President, after arriving in Afghanistan earlier that morning, stayed all day to give his televised speech, live. Think about that for a moment.

While the President was well guarded with what was possibly overkill protection, he was in an active war zone, on the ground, at a US Base that continues to take fire 10 years since the start of hostilities. That base was just outside a city that experienced a daring and bold attack just the week before. Within reach, in a real way, of people who would sell their own souls to just make an attack directly against him (let alone being able to get close, or have a chance of harming him). And then gave his speech without wearing visible body-armor.

Do you really want to go toe to toe on national security and ballsiness with someone like that. To paraphrase a running joke at work, the president just unzipped and used the ruler to find out that, yes, his was bigger. He wins. Game over.

But, unfortunately (for the world, but fortunately for those of us who want to see a second term) conservatives are constitutionally unable to concede this ground. After blowing a budget surplus, wracked up astounding debt, threw the country down a well financially, they can't really claim "fiscal responsibility" (note the continued hand-wring over incumbents who have strayed form the purer faith). Plus, having overseen the largest government expansion and Presidential power grab since the new deal, they can't claim the smaller government mantel. So being the "tough guy" is the last bastion they can legitimately lay claim to (well, not really but they haven't been called out in public about it). And now the President has pulled that carpet out from under them.

So, like Jon Stewart said, "Wah."