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Remembering How Far We?ve Come ? Part 2

But for the lack of a lock on a cockpit door?

Why is the GOP so soft on terrorism?

……….

To those who think Barack Obama didn’t change this country enough for their liking, pay attention to how we as a society have already begun dealing with the Christmas Day terrorist attack differently. ?It is stark, pervasive, even in the air.

There is no fear. ?No panic. ?No alarmism. ?Not coming from this White House, not from any authorities, not from the passengers (who seem almost thrilled to be the heroes) and as a result, not even in the media. ?Republicans started whining from minute one, and got more whiny the less the White House used their preferred language of belligerence.

Under George W. Bush, or John McCain, the media narrative would already be settling on whether or not to invade Yemen. ?Now, the narrative is about soft power – how to reach these wealthy sons of bankers to stop them, how to tighten up our security at airports, how to support reform minded Muslims, how to give alternatives to potential Al Qaeda recruits who are not poor villagers but wealthy intellectuals with an axe to grind.

In other words, Republicans would be doing the terrorists work for them, by spreading more terror. ?Barack Obama is doing America’s work, by addressing the problem calmly, quietly, confidently. ?That leadership will translate into confidence in the American public the same way the panicked leadership of the Bush administration translated into fear.

Al Qaeda seems almost miffed that we aren’t panicking. ?I can’t really recall Al Qaeda so loudly and immediately claiming credit for any attack, not even 9/11. ?And yet, they’ve done so here, praising testicle toaster as a failed martyr, making him a banner headline, because the American response isn’t giving them enough ink.

In fact, there is a growing tinge of mockery of this terrorist for toasting his testicles. ?This dude who can’t light a fuse is gonna raise the terror threat level to orange? ?Please. ?It strikes me as practically British – laughing at the Nazis all the way to the rubble pile in the East End. ?We’re laughing at Al Qaeda, for the first time, in unison,?as a country. ?Think about that.

Make no mistake – in the Muslim world to which Al Qaeda attempts to speak, this episode is a total humiliation, seen as such, and will hurt Al Qaeda. ?I can’t think of a more effective way to scupper Al Qaeda recruitment than to turn one of their attacks into a worldwide joke. ? Yes it will enrage them. ?Yes, they will try harder to hit us again.

But now, we have leadership that can crush them, by turning Al Qaeda’s weaknesses into our strength.

That’s change. ?Come to think of it….why didn’t we try this before?