I do give Obama credit for trying. He went to the United Nations with a pointed message for terrorists, and it was tough. But I would consider the president’s message to be little more than “Bush-lite.” Just compare quotes from Obama’s speech today with speeches Bush made before the General Assembly while he was president for proof.

This morning, Obama stood in front of the United Nations and chastised the leaders in attendance, calling on the gathered representatives to remember their charter. The president said he wanted to, “focus on two defining questions at the root of many of our challenges — whether the nations here today will be able to renew the purpose of the U.N.’s founding; and whether we will come together to reject the cancer of violent extremism.” On September 23, 2008, Bush issued a similar reminder about why the U.N. charter was established, telling the General Assembly that, “The ideals of the charter are facing a challenge as serious as any since the UN’s founding. … We must cooperate more closely to keep terrorist attacks from happening in the first place. … In the decades ahead, the United Nations and other multilateral organizations must continually confront terror.”

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And then there are these vivid quotes. You can’t accuse Obama of plagiarism, but it is fair to say he channeled Bush. Speaking at the U.N. on Nov. 10, 2001, just two months after the 9/11 attacks, Bush declared, “There is no such thing as a good terrorist. No national aspiration, no remembered wrong can ever justify the deliberate murder of the innocent. Any government that rejects this principle, trying to pick and choose its terrorist friends, will know the consequences.” Thirteen years later, Obama stood in front the United Nations and said, “No God condones this terror. No grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning — no negotiation — with this brand of terror. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force.” Good for Obama. That was downright Bush-esque.

I don’t think Obama will ever give Bush a shout-out, thank him publicly or even quote the 43rd president. But I do hope that one day, at least privately, Obama can bring himself to whisper a quiet “you were right” to Bush.