NYT: The Myth of Mr. Obama’s Weakness

[babylonsister]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/opinion/04wed2.html?_r=1

The Myth of Mr. Obama’s Weakness
Published: May 3, 2011

snip//


But just as releasing a birth certificate marginalized one falsehood, Mr. Obama’s risky and audacious decision to attack the Bin Laden compound in Pakistan has demolished the notion that he cannot make tough decisions or cares primarily about the nation’s image abroad.

One clear sign of Republican unease is that some, like Rick Santorum, are trying to claim that Bin Laden’s killing was an isolated event that proves nothing. That argument sounds hollow and desperate, and most Republicans are giving the president the credit he deserves.

There is still plenty of room for them to make politically coded attacks on Mr. Obama’s domestic policies that have nothing to do with real substance — saying he is a socialist who is trying to redistribute wealth, for example. But if — oh, if — they now make the 2012 race about issues that really matter, such as rebuilding the economy and the future of the government safety net, the nation will get the campaign it needs.