Going Nut Picking

Perusing the offerings at American Power, it’s so hard to make a choice. Think I’ll go with “Obama Gets Thrill With Gaddafi Handshake!” with obligatory exclamation point. Yes Libya, under Gaddafi, has funded terrorists. But then, technically so has the United States under a variety of presidents from both parties. This includes anyone called a freedom fighter and a number of state terrorists. Yes Gaddafi is probably insane. But, if he is no longer funding terrorism and a handshake will help insure that he continues in that manner, what’s the harm?

Then there’s the fact that under George the Lion-Hearted, we made nice with Libyans.

Gaddafi and Bush do apparently see eye to eye. On Monday, Gaddafi accomplished one of history's great diplomatic turnarounds when Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice announced that the U.S. was restoring full diplomatic relations with Libya and held up the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as "a model" for others to follow. Rice attributed the ending of the U.S.'s long break in diplomatic relations to Gaddafi's historic decision in 2003 to dismantle weapons of mass destruction and renounce terrorism as well as Libya's "excellent cooperation in response to common global threats faced by the civilized world since September 11, 2001." 

It’s convenient for the “professor” to climb into the time machine and go back to the 80’s and resurrect Gaddafi as public enemy number one in order to hit Obama over the head with him. Of course, the 80’s was when Saint Ronald was not only shaking hands with terrorists, he was selling military spares to the same Iranians that held Americans hostage for 444 days. And then, he took the profits to arm the terrorist Contras in Nicaragua. But, at least he didn’t shake hands with terrorists. He sent Rumsfeld to do that. 

From Herr “Professor”: By now there's no doubt that President Obama gets a thrill up his leg when he's pressing the flesh of the world's most brutal dictators.

I suspect, though, that it doesn’t compare to the thrill that Douglas gets when Obama shakes the hand of Gaddafi or Chavez. If it was Castro there’d be something running down his leg. 

And this from an AmPow commenter:

We, as Americans, Lefties included, need to examine our complaisant (sic) fantasies and realities in this country. We have enemies. Obama is dragging his entourage of adoring press, that influences the public zeitgeist, with him in confusing surface friendships with opportunists -deeply soulless dictators. They will take all of your American comforts, and turn them into ashes. And they will not care if you are sympathetic to their causes. You, my leftist friends, are their enemy, too. 

See, the problem is that we just don’t have enough enemies. Despite the fact that we (during the Bush II administration) re-established diplomatic relations with Libya that is no reason to act diplomatically toward them.