Flickr/White House
I'm not going to comment on this incredibly patronizing Maureen Dowd column demanding the President Obama be everyone's daddy except to say that it seems to be framed around an entirely faulty premise, that Americans think the president is weak on national security. A new CNN poll says otherwise:
Nearly two-thirds of people questioned in the poll say they have a moderate or great deal of confidence in the administration to protect the public from future terrorist attacks, up 2 points from August. Thirty-five percent say they have not much or no confidence at all, down 1 point from August.
So despite the relentless assault from the torture wing of the GOP, and despite Dowd's demand that the president infantalize the American people, Americans are still confident in Obama's ability to protect them. That's despite the fact that Americans disagree with the decision to try Umar Abdulmutallab in civilian court -- and I'd argue that has a great deal to do with the media's failure in reporting just how ineffective military tribunals have been, statistically speaking.
Still, it's noteworthy that the president gets such strong marks despite some disagreement with his approach. Maybe it's because while the GOP spent all last week throwing up their hands in utter panic in response the failed underpants bomber, relentlessly spinning al-Qaeda's failure as a triumphant victory, Obama handled the situation calmly and methodically.
Like a president.
-- A. Serwer
