President Barack Obama is about to hold a press conference in the Rose Garden and liberal blogger, Nico Pitney, is hopeful that finally, finally, Obama will condemn the bloody repression in Iran which Pitney has so passionately and tirelessly documented. He is not alone. Last night I saw David Gergen on CNN lose it. Yesterday, E.J. Dionne expounded on the Liberals’ Iran Dilemma. Liberals wish to avoid criticizing their “chosen one” but they can no longer bear his amorality and stubborn refusal to face an unwanted reality:
Obama’s initial caution served the interests of freedom by making clear that the revolt against Iran’s flawed election is homegrown. As the struggle continues, we cannot pretend that we are indifferent to its outcome.It’s not easy to walk the progressive path. But Obama has always said that he knows how to deal with complexity. This is his chance to prove it.
To be honest, he is mighty late. The UN, Britain, France, Germany, Czech Republic and Finland have all preceded him.
The Finnish government says it told Iran’s ambassador to Finland that Tehran must release opposition leaders, recount votes and resolve the election dispute peacefully.
Dionne argues that those who opposed the president’s wish to engage Iran have it easy as they have been proven right. He has a point though speaking for myself, I would have been delighted to be proven wrong.
Be that as it may, Barack Obama is my president, too. As such he represents me and in this past week he did it in a manner that left a bitter taste in my mouth. It will also go down as a shameful moment in American history. Obama said he admired Reagan but, when the moment came, he behaved as cravenly as George H. Bush in 1989. And, yes, the world has been watching!
