This has probably been commented on already—in fact, I'd be surprised if it hasn't—but I think this is what struck me the most, at least at this point in my ruminations, about the events of this past weekend. I don't know if I can state this clearly, since, as usual, I don't have much time to write out my thoughts. But I hope I at least get the basic point across.
Saturday night, Obama gets up in front of a crowd of Washington insiders and high mucky-mucks to throw a few jokes. He's already ordered the attack on Osama's compound. Among the jokes is this one about Donald Trump. (emphasis mine)
But all kidding aside, obviously, we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience. For example -- no, seriously, just recently, in an episode of Celebrity Apprentice at the steakhouse, the men's cooking team cooking did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around. But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. And so ultimately, you didn't blame Lil' Jon or Meatloaf. You fired Gary Busey. And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir. Well handled.
I am not a psychic. I can't say what Obama was thinking or feeling at that moment. But I know what I would be thinking and feeling, and I can bet that Obama was in a similar state.
Because I'd be thinking there's all sorts of meaning in this joke. It's not just a silly one shot. It's a statement on the real differences between these two men. At the time he's delivering that joke, we don't know that he's alredy given an order to attack a building that may house Osama bin Laden. But he's up there roasting The Donald knowing full well the hidden meaning in the joke. All we know are the choices he's made so far in public. Serious choices, to be sure, but nothing that so clearly demonstrates the point to our lizard brains as what we're about to learn.
Then, last night, we learn of Osama's death. That Obama had ordered an attack on a building in which he did not know with 100% certainty whether or not Osama was living there. The probability was high, but he didn't know. Perhaps he had just launched an attack on the home of innocent people. If it were me giving that order, I wouldn't be sleeping. That would have my gut all twisted in knots until I knew the outcome. Obama has never shown himself to be the cold and callous person like Bush and Cheney were. I think he had the same worries I would have had. It's the kind of person he has shown himself to be.
So Obama's joke is a double whammy. Trump's biggest decision is who gets fired in a stupid TV show, and he treats it seriously, as if it's the gravest decision he could possibly make. Obama's biggest decisions include ordering attacks on homes on foreign soil which could result in innocent people being killed and potentially serious repurcussions in international relations. If Trump makes a wrong decision for his TV show, he doesn't suffer for it, and the people on the show don't lose much, either. If Obama makes a wrong decision, innocent people suffer and die, and Obama will have to face the political (at least!) ramifications of it from all sides.
I know this is all something which should be obvious, but I've found that far too often, the obvious needs to be stated and restated. So I have done so here. I hope you will forgive me if I appear to have kicked a dead horse. (I think I saw it twitch!)
P.S. I wrote this earlier today before I got down to reading a lot of diaries, so I see that indeed people are saying this in one form or other. Good. Also, this will probably be my only bin Laden diary, so forgive me piling on for this one day.
P.P.S. Also this (h/t Kaili Joy Gray):
[Trump] also called for a temporary end to the debate over "party politics," suggesting that now is a time to remeber the nearly 3,000 people who died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Yeah. He got his ass handed to him on a silver platter, and then the waiter came back and asked if he'd like crow with it. Of course he's going to call for a truce. That's how bullies operate.
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Updated by Gabriel D at Mon May 02, 2011 at 11:47 PM CDT
(Cross-posted to firefly-dreaming)