Obama's change of heart, Japan and those buses

I was compelled to ask myself a question after reading a piece that tickets to see Charlie Sheen at Radio City have been sold out. Who really needs help--Charlie or the people paying up to $500 a ticket to see him?

In 2007, President Obama, then Senator, said, "the president does not have the authority under the Constitution to authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."

I listened as Andrea Mitchell praised Pres. Obama for taking part in this coalition effort. I've been trying to find how many countries are actually involved in this operation (very strange). When Pres. George W. Bush invaded Iraq in 2003, the size of our coalition was 49 countries. And, yet, many critics accused him of not having enough coaltion troops involved. In addition, Pres. Bush did not go into Afghanistan and Iraq until he received congressional resolutions to specifically use force {Note: the basis of some of the points in the resolution were based on faulty intelligence information given to the Bush Administration by our own intellegence services and the intelligence services around the globe regarding WMD's. But, that was only a part of the resolution}. Pres. Obama also stated that Khadafy has "lost the confidence of his own people and the legitmacy to lead." As George Will stated so well, "When did he have legitmacy?"

Back to this coalition. This coalition does not appear to be that strong. The Arab League is wavering. Italy has issued a threat to leave. Germany questioned the wisdom of the operation. And Russia is not a happy camper either.

And yesterday, President Obama said the air strikes are to protect civilians, but NOT TO DRIVE OUT GADHAFI. Say what? In fact, the goal of this operation is not very clear as indicated by the President's statements and those of his Joint Chiefs of Staff statement, Adm. Mike Mullen who said, "potentially one outcome" of the operation is that Khadafy stay in power.

In 2003, I also recall statements such as, "No War For Oil," "You break it; you own it," "Not In My Name," "George is being a bully again," "Drop Bush, not bombs," and dozens more. Strangely, I haven't heard much this week. Hey, but it's still early.

By the way, history tells us we may very well put boots on the ground--eventually. We did in Vietnam, in Panama, in Iraq in 1991, in Iraq again in 2003 and in Afghanistan. But I pray we do not this time around.

And it's costing us a bundle of money. Each Tomahawk cruise missile costs an estimated $1 million. And enforcing the no-fly zone is estimated to cost well over $1 billion. That means it will cost closer to $3-4 billion.

Have you noticed something about Hillary? After she came out strongly last week against Libya, she's been quiet for several days now. Does she see an opening to run in 2012?

And what's on the minds of Americans in terms of what the Administration should really be focusing on? The new Gallup Poll shows it's still the economy, the deficit, health care and unemployment. Alleged global warming and the environment are next to last followed by race relations.

Japan had an earthquake and tsunami right? Just wondering.

By the way, I checked into how much money was aid was sent to Haiti in just the first year--about $1.5 billion and it still looks like a disaster area.

I couldn't help asking myself yet another question: What would the media be saying now--with the Japan and Middle East crisis going on--if George W. had completed his 61st round of golf, went into Libya (with Afghanistan and Iraq still on his plate) and headed off to Rio? Just wondering.

What did investigators find after following up on those two bus crashes several weeks ago? Of 26 buses and drivers pulled over at checkpoints, 16 had serious vehicle or driver violations. In other parts of NY State, 25 out of 138 buses and/or drivers had serious violations. {Source: NY Post}

Okay, okay on a lighter note. I've been asked what my NCAA picks are. Considering I picked Pitt, I've already lost. So what about the Sweet 16? I'll go with Duke, but then again, maybe Ohio State. But UConn always looks good to me as does Kansas. There. Now you know.

I can't end this without a current headline from The Onion: "How To Get Your Premature Babies Into The Best Incubators."

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