The Daily Beast : "The Macho Democrat" by Michael Tomasky - Obama looks unbeatable now—but the GOP sees weak spots. the political advantage gained by the president’s national security “scalp”

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“Democrats have wondered about how you look tough on national security. Turns out the way you look tough is by being good at it.”

The Daily Beast
The Macho Democrat
by Michael Tomasky
May 16, 2011


The Macho Democrat


Some excerpts :

When presidential campaigns hit crunch time, both sides reach for their most visceral arguments. For liberals, it’s the Supreme Court: Yes, Mondale-Dukakis-Gore-Kerry is bland and dissatisfying, but think of the court! For conservatives, it’s the people in the world who want to do America harm, and the longtime Republican conviction, going back at least to the early 1950s “Who Lost China?” debate, that those feeble Democrats won’t keep America safe.

The actual record is more complicated—hawkish Democratic presidents marched us into the Vietnam tragedy, while a Republican one, Ronald Reagan, transformed himself by 1986 into one of the doviest presidents of the 20th century. But the brands are hard-wired into both parties’ DNA, with some justification, and nearly every Republican politician at some point makes the charge.

But now, the killing of Osama bin Laden is changing this equation dramatically. Alleged Muslim Barack Obama did in two and a half years what Bush couldn’t do in seven and a half. It wasn’t just the result. The nature of the operation is still breathtaking, weeks later, and the risk Obama took, which he conveyed with masterful cool in his 60 Minutes interview, is mind-blowing (imagine if bin Laden hadn’t been there!). You can call the president who oversaw the operation many things, but weak isn’t one of them.

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Absurd. But Democrats need to avoid becoming cocky. Republicans will not give up their narrative of liberal weakness so easily. Over the coming weeks, the GOP is likely to strike back on three fronts.

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