Keller @ Large: Did Obama Ease Doubts?
BOSTON (CBS) - Finally last night, President Obama listened to the array of folks who've been begging him to give a full, formal, prime-time televised explanation of what we're doing in Libya, and what we expect to accomplish there.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
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Did he answer all the major questions we have about this costly, risky military venture?
Not even close.
Will his 25-minute speech ease many doubts and juice up the sluggish polling support for his policy?
I think it will.
Let's start with the bad news.
The president did not even try to explain how we can be sure that whoever takes over from Qadaffi, if and when he's killed or deposed, will be a significant improvement in terms of human rights or US interests.
I can assure you that even if this operation is a success, the rise of an Al Qaeda-linked leadership or some other destabilizing force would make a fool of the president and his policymakers.
The president did nothing to explain how we're going to pay for this very expensive operation at a time when we're hemorrhaging military spending and budgetary red ink.
And much of what he did tell us last night amounted to little more than vague platitudes about freedom and dignity, without much explanation of how what we're doing gets us to those noble goals.
But while I hope I have never been and never will be an Obama sycophant, I also heard plenty in his remarks that spoke well of the president's growth in office and his leadership skills.
In particular, his explanation for why we're intervening here when we stay out of so many other humanitarian disaster zones around the world made pragmatic sense to me, that we were faced with imminent slaughter, had a "unique ability" to stop it, and by doing so, sent an important message of hope throughout a crucial region in turmoil.
I read this as something of a concession by the president to critics who claimed he missed an opportunity to encourage the protesters in Iran and Egypt, and if I'm right, then he's growing in the job and learning from his mistakes, a positive sign by any measure.
I still don't know if what we're doing is a good idea. We'll see.
But I feel a lot better now that our commander-in-chief is communicating with us the way he should have all along.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
