The President’s praiseworthy statement on strengthening intelligence was met by ridicule from the usual suspects: Cheney, Limbaugh, Beck, Bachmann. No news there. But some better news: most Republicans kept quiet, perhaps honoring President Bush’s statement in the early days of the new administration, “He deserves my silence.” And some, including Tom Ridge and John Negroponte, praised Obama.
But the best news comes from conservative ex-congressman Bob Barr (R-GA), who called the Republican sniping at President Obama for his handling of the aftermath of the Christmas underpants bombing “asinine” and “irresponsible.” His indictment of the right is on the Atlanta Journal Constitution website at http://bit.ly/BarrCriticism
The highest level of political ethics is to call out members of one’s own party. Bob Barr gets this month’s (mythical) Reinhold Niebuhr award for bringing good temper and integrity into the political fight.*
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* Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote, ‘The temper of and integrity with which the political fight is waged is more important for the health of our society than the outcome of any issue or campaign.’
