Barack!!!

I believe that, up until now, Barack Obama has paid a heavy price for refusing to engage in demagoguery – the oversimplification, rabble-rousing, and scapegoating that voters sometimes mistake for toughness. Both opponents and supporters have cited Obama's thoughtful, even-handed style of governing as proof that the man is weak and dithering.

I hope that Obama's remarkably courageous and masterful handling of the hunt for Osama bin Laden will put that mischaracterization to rest once and for all.