Worst parts of President Obama’s Syria speech

For Michael Medved, the very worst part of President Obama’s speech:

“Let me make something clear: The United States military doesn’t do pinpricks. Even a limited strike will send a message to Assad that no other nation can deliver. I don’t think we should remove another dictator with force.”

Medved tells 770 AM KTTH’s David Boze that Dr. Krauthammer said it well – that if you want to send a message, you go to Western Union.

“If you use a tomahawk missile, you’re going to destroy things and kill people,” says Medved. “A tomahawk missile is not a good way to send a message.”

Medved believes it’s still unclear what the U.S. believes the magnitude of charges against Assad to be.

“If you are saying that the Assad chemical attack was a crime against humanity and a moral obscenity, then doesn’t it deserve more than an unbelievably small response?” asks Medved.

David Boze agrees. “Yes, they compare the man to Hitler.”

“If this deserves an unbelievably small response, then it’s an unbelievably small provocation. If it’s truly a crime against humanity, then it deserves something more,” explains Medved. “If it’s an unbelievably small provocation, then it’s not the United States’ business anyway.”

Medved also hates that the president explained he has the power alone to make the decision to strike, but went to Congress.

“So even though I possessed the authority to order military strikes, I believed it was right, in the absence of a direct or imminent threat to our security, to take this debate to Congress.”

Medved believes the president was implying that President Bush rushed to war on his own.

“Bush had near unanimous approval from Congress before he did anything in Afghanistan and we debated Iraq for the better part of six months,” says Medved.

Boze says lines like “after all, I’ve spent four and a half years working to end wars, not to start them,” are pathetic digs at President Obama’s predecessors on the anniversary of Sept. 11.

“Typically, Americans rally around all presidents foreign policy-wise,” says Boze. “There’s no reason why this has to stay partisan, but he keeps digging in. It shows a very shallow and narrow mindset for a guy who still hasn’t actually filled the shoes of the presidency in the foreign theater.”

Medved says President Obama needs to do a better job at demonstrating his efforts for seeking support.

“If he really does want support of Congress, why not stand up and praise some of the members of the House and the Senate, who at considerable risk – Republicans – have already come out in support of him? Praise John Boehner by name, praise Eric Cantor by name, praise Tom Cotton.”

Medved says he thinks there may be a devious, awful political intent.

“He’s going to do it anyway. It will be a pinprick … and there will be people on our side, he hopes, who are stupid enough to say, ‘OK, he ignored Congress, we’re going to try to impeach him.’ He desperately wants Republicans to try to impeach him. It’s his only chance of winning anything in 2014.”

And Boze wants to know what makes the U.S. so sure Assad (or Iran) won’t strike back with terrorism.

“Then you get into a whole new dangerous situation because you haven’t thought things through,” says Boze.

Related:
Dave Ross commentary: The anti-cowboy
Full text of President Obama’s speech on Syria