Terror On Flight 253: Who’s Responsible, Bush Or Obama?

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by Glynnis MacNicol | 8:50 am, December 28th, 2009

» 14 comments

ObamaBushAP_450x350 The next time the White House announces to the press that they expect a quiet holiday with no news it perhaps might be a good time to take cover. After a contentious summer and fall spent arguing over the health care bill, and for a short while Afghanistan, no doubt President Obama was looking forward to a nice quiet week…so much for that! Once the dust had settled after Thursday’s averted terror attack on Northwest Flight 253 (and according to ABC News has Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab been successful he could have blown up the whole plane) it took less than a day for the finger pointing to start.

So where to point the finger? Because despite Janet Napolitano’s assertions that everything went like clockwork, it clearly did not go anything like clockwork if a man who was already on a terrorist list (due to be reported by his own father) was able to fly with explosives trapped to his body. How much responsibility for this falls on Obama (whose persistent golf playing is not doing him any favors…just imagine Bush opting for a day of golf after an incident like this)? Perhaps this is a good time to point out Obama has been in office three and a half months longer that George W. Bush was when September 11 occurred (though obviously that incident was of a different magnitude than Thursday’s).

This is perhaps what Bush apologist Mary Matalin had in mind when she told Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace (video below) “I was there, we inherited a recession from President Clinton and we inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nation’s history, and President Bush dealt with it…”

Meanwhile, one of Bush’s greatest example’s supporting the argument that his Presidency had been a success was that no further attack had occurred on U.S. soil. Does Thursday’s incident prove that was just luck? And if it is fair to say Bush inherited the 9/11 attacks is it also fair to argue Obama has inherited last week’s incident (and Sunday’s averted one)? Not according to Rep. Pete Hoekstra (he of the overstated statements)! Hoekstra also appeared on Fox News Sunday and said he thinks it’s absolutely fair to hold the Obama administration responsible (video below):

I think connecting the dots here, it’s not necessarily on this particular case, it’s connecting the dots that we’ve seen over the last eleven months, over the last eight years. What do we have here? This is a international movement of radicalization. The Obama administration came in and said we’re not going to use the word terrorism, we’re going to call it man made-made disasters, trying to, I think, downplay the threat from terrorism. The reality is that it is getting much more complex.

Much more complex, to say the least. Here’s what we know for sure: The only people you can apparently rely on fully when it comes to flying safely are your fellow passengers and their ability to jump across a row of seats to deal with a problem the government has yet to be able to solve. Now here’s hoping the TSA doesn’t decide to strap us into our seats for the duration of a flight as some sort of new ‘security’ measure.

Mary Matalin:

Rep Pete Hoekstra:

Zakk

I’m going to say that “Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab” is responsible. But what do I know?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chuck-Varrick/1170421091 Chuck Varrick

The worst part about this was it interrupted the obama’s singing Christmas carols. The whole island was in complete harmony with nature and God listening to these nightingale singers. Their rendering of “Oh come all ye lemmings”could be heard the next island over. And don’t forget “Bombers nuts roasting on an open fire”. As for the obamanator’s trip, poor fellow can’t even enjoy a nice week on the islands shredding any remaining birth records and doctoring up the ones to be kept without the bother of “monitoring” his comrade from London.
http://www.swissarmyjew.com Keeva

I tend to think the would-be bomber is responsible. But, why pass up a chance for cheap, old, recycled, worn out political shots?

Nicely done, Chuck. Gotta keep the incendiary, extreme, pointless, inane rhetoric flying, or the terrorists will win!
dhg

I knew it was only a matter of time that “inherited” would creep out once Janet said that really stupid stuff and it appeared that the air security system actually didn’t stop anything.At some point Obama has to own everything not just pick and choose depending on how it turns out.If it was so bad under Bush why didn’t Mr Change change it?

By the way,now that the whole world knows what the new security measures are be prepared for ocean detonations since you only need a window to see it followed by windowless planes.
RazorsEdge

Will this article be the one to get most comments by end of day? With a headline like that. Glynnis pimped out a headline and story angle to rev up the fringe.

Wonder if “columnists” get extra pay if they have the most commented/viewed articles. Seriously, I don’t know how that works. Wonder if Glynnis would be pissed if it didn’t get the most. The day is young.
http://www.nukethefridge.com MartiniShark

Yea, this was surely a quest at inciting those on both sides and get into a flame/bombing debate on this thread. I have wondered why they do not give us the writer’s byline on the frontpage on this site, because I have often thought anything by Glynnis really is not worth the time. That explains why.
Fidoohki

Whose to blame? Let’s look at it this way. When the Bush administration was in charge , the TSA, FBI. CIA,..et all… Knew that the Gov. ‘had their back’ so they may have played it a little looser with the rules. Which lead to profiling, violation of civil right and other problems but made it harder to get things through. Now that Obama
is in and has proven that he isn’t going to support the excesses, these people are saying “Wait. I’m going to follow the letter and spirit of the law otherwise I’ll get in trouble.” So they dot their ‘i’s and cross their ‘t’s but the
level is more lax as Political correctness if followed and when all it takes is one… that is a problem.

So do we want people inconvienced or people dead?
Ben Linus

I don’t know, Fidoohki. I just watched Contessa Brewer on MSNBC, and she seemed really, REALLY worried about all the inconvenience she might experience, the next time she has to fly. Poor Contessa.
timzank

Though it would be fun for all of us to point fingers at each others “side” politically, to answer the headline question:
Neither President is “responsible”.

A slow acting, over-bureaucratic State Dept. laden with departments that don’t share info, and a gazillion layers of “middle management” career bureacrats is to blame for not flagging this moron ahead of his boarding the plane.
Eliza

I agree with those who implied this post is nothing but click bait meant to incite the masses. Mediaite is no stranger to this practice, but it’s pretty tacky when the subject is something this serious.
TfT

Of course it’s Bush’s fault — the media will never hold the Obama administration responsible for anything. Even today, didn’t Obama say he inherited the watch lists?

Every President has inherited problems from the previous President….it’s just that Obama and his media sycophants refuse continue to the manchild’s excuses for anything/everything.

I think it was Bush’s fault that Janet put her foot in her mouth on the Sunday talk shows. I think it’s Bush’s fault that Obama plays more golf in his first year than Bush did in his 8 years. I think it’s Bush’s fault that the Chief of Station (or whoever Embassy rep got the word from the terrorists father) didn’t pass the word to the correct watch list generators/watchers. I think it’s Bush’s fault that Obama’s Hawaiian vacation has been interrupted. I think it’s Bush’s fault that Gibbs is a clymer. I think it’s Bush’s fault……(fill in the blank liberal media).

Really now, can we just get over the “I inherited” BS and tell the manchild he ran for office and won, so it’s his watch now?

I agree with the others, the terrorist is at fault, but really it’s time to grow up and man up Mr. President.
TfT

Edit:

Every President has inherited problems from the previous President….it’s just that Obama and his media sycophants refuse continue to the manchild’s excuses for anything/everything.

should read:

Every President has inherited problems from the previous President….it’s just that Obama and his media sycophants continue to let the manchild use this excuse for anything/everything.
Nachi

Oh really?? All these wondrous security improvements/ideas were vomited forth & installed under “Bring it on!!” alcoholic BushDrunk’s watch. It’s inarguable. GOP patriots have saved us all!
ImNotBlue

Nachi says:
December 28, 2009 at 5:24 pm

Um… wouldn’t it be the current administration who didn’t “improve” on all the “wondrous security improvements/ideas were vomited forth & installed”? If you’re statement is that it’s THEIR fault (shocking), wouldn’t it be more of Obama’s fault for not fixing it? Hmmm?